The Frontstretch Newsletter: December 7th, 2009

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THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
December 7th, 2009
Volume III, Edition CCXXXIII

Editor's Note: Wondering where the Newsletter was these last couple of days? Don't forget, it's the offseason now ... so we've scaled down to once a week, with editions coming out sometime on Mondays. The next edition of the Newsletter will head your way on Monday, December 14th.

Today's Top News
by Phil Allaway

Sprint Cup Season Capped off with Champions' Week in Las Vegas

 

On Friday night, NASCAR threw its annual banquet for the Sprint Cup Series at the Wynn Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The event was a four hour coronation for four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, sandwiched between performances and comedy bits.

 

Frank Caliendo, formerly of FOX's MadTV and Frank TV on TBS, was the Master of Ceremonies for the event, while Mike Joy and Krista Voda handled the podium during the actual awards portion of the banquet. John Pinette served as the main comedian, and there were also performances from Brooks and Dunn, Escala (an all-female String Quartet, using relatively unusual looking stringed instruments), and David Gray.

 

The Banquet was the centerpiece of a week of activity, Champions' Week in Las Vegas.  On Wednesday, there was a "Chasers for Charity" Fanfest event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Neon Garage that was free to the public, then a $250 a plate Roast where the fellow Chasers roasted Johnson in the track's exclusive Blackjack Club.

 

On Thursday, there was a Lap of Champions (with requisite donuts) on the Las Vegas Strip, the equivalent of a victory parade for the twelve Chase for the Sprint Cup competitors. Then, the Venetian hosted the annual NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards luncheon, where many season-long awards were given out.  Notable winners included Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who claimed his seventh consecutive Chex Most Popular Driver Award, while Joey Logano was officially named the 2009 Raybestos Brakes Rookie of the Year.

 

RPM-Yates Merger Supposedly Complete

 

Last week, FoxSports.com reported that the long rumored merger between Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing was finalized and signed on Thursday.  This means that the two organizations are now officially one for the 2010 season and beyond.

 

The merger will create a four car team, with the Nos. 9, 19 and 43 coming from RPM to merge with Yates Racing's No. 98.  The No. 44, driven this past season by A.J. Allmendinger, will be eliminated as part of the merger, as will be the No. 28 team that ceased operations early on in 2009.  The No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing team, which operated out of the Yates Racing shops this season, has an unknown fate for 2010, with the owners already announcing a split from Yates at the end of 2009 regardless of whether the merger went through or not.

 

The deal marks a return to Ford for Kasey Kahne, who was once Ford's driver of the future in the now-Nationwide Series back in 2003.  Elliott Sadler also started his Sprint Cup career in Fords, driving for the Blue Oval for eight years -- including a four-year stint with Yates from 2003-06.

 

Labbe leaves TRG Motorsports, Reportedly Signs with No. 98 team

 

On Thursday, Crew Chief Richard "Slugger" Labbe officially resigned from TRG Motorsports to search for other opportunities.  Apparently, that "other opportunity" was already in place.

 

FoxSports.com is reporting that Labbe will be announced on Monday as the new Crew Chief for the No. 98 Menards Ford for driver Paul Menard, although nothing had been made official at press time. 

Labbe will be replacing Larry Carter atop the pit box of a team that failed to score a single top 10 finish all season.  Third-year driver Paul Menard's best finishes were a pair of 13ths at Texas and Talladega in April, regressing slightly from 2008 as he dropped from 26th to 31st in  points in his first year after leaving DEI.  In his career, Menard has only two top 10 finishes in the Cup series.  Those are a seventh place finish at Atlanta in March, 2006 (while still full-time in the Busch Series) and a second place finish at Talladega in November, 2008.

 

As for TRG Motorsports, they are actively looking for a replacement crew chief for their No. 71 team.  A release put out on Thursday states that the team is "currently in negotiations with several top-level crew chiefs" in order to replace Labbe.

 

Danica Patrick talks still ongoing

 

Last week, we reported that Danica Patrick would be making a big announcement on ABC's Good Morning America on the morning of November 30th.  At the time, we thought that it could have some kind of relation to the ongoing rumors about Danica potentially trying out NASCAR in 2010.  That was not what she announced on Monday.  Instead, Danica announced that her personal sponsor, GoDaddy.com, has stepped up to become the primary sponsor of the No. 7 Dallara that she drives for the newly rechristened Andretti Autosport in the Izod IndyCar Series.

 

However, Patrick's own website on Monday made a slight error, posting a picture of Patrick in what appeared to be a GoDaddy drivers' suit with JR Motorsports and Nationwide Series logos on it.  This was quickly replaced, but enterprising web viewers were able to save it and send it to other websites, leading some to believe a deal is imminent.

 

However, there are no new progress reports this week on those talks.  However, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Rick Hendrick are both on record stating that they are not heading up the negotiations (Earnhardt's sister and business manager, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, is in charge).

 

In other news, Earnhardt Jr. announced in Las Vegas on Thursday that he has given pieces of ownership of JR Motorsports to his cousin and former crew chief, Tony Eury Jr, and his sister, Kelley.  Previously, Dale Earnhardt Jr. owned fifty percent of JR Motorsports, with Rick Hendrick owning the other fifty percent.  The team is still working on firming up sponsorship deals for Kelly Bires to run the full-time schedule in the No. 88 car for 2010; but as of now, there's only enough funding in place to run a partial schedule.

 

Mike Bliss To Tommy Baldwin Racing, Will Drive No. 36 Car In 2010

 

On Thursday, Tommy Baldwin Racing announced that Mike Bliss will drive the No. 36 Wave Energy Drink Toyota for TBR during the 2010 season.  Bliss will replace Michael McDowell behind the wheel of the No. 36.

 

Michael McDowell will retain a "personal representation deal" with Wave Energy Drink.  According to the press release, this marketing relationship will result in McDowell making selected starts in Sprint Cup races during the 2010 season in a Wave Energy Drink-sponsored second car for TBR.

 

Team owner Tommy Baldwin, Jr. believes that he has improved his team significantly with this signing.

 

"Mike brings a lot of experience to the table and next year, we’re stepping everything up," Baldwin said on Thursday.  "He gives us the best chance to qualify for the Daytona 500 and get ourselves in the top-35 in points after the first five events of the 2010 season. I’m very excited to have him on board along with our sponsor, Wave Energy Drink.”

Have news for Phil and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashl...@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.

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Today's Featured Commentary:

I Never Say No to NASCAR!

Sitting in the Stands:  A Fan's View

By S.D. Grady

 

Not everybody hordes NASCAR memorabilia. Not everybody is a NASCAR fan.  I get that.  I embrace it.  I even go to considerable lengths to suppress the need to buy almost anything with the NASCAR logo emblazoned on it.... because I’m beginning to suspect that my #1 obsession has taken over. 

Why? It came to me in the middle of the night, last week.  I had settled in for nice long sleep.  There were dreams of snowflakes and pretty lights... then BAM!  I’m sitting up, screaming, holding my throbbing cheek, and wondering what the heck just slugged me in the face!

 

I looked down, and Ted Musgrave’s Family Channel No. 16 1/64th diecast in its bubble pack stared back up at me.  Normally, this innocuous appearing toy resides in the frame that hangs over my pillow with about nineteen other cars.  The frame had given up…decided enough was enough, and would somebody please do something about all this…stuff!

 

I sat up, pushing the Jeff Gordon fleece throw off my lap and carried the now lost car to the bookcase where I tried to place it with the rest…well, most of the rest of the collection.  That’s when it really sank in.

 

I have too much crap!

 

I tried to squeeze Ted in between the Michael Waltrip No. 30 Penzoil and the Ricky Craven Kodiak No. 41.  Nope.  Other bubble packs farther down the shelf threatened to jump.  I moved down a row.  How about in front of the ESPN VHS tapes, next to the DuPont paint can? uh-uh.  The Terry Labonte Road Runner said, “No room at the inn!” 

 

I sighed.  Next shelf.  Well, I never did manage to get the newspapers, race programs, driver glossies, and the No. 94 MacDonald’s Barbie to agree on who owned what turf.  It didn’t look good for Ted.  Maybe upstairs, with the Christmas ornaments?

 

Let's try somewhere else first, I thought. Hoping some bookcase or countertop in the house was available, I continued my search.  Well,  Musgrave’s Thunderbird didn’t fit in quite right with the old Modified Hot Wheels, and Kevin Harvick’s bobblehead responded negatively to more cars standing between him and Jeff Gordon. 

 

Ah, there were the ornaments.  Unfortunately, time and my acquisitive nature had filled in the gaps around Dale Sr., the painted rock of the No. 24 an employee made for me, and the Bobby Hamilton No. 55 Martian.  Back downstairs, I stopped for only a moment to consider the bookcase that houses actual NASCAR books.  I still hadn’t managed to unstack and file the newest additions to that shelf.  Sun porch…surely, in the sun porch I would find just a little bit of room for this car!

 

I gave up when my toes connected with my latest purchase.  I put Ted on the piano…he’d have to mingle with the silver candlesticks for a bit.  On the floor sat the latest indication that I have gone off the deep end.  Just waiting for deployment, it’s a Jimmie Johnson No. 48 inflatable car with a reindeer pit crew waving a checkered flag, 8 feet long and 4 feet high.

 

Ah ah! I know what you’re thinking!  You just had to get the Champion’s car, didn’t you?  Well, no… not precisely.

 

What really happened was we already had the Home Depot version of the car.  Smoke’s pit crew of snowmen just didn’t do it for me, even though I thought it incredibly cool that I had a NASCAR parked on my front lawn during the holidays (it lights up, too).  However, when I was walking through the Lowe’s a few weeks back and saw Jimmie’s car on display, my NASCAR nut brain thought how much cooler it would be to have a race on the yard!  Yeah!  I digress...

 

Back to the problem at hand--where to put everything.

 

I’ve thought about it a bit over the past few days and come to a conclusion.  I like all this stuff…the decks of cards, candy tins, scarves, mugs, magnets, and teddy bears.  Who said that the season was over and it was time to put all of this away?  Like I’d be able to…

 

Nah, for the month of December, I’ll hang the New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Camping World flags on the porch, we’ll have Jimmie and Tony pace the field, and I will dream of warm sunshine and the roar of the engines.

 

And maybe, if I’m a good girl, maybe Santa will bring me some new shelves for Ted Musgrave’s car.

S.D. Grady is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. She can be contacted at sonya...@frontstretch.com.
 
THIS PAST WEEK ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

CHASE DRIVER REVIEWS!
2009 Season Review: Jimmie Johnson
by Amy Henderson

2009 Season Review: Mark Martin
by Vito Pugliese

2009 Season Review: Jeff Gordon
by S.D. Grady

2009 Season Review: Kurt Busch
by Beth Lunkenheimer

2009 Season Review: Denny Hamlin
by Danny Peters

2009 Season Review: Tony Stewart
by Matt Taliaferro

2009 Season Review: Greg Biffle
by Matt McLaughlin

2009 Season Review: Juan Pablo Montoya
by Danny Peters

2009 Season Review: Ryan Newman
by Matt Taliaferro

2009 Season Review: Kasey Kahne
by

2009 Season Review: Carl Edwards
by Jeff Meyer

2009 Season Review: Brian Vickers
by Tommy Thompson

FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q:  Continuing our look back at the early years of the series now known as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the inaugural season included a stop at Flemington Speedway, a 5/8 mile short track in Flemington, NJ at the Hunterdon County Fairgrounds.  What was distinctive about this track, and what was its ultimate fate?
 
Check back next Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Last Monday's Answer:

Q.   Early on in the history of the Camping World Truck Series, the series had a two race "Northwest Swing," with events at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington and Portland Speedway near Portland, Oregon.  However, for 1999, the truck race in Portland was shifted to Portland International Raceway.  Why did this happen?

 

A.  What happened was that NASCAR declared that Portland Speedway required capital improvements in order to keep their spot on the Craftsman Truck Series schedule for 1999.  The improvements requested included a track repave and installation of "Hot Pits," so that the trucks could have live pit stops.  The lease that the track was under at the time made it nearly impossible to acquire financing to make those improvements.  As a result, NASCAR moved the race to PIR in an attempt to keep the series in the Portland area. 

 

A deal with the World of Outlaws to race at Portland Speedway resulted in the transition to a clay surface for 2000.  However, after only two years, the World of Outlaws stripped the dates from Portland and moved them to other tracks.  In early 2002, the track closed its doors for good.

This link basically provides the obituary for the half-mile oval.
 
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs!  If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to tri...@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
 
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Coming Monday, December 14th in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Phil Allaway
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more ... including our 2009 Driver Reviews!
 
All this week on the Frontstretch:

2009 Chase Driver Reviews by the Frontstretch Staff
Drivers always say earning a spot in the Chase makes their season a success ... but is that really true? Find out what our experts think as we take an in-depth look at this year's top 12 finishers in the final point standings -- and whether the results from all 36 races left them worthy of earning their playoff bid.

Schedule:
Today: A.J. Allmendinger, John Andretti and Marcos Ambrose

Tuesday: Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch

 

Wednesday: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bill Elliott and David Gilliand

 

Thursday: Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Sam Hornish Jr.

 

Friday: Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Bobby Labonte

Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Your favorite experts are back Wednesday, analyzing the season-ending banquet in Las Vegas and giving perspective on a handful of offseason News 'N' Notes to hit the series in December.

Talking NASCAR TV by Phil Allaway
On the heels of NASCAR's season-ending banquet, Phil takes an inside look at how SPEED handled the broadcast of the new-look event during their first year of postseason coverage.
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