The Frontstretch Newsletter: Betty Jane France Dies

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Aug 30, 2016, 2:23:18 PM8/30/16
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THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Aug. 30, 2016
Volume X, Edition CXLIX
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What to Watch: Tuesday

- After the relatively big news that broke last night and was officially announced this morning, Tuesday will be a quiet day.  Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 team will get their uppance tomorrow.  In the meantime, the rest of today should be quiet.  If anything breaks, we'll have it for you at Frontstretch.

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Tuesday's TV Schedule can be found here.
 
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff

Betty Jane France Dies

Early Tuesday morning, NASCAR announced that Betty Jane France, widow of Bill France, Jr. and mother of NASCAR CEO Brian France, died Monday night from an undisclosed illness.  Read more

Entry List: Bojangles’ Southern 500

The entry list for Sunday night's Bojangles' Southern 500 is out.  40 cars are entered, and at least 35 have throwback schemes.  No one will fail to quality.  Read more

Entry List: VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200

The XFINITY Series entry list for Darlington is out as well.  40 cars are entered.  There are a number of returning drivers in rides this week (Ex: Paul Menard in the No. 2, Denny Hamlin in the No. 18, Ryan Blaney in the No. 22, etc.).  Also, there are multiple rides with drivers that have yet to be announced.  Read more

Entry List: Chevrolet Silverado 250

The Camping World Truck Series entry list is out.  32 trucks are entered, meaning no one will miss the field.  Notables include NASCAR Next driver Gary Klutt in the No. 51 for his series debut and the return of Austin Cindric in the BKR No. 2 Ford.  Read more


Have news for The Frontstretch?  Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.a...@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.

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Today's Featured Commentary
The Tale of the NASCAR Fan's T-shirt
Sitting in the Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady

Ah, the morning after an unexpected win in the Sprint Cup Series.  There ought to be a T-shirt in my dresser that can celebrate the place or time of Kyle Larson's accomplishment.  I started digging through the drawer, then checked the other drawer where older shirts go to hide before getting donated.  Huh. Really? I never added a Larson shirt to my collection?  I've got two for Chase Elliott. There's the Denny Hamlin first win, Tony Stewart's double-duty, Matt Kenseth rookie one...Jeff Gordon, Jeff Gordon, and the new throwback paint job for Jeff Gordon...I must have a Target shirt!

No, I don't.  Perhaps that was the jinx on Larson as he struggled through his rookie and sophomore years in Cup. I didn't commit my belief that he would be an incredible addition to the Cup driver lineup into an active part of my wardrobe.  No hat. No sweater...oh, wait.  I remember now.  Two years before Montoya wrecked the jet dryer, I picked up a No. 42 Havoline jacket on clearance.  That had Larson's number while I tried to keep the budget under control.

When I was a newbie to the NASCAR scene a couple or few decades ago, I really didn't get this "never throw it out" T-shirt rule to which racing fans adhere.  I'd be at a car show and shook my head.  Could you believe the geezer over at the slot-car game with a faded Dale Sr. t-shirt? Did he have no self-respect? Why hadn't somebody got him a shirt that wasn't stretched, stained and torn?

Because, these shirts are part of our documentation of the best moments in our entertainment lives.

The Town Fair Tire 100 shirt I settled on I picked up the year I sat with Kyle Larson's family in the grandstands and watched this unknown kid win the K&N Pro East series race at New Hampshire.  It was a great day.  We explained some of the NASCAR rules to his grandparents, who had flown out from California for the day. They had only watched Kyle win in his sprint cars, and didn't know what they thought about these big stock cars. Kyle only knew he could drive them.

The shirt has long since lost its bright white background, and the graphics for the modified cars are fading.  You could say perhaps it has lost a little bit of its inexperience and traded it in for the polish of knowledge; a little like Kyle Larson.

Well, well. What a freakin' weekend!  Three new winners in three series.    Three Young Guns finishing in the Top 4 of the Cup race. Ladies and gentlemen, the future of NASCAR isn't coming.  It's here.

I still gotta add a new shirt to the closet.

SOMETHING SHINY

What about that burnout?  How often can you say you burned up your tires IN Victory Lane?  With the steering wheel hanging out the window? Fantastic celebration for Kyle Larson.

S.D. Grady is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch and runs a NASCAR blog called the S-Curves. She can be reached via email at sonya...@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @laregna and on her Facebook page (she's an author, too!) at https://www.facebook.com/Author.SDGrady.

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Editor's Note: Numbers Game will return next week.
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:

by Danny Peters

by Matt McLaughlin

by Jeff Wolfe

The Underdog House: Tracking NASCAR's Small Teams From Michigan to Darlington
by Amy Henderson


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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q: In the 1996 Mountain Dew Southern 500, Hut Stricklin was a surprise contender for the victory in the Circuit City Ford.  However, he was slowed by an issue late in the race.  What was it?

Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!

Monday's Answer:

Q:  In 1992, Davey Allison had a chance to win the Winston Million at Darlington.  He was running in the top 5 when the yellow flew for rain.  Crew chief Larry McReynolds sent a crewmember to look at NASCAR's radar.  What did that crewmember reportedly say when asked what it looked like?

A: You ever wonder why Larry McReynolds is so addicted to The Weather Channel?  This race is one of the reasons why.

Evidently, the crewmember returned to Davey Allison's pit and said that it looked green to him.  Unfortunately for the team, this guy didn't have much experience reading a radar.  He thought that green meant that everything was good.  I suppose so if you were a farmer in need of precipitation for your crops.

In this case, it was green because rain was swamping the area.  McReynolds took his crewmember's word for it and pitted Allison.  Had the race fully restarted, he would have had enough fuel to go to the end 500 mile distance.  The race was cut short after 298 laps due to rain.  Allison finished fifth
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COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have the latest NASCAR news along with a weekly commentary from our Professor of Speed on the state of the sport.

On Frontstretch.com:
The weekly Frontstretch 5 returns with five things to look out for.
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Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to edi...@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here! 
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