The Frontstretch Newsletter: Bizarre Tony Stewart Audio
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May 7, 2012, 11:04:41 AM5/7/12
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THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 7th, 2012
Volume V, Edition LXXIX
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~~~~~~~~~~~
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 7th, 2012
Volume V, Edition LXXIX
~~~~~~~~~~~
ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at frontstre...@googlegroups.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Keselowski Follows His Dream For a Talladega Victory
by Jeff Wolfe
Every race car driver dreams of winning, but not every driver dreams of how to win. That different kind of vision helped Brad Keselowski to Victory Lane Sunday in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 at Talladega. As is often the case at Talladega, the winning pass is made on the last lap of the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Keselowski just made sure it wasn’t made by Kyle Busch in the last corner heading to the finish line in front of 108,500 fans.
“I had this whole plan, if I was leading, that I thought about, and thought about and dreamed to do it,” said Keselowski, who was one of the 17 leaders among 34 lead changes. “Going into Turn 3, it was just me and Kyle [Busch] and I knew the move I wanted to pull and it worked, fhe guy in second should have the advantage. I had this move all worked up in my mind. Now, everybody has seen and knows it, but I was glad I was able to get a win with it. I went into Turn 3 high and pulled down and off of Kyle and broke the tandem up which allowed me to drive untouched to the checkered flag. It wasn’t easy to convince myself to do it but it was the right move and I’m glad it worked.”
After an 11-car crash brought out the yellow flag with five laps to go, the race ended in NASCAR’s version of overtime, a green-white checkered-finish. Matt Kenseth was the leader and appeared to have the strongest car. His problem was it may have been a little too strong.
Kenseth, with help from Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle, led on the first lap of the two-lap sprint to the finish. However, Kenseth, who won the season’s other restrictor plate race at Daytona to begin the year, unknowingly pulled away from Biffle by about four car lengths as the duo ran on the inside lane. Keselowski and Kyle Busch teamed up on the high side and found momentum and the lead in the final lap. Once Kenseth was separated from his all-important partner on the restrictor plate track, that left the race to either Keselowski or Kyle Busch.
“Greg got me a great push over in Turn 2 and by the time I realized we were separated, we were separated by four car lengths,” said Kenseth, who led the most laps at 73. “I knew if I slowed up, them two were going to pass me and if I stayed in gas, them two were going to pass me. I kind of waited for him (Biffle). It was just poor judgment on that last restart. I should have dragged the brake and made sure we stayed sealed up.”
While Kenseth, who finished third, was lamenting getting away from his helper, Keselowski knew that was the only chance he had.
“It was a race between him and I and somehow getting into 3 we got disconnected,” said Busch, who also finished second in Saturday’s Nationwide Series race. “Once that happened the race was over. It was all his. I’m not sure if he did anything. If he did he’s pretty smart. I just think our stuff came unplugged.”
Busch and Keselowski have had a contentious relationship over the last few years. But, as is often the case at restrictor plate tracks, conflicts from the past are forgotten if it means helping each other reach the front of the pack, especially on the last lap.
“Kyle did a great job and it was nice working with him,” said Keselowski, who gave Dodge its first win at Talladega since Dave Marcis won in 1976. “We’ve had an up and down history but it was great to work with him to get a 1-2 finish.”
Some other serious contenders were not around at the finish thanks to the fifth and final yellow flag of the day. On the restart with five laps remaining in regulation, A.J. Allmendinger and Denny Hamlin were in line on the outside lane. As the pack headed for the green flag, Hamlin saw an opening in the middle and appeared to go for it. Allmendinger then pulled down in front of Hamlin and clipped Hamlin’s right front fender, hitting Paul Menard, who was in the inside lane, in the side, starting the carnage. The other contenders taken out included Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Michael Waltrip.
“I tried to block but Denny was already there,” a frustrated Allmendinger said after the race.
Another frustrated driver was likely Kurt Busch. He was running second on the inside lane when Keselowski clipped his bumper, sending him sliding and into the infield wall on lap 182.
“At Talladega, patience is a bit of an oxymoron,” said Keselowski, who won his second race of the year. “Because you have to go hard here to win this race. I went hard a little bit early with Kurt. I’m going to say sorry to Kurt. It was a miscommunication on our part.”
Following Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Kenseth in the top-10 were Kasey Kahne, Biffle, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan, Trevor Bayne, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton. However, there weren’t much more than ten unscathed cars running on the lead lap at the finish, so there were no problems on the final restart.
“Yeah, you know I figured the last one would be more calm than any of them because pretty much everybody was crashed out already,” said Bayne, who has two top-10 finishes in just four races this year. “There were like 15 cars. I looked in my mirror and saw like five behind me and I was ninth or tenth. I was hoping we could push Junior up there because if we won, or he won because we pushed him it would be a good day for us. I think it was a good run for us and we ended up with a top-10 so that is good.”
It could be another crazy night Saturday when the Sprint Cup Series returns to Darlington, also known as The Lady in Black, for the Bojangles Southern 500. Pre-race coverage is scheduled to start at 6:30pm, while actual race coverage will start at 7:00pm on FOX.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff....@frontstretch.com.
Tracking the Chase: Kenseth Gains Two Places; Edwards Out of the Top-10
by Jeff Wolfe
Matt Kenseth didn’t win Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Talladega, but his third-place finish and the bonus point for most laps led helped him jump from fourth to second in the standings. After ten races in NASCAR’s 26-race regular season, Kenseth is seven points behind Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle in the Chase for the Championship standings.
Having bad days at the track were five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and last year’s runner-up Carl Edwards. Johnson dropped from sixth to eighth in the standings with a 35th-place finish because of engine problems. Also, Edwards dropped from ninth to 11th in the standings, two points behind Clint Bowyer, when he was caught in an accident and finished 31st. Ryan Newman dropped from tenth to 13th in the standings with a 36th-place finish because of engine failure. However, Newman does have one win on the season, so he would still be one of the two wild-cards to make the Chase.
Also having his Chase chances take a big hit was Jeff Gordon who dropped six places to 23rd in the standings. Gordon finished 33rd Sunday after he got caught in an accident.
Brad Keselowski certainly helped his case to make the Chase with the win Sunday. He’s 12th in points and has two wins this season. For the time being, that is good enough to place him as the top Wild Card.
The biggest gainer on the day was Kasey Kahne with his fourth-place finish. After a horrendous start to the season, he is now up to 19th in the standings, jumping up four spots from last week.
Standings: 1) Greg Biffle 378, 2) Matt Kenseth -7, 3) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -9, 4) Denny Hamlin -27, 5) Kevin Harvick -45, 6) Martin Truex, Jr. -46, 7) Tony Stewart -50, 8) Jimmie Johnson -54, 9) Kyle Busch -70, 10) Clint Bowyer -76
Wild Cards: Brad Keselowski 12th in points, 2 wins; Ryan Newman, 13th in points, 1 win.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas); Kyle Busch (Richmond).
Tracking The Top 35: Don’t Look Now, But No. 10 On The Bubble Again
While NASCAR guarantees a starting spot for the top-35 in the points standings each week, those close, or the one on, the 35th place bubble have plenty of cushion now. While the No. 83 car driven by Landon Cassill sits in what can be a precarious position at 35th in the points standings after Sunday’s race, he does have 30-point cushion over the No. 33 car that was driven by Tony Raines this week.
The only other notable move around the 35th-place marker was that the No. 21 car driven by Trevor Bayne finished eighth and moved up four spots to 37th, but is still 39 points behind the No. 83 machine. The No. 21 has been in just four of the ten races this season due to lack of sponsorship.
Here's your owners point standings around the all-important cutoff.
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 67 points ahead of 36th.
30) BK Racing (No. 93 - Travis Kvapil), 61 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 60 points ahead of 36th
32) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Terry Labonte), 40 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 - David Reutimann), 37 points ahead of 36th.
34) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 36 - Dave Blaney), 35 points ahead of 36th.
35) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 30 points ahead of 36th.
36) Richard Childress Racing/LJ Racing (No. 33 – Tony Raines), 30 points behind 35th.
37) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 39 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 - David Stremme), 54 points behind 35th.
39) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 - J.J. Yeley), 62 points behind 35th.
40) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 71 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff....@frontstretch.com.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' way at john....@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. Potts' Shots will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
by Jeff Wolfe
Every race car driver dreams of winning, but not every driver dreams of how to win. That different kind of vision helped Brad Keselowski to Victory Lane Sunday in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 at Talladega. As is often the case at Talladega, the winning pass is made on the last lap of the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Keselowski just made sure it wasn’t made by Kyle Busch in the last corner heading to the finish line in front of 108,500 fans.
“I had this whole plan, if I was leading, that I thought about, and thought about and dreamed to do it,” said Keselowski, who was one of the 17 leaders among 34 lead changes. “Going into Turn 3, it was just me and Kyle [Busch] and I knew the move I wanted to pull and it worked, fhe guy in second should have the advantage. I had this move all worked up in my mind. Now, everybody has seen and knows it, but I was glad I was able to get a win with it. I went into Turn 3 high and pulled down and off of Kyle and broke the tandem up which allowed me to drive untouched to the checkered flag. It wasn’t easy to convince myself to do it but it was the right move and I’m glad it worked.”
After an 11-car crash brought out the yellow flag with five laps to go, the race ended in NASCAR’s version of overtime, a green-white checkered-finish. Matt Kenseth was the leader and appeared to have the strongest car. His problem was it may have been a little too strong.
Kenseth, with help from Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle, led on the first lap of the two-lap sprint to the finish. However, Kenseth, who won the season’s other restrictor plate race at Daytona to begin the year, unknowingly pulled away from Biffle by about four car lengths as the duo ran on the inside lane. Keselowski and Kyle Busch teamed up on the high side and found momentum and the lead in the final lap. Once Kenseth was separated from his all-important partner on the restrictor plate track, that left the race to either Keselowski or Kyle Busch.
“Greg got me a great push over in Turn 2 and by the time I realized we were separated, we were separated by four car lengths,” said Kenseth, who led the most laps at 73. “I knew if I slowed up, them two were going to pass me and if I stayed in gas, them two were going to pass me. I kind of waited for him (Biffle). It was just poor judgment on that last restart. I should have dragged the brake and made sure we stayed sealed up.”
While Kenseth, who finished third, was lamenting getting away from his helper, Keselowski knew that was the only chance he had.
“It was a race between him and I and somehow getting into 3 we got disconnected,” said Busch, who also finished second in Saturday’s Nationwide Series race. “Once that happened the race was over. It was all his. I’m not sure if he did anything. If he did he’s pretty smart. I just think our stuff came unplugged.”
Busch and Keselowski have had a contentious relationship over the last few years. But, as is often the case at restrictor plate tracks, conflicts from the past are forgotten if it means helping each other reach the front of the pack, especially on the last lap.
“Kyle did a great job and it was nice working with him,” said Keselowski, who gave Dodge its first win at Talladega since Dave Marcis won in 1976. “We’ve had an up and down history but it was great to work with him to get a 1-2 finish.”
Some other serious contenders were not around at the finish thanks to the fifth and final yellow flag of the day. On the restart with five laps remaining in regulation, A.J. Allmendinger and Denny Hamlin were in line on the outside lane. As the pack headed for the green flag, Hamlin saw an opening in the middle and appeared to go for it. Allmendinger then pulled down in front of Hamlin and clipped Hamlin’s right front fender, hitting Paul Menard, who was in the inside lane, in the side, starting the carnage. The other contenders taken out included Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Michael Waltrip.
“I tried to block but Denny was already there,” a frustrated Allmendinger said after the race.
Another frustrated driver was likely Kurt Busch. He was running second on the inside lane when Keselowski clipped his bumper, sending him sliding and into the infield wall on lap 182.
“At Talladega, patience is a bit of an oxymoron,” said Keselowski, who won his second race of the year. “Because you have to go hard here to win this race. I went hard a little bit early with Kurt. I’m going to say sorry to Kurt. It was a miscommunication on our part.”
Following Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Kenseth in the top-10 were Kasey Kahne, Biffle, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan, Trevor Bayne, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton. However, there weren’t much more than ten unscathed cars running on the lead lap at the finish, so there were no problems on the final restart.
“Yeah, you know I figured the last one would be more calm than any of them because pretty much everybody was crashed out already,” said Bayne, who has two top-10 finishes in just four races this year. “There were like 15 cars. I looked in my mirror and saw like five behind me and I was ninth or tenth. I was hoping we could push Junior up there because if we won, or he won because we pushed him it would be a good day for us. I think it was a good run for us and we ended up with a top-10 so that is good.”
It could be another crazy night Saturday when the Sprint Cup Series returns to Darlington, also known as The Lady in Black, for the Bojangles Southern 500. Pre-race coverage is scheduled to start at 6:30pm, while actual race coverage will start at 7:00pm on FOX.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff....@frontstretch.com.
Tracking the Chase: Kenseth Gains Two Places; Edwards Out of the Top-10
by Jeff Wolfe
Matt Kenseth didn’t win Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Talladega, but his third-place finish and the bonus point for most laps led helped him jump from fourth to second in the standings. After ten races in NASCAR’s 26-race regular season, Kenseth is seven points behind Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle in the Chase for the Championship standings.
Having bad days at the track were five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and last year’s runner-up Carl Edwards. Johnson dropped from sixth to eighth in the standings with a 35th-place finish because of engine problems. Also, Edwards dropped from ninth to 11th in the standings, two points behind Clint Bowyer, when he was caught in an accident and finished 31st. Ryan Newman dropped from tenth to 13th in the standings with a 36th-place finish because of engine failure. However, Newman does have one win on the season, so he would still be one of the two wild-cards to make the Chase.
Also having his Chase chances take a big hit was Jeff Gordon who dropped six places to 23rd in the standings. Gordon finished 33rd Sunday after he got caught in an accident.
Brad Keselowski certainly helped his case to make the Chase with the win Sunday. He’s 12th in points and has two wins this season. For the time being, that is good enough to place him as the top Wild Card.
The biggest gainer on the day was Kasey Kahne with his fourth-place finish. After a horrendous start to the season, he is now up to 19th in the standings, jumping up four spots from last week.
Standings: 1) Greg Biffle 378, 2) Matt Kenseth -7, 3) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -9, 4) Denny Hamlin -27, 5) Kevin Harvick -45, 6) Martin Truex, Jr. -46, 7) Tony Stewart -50, 8) Jimmie Johnson -54, 9) Kyle Busch -70, 10) Clint Bowyer -76
Wild Cards: Brad Keselowski 12th in points, 2 wins; Ryan Newman, 13th in points, 1 win.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas); Kyle Busch (Richmond).
Tracking The Top 35: Don’t Look Now, But No. 10 On The Bubble Again
While NASCAR guarantees a starting spot for the top-35 in the points standings each week, those close, or the one on, the 35th place bubble have plenty of cushion now. While the No. 83 car driven by Landon Cassill sits in what can be a precarious position at 35th in the points standings after Sunday’s race, he does have 30-point cushion over the No. 33 car that was driven by Tony Raines this week.
The only other notable move around the 35th-place marker was that the No. 21 car driven by Trevor Bayne finished eighth and moved up four spots to 37th, but is still 39 points behind the No. 83 machine. The No. 21 has been in just four of the ten races this season due to lack of sponsorship.
Here's your owners point standings around the all-important cutoff.
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 67 points ahead of 36th.
30) BK Racing (No. 93 - Travis Kvapil), 61 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 60 points ahead of 36th
32) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Terry Labonte), 40 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 - David Reutimann), 37 points ahead of 36th.
34) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 36 - Dave Blaney), 35 points ahead of 36th.
35) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 30 points ahead of 36th.
36) Richard Childress Racing/LJ Racing (No. 33 – Tony Raines), 30 points behind 35th.
37) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 39 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 - David Stremme), 54 points behind 35th.
39) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 - J.J. Yeley), 62 points behind 35th.
40) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 71 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff....@frontstretch.com.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' way at john....@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. Potts' Shots will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
~~~~~~~~~~
Secret Star Of The Race: The Best Run You Never Saw
The four restrictor plate races are a bit more important to Front Row Motorsports than for other squads. For the small Denver, North Carolina-based operation, they often rank as the only events where the team can compete for top-10 finishes. It's an opportunity they cash in on more often than not, most notably with David Gilliland's third-place result in last year's Daytona 500.
On Sunday, two of the three cars at FRM were at it again (rookie Josh Wise start-and-parked early). David Ragan, whose No. 34 was unsponsored for the weekend, managed to keep the car out of trouble, then took advantage of the struggles suffered late by other drivers to finish in seventh, a season-best. Meanwhile, David Gilliland fought back from having to start in the rear due to unapproved adjustments and a bad pit stop that put him a lap down. After getting the Lucky Dog on the third caution (when Casey Mears crashed), Gilliland avoided the additional wrecks that followed to finish 13th, also a season-best. – Phil Allaway
Secret Star Of The Race: The Best Run You Never Saw
The four restrictor plate races are a bit more important to Front Row Motorsports than for other squads. For the small Denver, North Carolina-based operation, they often rank as the only events where the team can compete for top-10 finishes. It's an opportunity they cash in on more often than not, most notably with David Gilliland's third-place result in last year's Daytona 500.
On Sunday, two of the three cars at FRM were at it again (rookie Josh Wise start-and-parked early). David Ragan, whose No. 34 was unsponsored for the weekend, managed to keep the car out of trouble, then took advantage of the struggles suffered late by other drivers to finish in seventh, a season-best. Meanwhile, David Gilliland fought back from having to start in the rear due to unapproved adjustments and a bad pit stop that put him a lap down. After getting the Lucky Dog on the third caution (when Casey Mears crashed), Gilliland avoided the additional wrecks that followed to finish 13th, also a season-best. – Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 108,500. According to NASCAR, this number represents the attendance at Sunday's Aaron's 499. It is a far cry from the high times, when over 170,000 fans split between the grandstands and infield would be present. On Sunday, large swaths of the upper level exiting Turn 4 were covered by tarps, and areas uncovered were not full. It's a sad sight to see. – Phil Allaway
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Quotes To Remember: Aaron's 499
Audio of Bizarre, full Tony Stewart interview: Stewart talked with the media tongue-in-cheek after the race about the current style of restrictor plate racing, the rules package and the wreckage caused by several late incidents at the track.
"We just didn't have a great car. It was just between me and Steve (Letarte, crew chief), we can improve quite a bit. We've got all the tools, we just really didn't bring the best package here. Good engine. We have all the tools. It ain't nothing anybody at the shop did. Between me and Steve, we can do a better job." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished 9th
"On the restart, everybody was getting after it. I tried to block, if Denny (Hamlin) was already there, my apology. Everybody on the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge and the Penske organization gave us fast racecars. We had a chance to win. I’m happy the 2 car won.” - A.J. Allmendinger, finished 15th
"I would love to know. It's Talladega, you know. Some people call that exciting. I don't. It sucks. We were staying out of trouble. I hadn't even used the bumper. We were running a smart race. Somebody runs out of gas, somebody hit him and threw him right into us. It sucks. It sucks to lose so many points for the Chase and everything like this. But I guess it's the racing." - Juan Pablo Montoya on his lap 142 wreck
"Man this is just one of the most bizarre years that this DuPont Chevrolet team and Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet team has ever gone through. I mean it's almost comical at this point." - Jeff Gordon on his wreck
"I guess two guys got crossed up there and just blocked the track. Another one of those deals. It's fun racing to watch. I enjoy it, but NASCAR has got us in a terrible box here as far as temperatures and things like that. You run around in a pack at 260 (degrees), but I love this style racing. They just have to figure out a way to do it without the engines." - Kevin Harvick, finished 25th, on the temperature problems
“It looked like guys were running out of fuel and going down in there in turn three the guys in front of me stopped and it was just over. We got wrecked. This is Talladega. You come here and you just hope you make it through all that stuff. We have done a really good job the last couple years. When people run out of fuel like that – I don’t know if they miscalculated their fuel mileage or if they were stretching it but that was really tough. I probably should have just pulled out of line and gotten back when I noted people were running out of fuel.” - Carl Edwards on his mid-race wreck
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Quotes To Remember: Aaron's 499
Audio of Bizarre, full Tony Stewart interview: Stewart talked with the media tongue-in-cheek after the race about the current style of restrictor plate racing, the rules package and the wreckage caused by several late incidents at the track.
"We just didn't have a great car. It was just between me and Steve (Letarte, crew chief), we can improve quite a bit. We've got all the tools, we just really didn't bring the best package here. Good engine. We have all the tools. It ain't nothing anybody at the shop did. Between me and Steve, we can do a better job." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished 9th
"On the restart, everybody was getting after it. I tried to block, if Denny (Hamlin) was already there, my apology. Everybody on the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge and the Penske organization gave us fast racecars. We had a chance to win. I’m happy the 2 car won.” - A.J. Allmendinger, finished 15th
"I would love to know. It's Talladega, you know. Some people call that exciting. I don't. It sucks. We were staying out of trouble. I hadn't even used the bumper. We were running a smart race. Somebody runs out of gas, somebody hit him and threw him right into us. It sucks. It sucks to lose so many points for the Chase and everything like this. But I guess it's the racing." - Juan Pablo Montoya on his lap 142 wreck
"Man this is just one of the most bizarre years that this DuPont Chevrolet team and Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet team has ever gone through. I mean it's almost comical at this point." - Jeff Gordon on his wreck
"I guess two guys got crossed up there and just blocked the track. Another one of those deals. It's fun racing to watch. I enjoy it, but NASCAR has got us in a terrible box here as far as temperatures and things like that. You run around in a pack at 260 (degrees), but I love this style racing. They just have to figure out a way to do it without the engines." - Kevin Harvick, finished 25th, on the temperature problems
“It looked like guys were running out of fuel and going down in there in turn three the guys in front of me stopped and it was just over. We got wrecked. This is Talladega. You come here and you just hope you make it through all that stuff. We have done a really good job the last couple years. When people run out of fuel like that – I don’t know if they miscalculated their fuel mileage or if they were stretching it but that was really tough. I probably should have just pulled out of line and gotten back when I noted people were running out of fuel.” - Carl Edwards on his mid-race wreck
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Talladega-1 Race Recap
by Matt McLaughlin
The Big Six: Questions Answered After The Aaron's 499
by Amy Henderson
Pace Laps: Nielsen Nightmares, Childress Cringes, And Momentum Shifts
by the Frontstretch Staff
by Ron Lemasters
Three Years, One NASCAR Superstar: A Winning Formula?
by Tom Bowles
Nationwide Series Breakdown: Danica And Sam Go At It
by Bryan Davis Keith
Three Years, One NASCAR Superstar: A Winning Formula?
by Tom Bowles
Nationwide Series Breakdown: Danica And Sam Go At It
by Bryan Davis Keith
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1988 Gatorade 200 for the Busch Grand National Series was a relatively tame race won by Harry Gant. In fact, Gant was at one point on a lap of his own. However, something very unusual happened after the race. What was it?
Q: The 1988 Gatorade 200 for the Busch Grand National Series was a relatively tame race won by Harry Gant. In fact, Gant was at one point on a lap of his own. However, something very unusual happened after the race. What was it?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 1999 Touchstone Energy 300 for the Busch Series at Talladega is likely best known for its photo finish for the victory between Terry Labonte and Joe Nemechek (Labonte was declared the winner with a margin of victory of .002 seconds). However, a number of the contenders were eliminated shortly after halfway. What happened?
A: Ken Schrader was bumped in the rear by Kelly Denton just past the start-finish line and turned head-on into the wall. Only Schrader and Jeff Green from the lead pack were actually involved in the crash, though; the majority of the crash damage came from the second group that was running a couple of seconds behind. Much of that pack piled into Turn 1, creating a virtual roadblock. Over 20 cars were involved, which can be seen in this clip. Dr. Jerry Punch, Benny Parsons and Kyle Petty have the call for ABC.
Coming Tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Kevin Rutherford
-- Sitting In the Stands: A Fan's View by S.D. Grady
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Coming Tomorrow On The Frontstretch:
5 Points To Ponder by Bryan Keith
Bryan's back with plenty of storylines that will have you thinking hard about racing this Tuesday.
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup Presented by StarCoach Race Tours: Talladega-Darlington Edition by Brett Poirier
With ten races in the books, Brett looks at what trends are developing in NASCAR's two top series and which drivers are doing great, and who simply aren't.
The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny returns with another thoughtful commentary looking ahead to Darlington.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This
past
weekend, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, along with the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards each competed at Talladega Superspeedway. Were the race telecasts
for these events up to snuff? Find out in this week's edition of the
TV Critique.
We'll have a special guest stop by on a weekly basis to discuss the technical aspects of our sport.
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