The Frontstretch Newsletter - Special Edition: June 29th, 2008

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THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 29th, 2008
Volume II, Edition CXX

FRONTSTRETCH AT THE TRACK!

All weekend, Amy Henderson will be covering the racing action at New Hampshire. Here's her recap of the top stories hitting New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend:

Today's Top News

Chip Ganassi Racing Tops Morning Practice Session
Chip Ganassi Racing has struggled so far this season; but all of a sudden, this triumvirate of teams looks to be a formidable force on Sunday.  None other than Juan Pablo Montoya topped the speed charts in his Texaco Havoline Dodge Saturday morning, turning a lap of 30.031 seconds to pace Sprint Cup Practice.  But Montoya wasn't the only one.  Teammates Dario Franchitti and Reed Sorenson took the next two spots on the pylon, backing up their Top 10 qualifying runs with the second and third fastest speeds, respectively.  Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon rounded out the Top 5 competitors.

Cassill Grabs First Career Pole At New Hampshire
Landon Cassill qualified a career-high third last week at Milwaukee; but that wasn't good enough for the Nationwide Series Rookie.  He took his first career at New Hampshire in just his 15th attempt, posting a lap of 29.803 seconds and becoming only the second rookie ever to win a Nationwide Series pole at NHMS (Shane Hmiel was the first in 2002).  Coming off a Top 5 Truck Series run at Milwaukee last week, the JR Motorsports driver kept up the momentum and is now quietly making a splash in the series -- he's qualified eighth or better in the last five races he's entered.

Unfortunately for Cassill, an engine change after qualifying means that the pole sitter took the green flag at the tail end of the field.

"I definitely wanted to have a shot at the pole," said Cassill, who bumped Sprint Car driver Clint Bowyer out of the top spot.  "I didn't know if I could get it, but I was going for it.  This weekend it wasn't just a Top 5 qualifying run or a Top 10.  I wanted to go for the pole, and I'm just really proud of the guys for helping me accomplish that.  We've got a great race car."

Cassill's teammate, Brad Keselowski, recently grabbed his first Nationwide Series win, and both teams have shown tremendous imporvement over last season.  Cassill says that the two drivers work well together when he comes over for his limited schedule in the Nationwide Series.  "We always debrief," Cassill said of the Nos. 5 and 88.  "Brad and I are really good teammates.  Just a really great operation we've got going on."

During the race, things didn't work out as expected for Cassill; an incident with Bobby Hamilton, Jr. sent the No. 5 car into the wall and into the garage for repairs. For more information, be sure to catch Bryan Davis Keith's Naitonwide Series Breakdown, as the move was deemed a retaliatory gesture for an incident between the two drivers at Nashville earlier this month.

Ganassi's Party Continues in Happy Hour
The Ganassi cars were almost as dominant in Happy Hour as they were in the morning practice session... almost. Hendrick Motorsports also came ready to play, and the two teams combined to take the top three spots on the leaderboard in the final practice for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301.  Juan Pablo Montoya led the pack, but this time Jimmie Johnson broke the Ganassi stranglehold, carrying the second-fastest time.  Reed Sorenson grabbed third, while Kevin Harvick took fourth spot in his No. 29 Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet.

"I like our Target Dodge heading into race day," said Sorenson after the session.  "We were good here last year.  We worked on dialing in our race trim setup, and the car reacted really well.  We could be really good tomorrow."

Ragan's Paint Scheme for the Local Nine
David Ragan is carrying a Boston Red Sox paint scheme on his Sprint Cup car at NHMS this week in honor of the defending World Series champs.  Ragan threw the first pitch at the Sox game on Wednesday, an opportunity given to him by Roush Fenway racing co-owner John Henry of the Fenway Sports Group.

"I think it's probably one of the highlights of this year so far," Ragan said of an experience he thoroughly enjoyed; before and after the first pitch, all five drivers of Roush Fenway got to be on the field as honorary "Red Sox" before the game.  "We certainly got the red carpet treatment at Fenway (Park) this week, so that's a lot of fun and really enjoyable for all of the guys on the team and the other drivers to just go out and relax."

The Cup Series sophomore hasn't had a ton of different paint schemes this season, so this weekend provided a pleasant change of pace.  "When you have the same old, same old all the time it gets to a point where you don't recognize anything different," he explained.  "I think the fans will take notice, and I know a lot of people in the garage have." 

Ragan sports the number six on his race car, a number recognizable to Red Sox fans as the number of Bill Buckner, the first baseman who let the ball - and the championship - slip through his legs in the 1986 World Series.  "I know the ball rolled through his legs while playing first base," Ragan says. "We've all seen that highlight and you can't help but feel for the guy, but nevertheless, he was at the top level trying to do what he could do."

Hossfeld Wins New England 100
Chuck Hossfeld won the Whelen Modified Tour's New England 100 Saturday in a stunning finish.  Perpetual favorite Ted Christopher challenged Hossfeld every step of the way, but Hossfeld's Mystic Missile Dodge prevailed by .001 of a second - a victory so close it could scarcely be seen by the naked eye. Hossfeld pulled a perfect move off of Turn four to get the job done heading to the start / finish line.

"I kind of got him set up and he had a good run, but he was able to make that run back on us on the outside.  I thought about squeezing him, but decided I wanted to win it clean," said Hossfeld after the race.

Stewart Wins Nationwide Series Race
Tony Stewart won the Camping World 200 Saturday in a 1-2-3 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing's Cup trio. Denny Hamlin was second in the Braun Racing No. 32 Toyota, while Busch finished third in JGR's No. 18. Stewart was riving the No. 20 that had been driven by young phenom Joey Logano for the last few weeks; Logano is out of the car until St. Louis while the team's Cup regulars take a turn at the wheel.

For more informaiton on the race, be sure to read Bryan Davis Keith's Nationwide Series Breakdown, tomorrow only on Frontstretch.com.

Frontstretch.com On The Radio!: Editor-In-Chief Tom Bowles will be a guest at 10:10 AM on Dave Buchanan's show -- WGR Radio in Buffalo, NY. Don't miss it!

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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Matt Taliaferro's way at matt.ta...@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Fanning The Flames returns Thursday with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers! 

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Frontstretch On The Radio:
Join Frontstretch's Tom Bowles and Matt Taliaferro for their weekly version of the Frontstretch.com / Athlon Sports Racing Podcast Powered By Pepsi.  This week, Tom and Matt will be joined by host Patrick Snow as they wine and dine their way through Northern California en route to finding the remnants of Kyle Busch's surprise trip to Victory Lane. Speaking of surprises, the trio will go over the Mark Martin to Hendrick rumors as they sort out the Silly Season minefield, figure out why road course ringers didn't hit their mark, and look ahead to the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 -- yes, 301 -- at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Unsure when to catch the podcast? Well, the newest version usually comes out by Thursday night and gets archived at racetalkradio.com each Friday. Download us by heading over to http://www.athlonsports.com/racing/inside-racing-powered-by-pepsi, and don't forget to listen in on iTunes each week!! We're under "Athlon Racing Podcast."

And if you're up for it, we're always looking to hear from the fans; be sure to write in and give feedback at inside...@athlonsports.com! Tell us a topic we haven't been chatting about, and we'll be sure to mention it on the air. Of course, the two individual hosts can also be reached at tom.b...@frontstretch.com and matt.ta...@frontstretch.com.

Monday on the Frontstretch:

Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Lenox Industrial Tools 301
by Matt McLaughlin
Before you take that first break mid-morning on Monday, be sure you check out Matt's triumphant return to Thinkin' Out Loud for the best in water cooler fodder.

Bowles-Eye View
By Tom Bowles
Tom gives his views on the weekend events on SI.com.  Want to know what he really thinks? You get that only on the Frontstretch. On Monday, he'll have his full analysis of why things didn't work out at Hendrick for Casey Mears -- and where the journeyman driver goes from here.
 
Bubble Breakdown :  Lenox Industrial Tools 301
by Mike Ravesi
Mike covers all the battles you didn't see this weekend, tracking the fates of teams searching for a coveted spot in the Top 35 in owner points -- and the free ticket into the field each week that goes with it.

Ten Points To Ponder :  Lenox Industrial Tools 301
by Tommy Thompson
Tommy's ten points will leave you wanting for more.  Like eleven.  Or maybe twelve.

Sprint Cup Rookie Report:  Lenox Industrial Tools 301
by Tony Lumbis
Check out Tony's Rookie Report on Monday to see which rookies had the tools to get the job done Sunday in New Hampshire.

Tracking The Trucks: O'Reilly 200
by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth's race recap of the Truck Race held at Memphis over the weekend.

Nationwide Series Breakdown : Camping World RV Sales 200 presented by RVs.com
by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan's race recap of the Nationwide Series race on Saturday at New Hampshire.

Monday, Only In The Frontstretch Newsletter :

Latest news and Highlights from New Hampshire
Secret Star of the Race

Frontstretch Stat Of The Week
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