The Frontstretch Newsletter: Matt Kenseth Wins Sprint Unlimited; Jeff Gordon Claims Daytona 500 Pole
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Feb 16, 2015, 10:31:41 AM2/16/15
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THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Feb. 16, 2015
Volume IX, Edition XI
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Feb. 16, 2015
Volume IX, Edition XI
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What to Watch: Monday- Today, Daytona International Speedway is closed for any on-track activity. Some of the drivers are returning back to North Carolina to relax for a couple of days, while others are staying behind to compete at Volusia Speedway Park at the DIRTCar Nationals.
- The entry lists for the XFINITY Series Alert Today Florida 300 and the Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 should be released at some point today. Both series are looking at fairly sizable entries.
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Monday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
Top News
Jeff Gordon Wins Daytona 500 Pole, Two Drivers Fail Inspection
Monday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
Matt Kenseth Claims Sprint Unlimited Victory
Matt Kenseth, after a winless 2014 season started 2015 off on the right foot in the Sprint Unlimited. Saturday night, he successfully minimized damage to his Dollar General Toyota, weaving through a 14-car crash in the tri-oval that wiped out many competitors. Once the race restarted, he charged up through the field and drafted past Martin Truex, Jr. on lap 56 for the lead. From there, Kenseth was able to hold off the pack to claim his first victory in the 75-lap preliminary event. Overall, it is Kenseth's fifth career victory at Daytona International Speedway. Read more about Saturday night's action in today's edition of Thinkin' Out Loud.
Jeff Gordon Wins Daytona 500 Pole, Two Drivers Fail Inspection
On Sunday, Jeff Gordon manipulated the draft and left pit road at the right time in order to claim the pole for the 57th running of the Daytona 500. Gordon's lap of 44.711 seconds (201.293 mph) was not the fastest lap out of all three sessions, but it was fastest when it mattered to claim the pole. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson was second quickest and is locked into his spot on the grid. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Denny Hamlin, who also made the third round, had their times disallowed after failing post-qualifying inspection. Read more
Drivers Vent Frustration Following Daytona 500 Qualifying Fracas
Coming out of Sunday's Pole Qualifying for the Daytona 500, the biggest story wasn't necessarily that Jeff Gordon won the pole. Instead, there was a big wreck during Group 1a that resulted in Clint Bowyer, Reed Sorenson, Bobby Labonte and JJ Yeley needing backup cars. A number of drivers made their feelings on the issue known, frustrated over new methods that left them pointing the finger at NASCAR. Read more
Grant Enfinger Goes Back-to-Back at Daytona
GMS Racing's Grant Enfinger took the lead on lap 53 from teammate Scott Sheldon and held off a series of charges from ten-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel to take his second consecutive win in the Lucas Oil 200 presented by AutoZone on Saturday afternoon. For Enfinger, it is his ninth career victory and his third with GMS Racing. 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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Letter of the Race: Saturday night's Sprint Unlimited was brought to you by the the letter C, for Contact. At Daytona and Talladega, it doesn't take much for all heck to go down. A rub at the wrong time can cause a wild wreck. A bump at the wrong time can put Kevin Harvick in the wall and result in audible F-bombs in the pits. (That's you, Joey Logano). Finally, picking your competitor's rear wheels up off the ground is always a recipe for trouble... just ask Jamie McMurray. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: Sprint Unlimited/Daytona 500 Qualifying
compiled by Phil Allaway
"This is a great feeling. It’s always fun to win at Daytona for sure – it’s fun to win anywhere. Just really proud of this whole team at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) – a lot of new additions this year with Carl (Edwards) and a lot of great personnel at the shop. Everybody has been working hard and all four of our cars were really fast yesterday. I had a feeling that it was going to be a good week. We have a lot of racing left to do, but all our cars have speed, which is the first thing we look for. We have to thank Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) for all the power and of course our great sponsors – Dollar General, Dewalt and all the great partners that make this all happen." - Matt Kenseth, Sprint Unlimited race winner
"It was awesome. I can’t say enough about the guys on the Furniture Row No. 78 team. They gave me one heck of a race car right there. The best car I have ever had here without a doubt. Second sucks, but that is the most fun I have had in a race car in a long, long time. After the year we had last year and then everything that I have been through with Sherry (Pollex, girlfriend) and all. It feels good to come here and run like that. It felt really good." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished second in Sprint Unlimited
"Man, that was crazy. I need to see a replay with the 78 (Martin Truex, Jr.). It felt like he just all but wrecked me that one time, but fortunately we got it straightened out and it was a good start for ARRIS and for Stanley and our relationship with Toyota. I’m glad Matt (Kenseth) won that race, but, man, I could taste it there. That was a lot of fun – a cool event. The car is in one piece. We can go work on qualifying tomorrow. I learned a bunch, so that will be great for the 500." - Carl Edwards, finished third in Sprint Unlimited
"We got to the front pretty quick there in the beginning and then I tried getting to the bottom and tried to learn as much as I could. I stalled out and then that wreck with (Brad) Keselowski I didn’t feel like I crowded the top lane, but I haven’t seen a replay so I might have. If I did, I feel bad for ruining his race. I learned quite a bit today in the Target Chevy. Still lots of racing left to do next week, so I’ve got a lot more learning left to do. I feel like I’m gaining some more confidence on superspeedways, so that is a good thing." - Kyle Larson, finished fifth in Sprint Unlimited
"That is Kevin (Harvick) just being an instigator just like everywhere else. It is a new year and the same stuff. I was trying to help really, to be honest with you, we had a run and I was pushing. I was doing the same thing with the 78 all night and it was working. We got in the corner and he got tight and he got into the fence. I was trying to help. He just doesn’t understand I was trying to help. I understand his frustration, but I was trying to help out and get to the front and try to win this thing. There are no points or anything like that so you go for the win." - Joey Logano, finished sixth in Sprint Unlimited
"I don’t know. I just never really got into the right line and found anything that worked. There were a few times we started moving forward, but it was after the car was damaged and it just didn’t seem like it had any speed when it was leading a line and everybody would just kind of go around us. I don’t know. Just tried to stay out of all the messes and got a couple close calls and was able to finish at least, but not where we needed to. Need to get some learning done here this week and try to come back with a vengeance for the 500." - Kyle Busch, finished eighth in Sprint Unlimited
"He just drove us straight in the fence. Everybody is trying to be aggressive, but you still have to know when and where you can do things. You can’t just drive somebody in the fence. I’m just disappointed for my guys on my Jimmy John’s team just for the fact that they worked hard to get their car back where it needed to be. And then, just one of those deals where you just know that is going to work. Whether it is an All-Star race or not, it doesn’t really matter, you can’t just take your head off and throw it on the floor board and not use your brain." - Kevin Harvick, finished 11th in Sprint Unlimited
"It is crazy out there. We were just trying to get runs and get to the front. It was tough to get to the front tonight. We had some good runs going there and it just snapped around. I don’t know. I know nobody got into me. I don’t know if we cut a right rear or what. Either way, we are crashed out but the Fastenal guys did a great job tonight getting the car back together after that red flag. We had some hood damage but it was still really fast and I feel good about the cars Roush Fenway has brought down here. We learned a lot out there tonight. We will go qualify tomorrow and try to get a good lap in. I feel really good about our Fastenal Ford." - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., finished 16th in Sprint Unlimited (Crashed out)
"First of all, I wasn’t behind the 44 (Reed Sorenson), he came flying around and came up on the apron, jumped up in front of me and then runs over the 51 (Justin Allgaier), stacks us all up and I run into him. It’s idiotic to be out here doing this anyway. It makes no sense in being able to put on some cute show for whatever the hell this is, then you have a guy out there in desperation doing this crap like this. There’s no reason to be out here. These guys have spent six months working on these cars, busting their asses on these cars to go out there and have some guy out of desperation do that crap, but it ain’t his fault. It’s not, it’s NASCAR’s fault for putting us out here in the middle of this crap for nothing. We used to come down here and worry about who was going to sit on the front row and the pole for the biggest race of the year and now all we do is come down here and worry about how a start-and-park like this out of desperation is going to knock us out of the Daytona 500. We’ve been in meetings for 45 minutes just trying to figure out what in the hell everybody is going to do just so we can make the race. There’s no sense in doing this." - Clint Bowyer, qualified 41st in Round No. 1, after his qualifying crash
"This is a great feeling. It’s always fun to win at Daytona for sure – it’s fun to win anywhere. Just really proud of this whole team at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) – a lot of new additions this year with Carl (Edwards) and a lot of great personnel at the shop. Everybody has been working hard and all four of our cars were really fast yesterday. I had a feeling that it was going to be a good week. We have a lot of racing left to do, but all our cars have speed, which is the first thing we look for. We have to thank Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) for all the power and of course our great sponsors – Dollar General, Dewalt and all the great partners that make this all happen." - Matt Kenseth, Sprint Unlimited race winner
"It was awesome. I can’t say enough about the guys on the Furniture Row No. 78 team. They gave me one heck of a race car right there. The best car I have ever had here without a doubt. Second sucks, but that is the most fun I have had in a race car in a long, long time. After the year we had last year and then everything that I have been through with Sherry (Pollex, girlfriend) and all. It feels good to come here and run like that. It felt really good." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished second in Sprint Unlimited
"Man, that was crazy. I need to see a replay with the 78 (Martin Truex, Jr.). It felt like he just all but wrecked me that one time, but fortunately we got it straightened out and it was a good start for ARRIS and for Stanley and our relationship with Toyota. I’m glad Matt (Kenseth) won that race, but, man, I could taste it there. That was a lot of fun – a cool event. The car is in one piece. We can go work on qualifying tomorrow. I learned a bunch, so that will be great for the 500." - Carl Edwards, finished third in Sprint Unlimited
"We got to the front pretty quick there in the beginning and then I tried getting to the bottom and tried to learn as much as I could. I stalled out and then that wreck with (Brad) Keselowski I didn’t feel like I crowded the top lane, but I haven’t seen a replay so I might have. If I did, I feel bad for ruining his race. I learned quite a bit today in the Target Chevy. Still lots of racing left to do next week, so I’ve got a lot more learning left to do. I feel like I’m gaining some more confidence on superspeedways, so that is a good thing." - Kyle Larson, finished fifth in Sprint Unlimited
"That is Kevin (Harvick) just being an instigator just like everywhere else. It is a new year and the same stuff. I was trying to help really, to be honest with you, we had a run and I was pushing. I was doing the same thing with the 78 all night and it was working. We got in the corner and he got tight and he got into the fence. I was trying to help. He just doesn’t understand I was trying to help. I understand his frustration, but I was trying to help out and get to the front and try to win this thing. There are no points or anything like that so you go for the win." - Joey Logano, finished sixth in Sprint Unlimited
"I don’t know. I just never really got into the right line and found anything that worked. There were a few times we started moving forward, but it was after the car was damaged and it just didn’t seem like it had any speed when it was leading a line and everybody would just kind of go around us. I don’t know. Just tried to stay out of all the messes and got a couple close calls and was able to finish at least, but not where we needed to. Need to get some learning done here this week and try to come back with a vengeance for the 500." - Kyle Busch, finished eighth in Sprint Unlimited
"He just drove us straight in the fence. Everybody is trying to be aggressive, but you still have to know when and where you can do things. You can’t just drive somebody in the fence. I’m just disappointed for my guys on my Jimmy John’s team just for the fact that they worked hard to get their car back where it needed to be. And then, just one of those deals where you just know that is going to work. Whether it is an All-Star race or not, it doesn’t really matter, you can’t just take your head off and throw it on the floor board and not use your brain." - Kevin Harvick, finished 11th in Sprint Unlimited
"It is crazy out there. We were just trying to get runs and get to the front. It was tough to get to the front tonight. We had some good runs going there and it just snapped around. I don’t know. I know nobody got into me. I don’t know if we cut a right rear or what. Either way, we are crashed out but the Fastenal guys did a great job tonight getting the car back together after that red flag. We had some hood damage but it was still really fast and I feel good about the cars Roush Fenway has brought down here. We learned a lot out there tonight. We will go qualify tomorrow and try to get a good lap in. I feel really good about our Fastenal Ford." - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., finished 16th in Sprint Unlimited (Crashed out)
"First of all, I wasn’t behind the 44 (Reed Sorenson), he came flying around and came up on the apron, jumped up in front of me and then runs over the 51 (Justin Allgaier), stacks us all up and I run into him. It’s idiotic to be out here doing this anyway. It makes no sense in being able to put on some cute show for whatever the hell this is, then you have a guy out there in desperation doing this crap like this. There’s no reason to be out here. These guys have spent six months working on these cars, busting their asses on these cars to go out there and have some guy out of desperation do that crap, but it ain’t his fault. It’s not, it’s NASCAR’s fault for putting us out here in the middle of this crap for nothing. We used to come down here and worry about who was going to sit on the front row and the pole for the biggest race of the year and now all we do is come down here and worry about how a start-and-park like this out of desperation is going to knock us out of the Daytona 500. We’ve been in meetings for 45 minutes just trying to figure out what in the hell everybody is going to do just so we can make the race. There’s no sense in doing this." - Clint Bowyer, qualified 41st in Round No. 1, after his qualifying crash
"I don't know where to begin. It's already been an emotional start to the season knowing that it's going to be my last season and my last Daytona 500. We had all kinds of scenarios and plans in place prior to qualifying, but once it starts, all that stuff goes out the window. It's so chaotic, but I knew I had a fast car. We played the wait game and it was almost too late. We almost didn't make it, but I knew once we crossed the line and made the clock that between me and Jimmie, we had a good shot to get that pole." - Jeff Gordon, pole winner for the Daytona 500
"I’d like to talk about all the hard work and time and effort that goes into building a Sprint Cup car to qualify at the Daytona 500. We’re a lot of smart people here. There’s drivers, owners, NASCAR. We got to find a better system. So much hard work goes into these cars, then you have this roulette wheel for qualifying. It doesn’t seem to be the proper system. But, hey, it is what it is. We could be here smiling, getting belted up, going back out for the second round. Just want to thank all my guys for all their work, all of our sponsors. We should just take the cars as we build them in the off‑season, unload, pass tech, then go qualify one car at a time, four‑lap average. That would really give a sense of pride to putting effort towards building a car to qualify for the Daytona 500 instead of shaking up bingo balls." - Kurt Busch, qualified 30th in Round No. 1.
"This
session is real gimmicky and it all depends on who you get paired up
with and a lot of it is luck and chance. That is just the way it is, though. There are some really good cars that didn’t have good speed and
some really bad cars that did have good speed just because of
situations. All of that goes out the window on Thursday. We have a good
KFC Ford and I feel like I am a good plate racer. We still control our
own destiny. Thursday’s Duels are very important. I would be very
frustrated if this was it. I am not a fan of this format but it is what
it is. It is the same for everybody. We will go out there on Thursday
and see what happens." - David Ragan, qualified 44th in Round No. 1
"Well,
I don’t know if any of the drivers or the teams, really, like this
format. I don’t know what it’s like to watch on TV as a fan. You just
have to be really lucky. The No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) and the No. 48 (Jimmie
Johnson); it’s great for them. But the odds of making it back, you’ve
got to be really lucky in order to make that work. Every round is that
way. So, I’m glad we were able to make it to the final round." - Jamie McMurray, qualified 11th in Round No. 3
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager as well as a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.a...@frontstretch.com.
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by Amy Henderson
by Jerry Jordan
by the Frontstretch Staff
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
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!
©2015 Frontstretch.com
Q: In 2007, James Hylton attempted to become the oldest driver to ever qualify for a Cup race when he attempted the Daytona 500 in a No. 58 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Retirement Living TV. Where did that No. 58 come from?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Thursday's Answer:
Thursday's Answer:
Q: ARCA's 2005 200-mile season opener was cut short of its scheduled distance despite no rain actually falling during the race. Why did this happen?
A: The 200-mile race was cut to 65 laps from the scheduled 80 due to a number of wrecks, mostly. The biggest delay occurred due to a crash involving Clair Zimmeman backing into the catchfence exiting the tri-oval, which eventually caused a red flag for fence repairs. Afterwards, there were a couple of more wrecks that resulted in the race potentially encroaching upon FOX's telecast of the then-Budweiser Shootout. As it stands, 39 of the 65 laps (97.5 of 162.5 miles) completed were run with the pace car in front.
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COMING TOMORROW
COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have breaking news from Daytona and North Carolina as teams take Monday to either relax, announce last-minute plans, or repair crash damage. S.D. Grady will be back with her weekly Fan's View column as well.
On Frontstretch.com:
A writing legend announces his return to the website for 2015 with a special column. You don't want to miss it!
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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!
©2015 Frontstretch.com
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