Frontstretch.com: The best seat at the track... the best view on the net! Friday, July 3rd 2009

Most fans wouldn't argue that Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson are among the great drivers of NASCAR, but what, exactly, makes that so?

Greatness Is Made Of Many Things

Holding A Pretty Wheel
Amy Henderson · Friday July 3, 2009

The 25 finalists for five spots in the inaugural calls in the NASCAR Hall of Fame were released this week and I don’t envy anyone who has to narrow that list down. It did start me thinking, though, about what really makes a stock car driver great.

At this level, they’re all good. They wouldn’t be here if they weren’t. For all fans say about a particular driver being “bad” or “mediocre,” the fact is that to simply get to any of NASCAR’s top divisions, you’re good. But what separates the really great drivers from the masses today? This is how I break it down:

Consistency Still Rules Over Wins, Especially In 2009

Kurt Smith · Friday July 3, 2009

Despite that most general managers in the NFL know never to let the fans or media pick their quarterback (which can be a flawed tenet if the fans are smarter), NASCAR has responded in many ways to fans’ and media behest to place more emphasis on winning. It hasn’t been as pronounced of late as it had been in the first few years of the Chase, but there are still proposals for placing more value on race wins. One of the most popular ideas is the requirement of a win for a driver and team to be eligible for the Chase—the “win and in” rule.

If the 2009 season so far has taught us anything, it should show the logical flaws of such a proposal.

Driven To The Past : Sometimes, Things Just Don't Work Out

John Potts · Friday July 3, 2009

This is one of those stories that doesn’t really have anything to do with the racing, but rather one of those offbeat things that just seem to happen when a bunch of racing people get together. I’m sure everyone involved in this sport realizes that we aren’t like normal people. For one thing, we have more fun, but sometimes our thought processes take off on tangents. When people talk about “thinking outside the box,” it fits us rather well. We seldom think inside the box. It reminds me of my days in the USAF Security Service and my time in Northern Japan, when our outfit was sometimes referred to as “a tightly knit group of loosely knit people.”

On with the story…

Questions Again Follow Mayfield as Series Returns to Daytona

Mike Lovecchio · Friday July 3, 2009

“That’s probably why I couldn’t maintain myself and do the things I needed to do at the time, because personally I lost my spirit in all of it. I fought a lot of things for a year. That’s all behind me now, but that’s something nobody ever knew. So while I was getting beat up on the racing side of it, nobody knew what was happening personally. I should have never brought that up, but that was something, I know why I wasn’t racing. I could have run trucks, I could have run other things and chose not to do that. I wasn’t in it anymore, but now I’m fired up.”

Excited About New Driver, Car, Specialty Racing Looking Forward

Nuts for Nationwide
Bryan Davis Keith · Friday July 3, 2009

After Brandon Whitt decided to step down as the driver of the No. 61 Specialty Racing Ford in the Nationwide Series ranks last week, ARCA Re/Max Series standout Matt Carter was tabbed as the team’s new driver.

And just as his former ARCA owner, Larry Clement, couldn’t control his enthusiasm about having Carter return to his ARCA team for that series’ upcoming race at Iowa Speedway on the Inside ARCA radio program Wednesday, Specialty Racing owner/crew chief Doug Taylor was equally high on the new talent behind the wheel of his Ford.

Sprint Cup | Nationwide Series | Camping World Trucks| Tracks PR | ARCA, IRL and more

Friday Ford Daytona Advance, Glen Wood Hall of Fame Nomination

Thursday Ford Daytona Advance, Biffle

Patrick Sheltra NASCAR Nationwide Series Daytona Final Practice Notes & Quotes

Daytona International Speedway Implements Fan Texting Service For Assistance In Grandstands

Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes - Kust Busch Open Interview - Daytona 2

Thursday Ford Daytona Advance, Kenseth and Edwards

Patrick Sheltra NASCAR Nationwide Series Daytona Practice Notes & Quotes

Wimmer and Newman Switch Races in No. 5 Entry

Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes - Kasey Kahne Open Interview - Daytona 2

Grammy-Nominated ‘Buckcherry’ To Perform Prior To Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola

Colin Braun Gains 10 Positions In June To Crack The Top 10

Smith, Furniture Row Excited About Superspeedway Racing

Juan Pablo Montoya to Appear at DUB Tour Display prior to the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola

Kyle Petty Named Grand Marshal For The Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola

JR Motorsports Announces Scheduling Change for Bristol/Kansas Races

Mayfield Injunction A No-Win Situation for NASCAR Racing, Drug Testing

Bryan Davis Keith · Thursday July 2, 2009

Guess who’s coming to Daytona?

That’d be none other than formerly-suspended Jeremy Mayfield. With high-powered attorney Bill Diehl backing him up, Mayfield was granted a temporary injunction that will allow him to return to competition as early as this weekend’s races in Daytona Beach. And while Diehl was quick to label the court’s finding in Mayfield’s favor as an “independence day” for his client, it is really really hard to take anything positive from this latest twist in what has become a black-eye saga for the racing community.

Sure, Mayfield fans will rejoice in getting to see their favorite driver take to the track in the near future and just about everyone (including this writer) will take some satisfaction in seeing NASCAR being taken down a peg or three. But the smiles stop there…because this case has established precedent that no one in their right mind should consider progress.

Voices From the Heartland: Bad Economy Or Bad Decisions?

Jeff Meyer · Thursday July 2, 2009

Hey look, I know times are tough, but has this sport finally reached a point where a man must sell his soul for a sponsor?

I speak mainly of Joe Nemechek, Kevin Conway, Steve and Rusty Wallace and their current sponsors, ExtenZe and US Fidelis respectively.

Now, unless you have been living under a rock the last few years, you know that the television airwaves (or digital signals as it has now become) are filled with offers of magic pills specifically designed to enlarge your penis.

Double-File Restarts Are A Big Hit - Now Let The Kids In For Free

Tommy Thompson · Thursday July 2, 2009

NASCAR is finding out is that a significant number of the ‘new fans’ that they believed they had cultivated during their boom years of the late 1990s up until as recent as three years ago have now deserted them. These were fans that were attracted to the sport via glitzy television promos and race broadcasts—the same type of viewer that once made “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and “Desperate Housewives” a huge ratings success. Those viewers are here today and gone tomorrow.

To the non-initiated—folks that have never heard up-close and personal the rumble of non-muffled race engines charging down the frontstretch at break-neck speeds or became intoxicated by the smell of burnt fuel or hot rubber—the sport truly would look like a bunch of guys driving (albeit fast!) on a freeway and only turning left. They certainly didn’t experience it as a youngster. And these days, even fewer children ever will considering the price of admission.

Fanning the Flames: The Hall Of Fame, The Chase And Mayfield's Big Win

NASCAR Fan Q&A
Matt Taliaferro · Thursday July 2, 2009

I was just putting the finishing touches on this column when word came to me that Jeremy Mayfield’s indefinite suspension had been lifted by U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen in Charlotte. The injunction, which NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said the sanctioning body would not appeal, would allow Mayfield to participate in this weekend’s Coke Zero 400 as an owner, driver or both.

Mayfield will be in Daytona for the weekend’s festivities but will not compete, as the team would have to have a car at the track by 8:00 am or Mayfield would have to find another ride, which has not happened.

I have to admit, I’m frankly shocked by the news. I mean, NASCAR got beat in a court of law? Screw that Richmond ’04 victory, Jeremy, that’s you’re biggest and most unlikely win yet! NASCAR is like the NFL, it just doesn’t lose in court.

Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: Red, White and Checkers

Bryan Davis Keith and Mike Neff · Thursday July 2, 2009

It’s Independence Day weekend! As millions of Americans across the country will be celebrating that hallowed day back in 1776 when our Founding Fathers led the charge in declaring themselves free from a tyrannical foe (only back then it was a foreign government, not domestic), stock car racing will be celebrating a return to its most hallowed grounds: the Daytona International Speedway. Restrictor plate racing under the lights on the Fourth of July is a guaranteed recipe for fireworks, and the Frontstretch Fantasy Insider will make sure they’re going off in your pit stall Saturday night.

Did You Notice? ... Ganassi Kept The Wrong Guy, Logano's A Little Too Shy, And Money Talks

Thomas Bowles · Wednesday July 1, 2009

Did You Notice? … That for all the Joey Logano hype, not everyone is jumping on the bandwagon quite yet? Certainly, Sunday’s race was a bonified step in the right direction for establishing the 19-year-old as a national superstar. But while Logano shattered the record for being the youngest race winner in NASCAR history, what we’ve yet to see from him – and what I’m excited to see develop – is his personality. What we’re witnessing, folks, for better or for worse is a driver who could very well turn out to be the dominant Sprint Cup force over the next decade. And because of that, it’s critically important that a sport more and more people are referring to as “vanilla” gets its next superstar packaged with a little extra spice of personality.

Mirror Driving: Logano A Legend Already?, Loudon's Last Gasp, And Who's Hall of Fame Worthy

Frontstretch Staff · Wednesday July 1, 2009

Joey Logano’s surprise win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway made him the youngest driver ever to win a Sprint Cup race. Where does his season rank among other active drivers’ rookie campaigns?

Jeff: Well, he’s probably the highest paid … But I am not surprised.
Beth: He has actually surprised me.

No News Is Bad News: Dark Days Still Loom On The Horizon For NASCAR

Vito Pugliese · Wednesday July 1, 2009

After taking last week off after covering the LifeLock 400 at Michigan, there have been a few stories floating around that provided some ammo for this week’s column. Some are the same retreads we’ve all heard before, but regardless of what information has come to light, the answers remain the same. Even after spending a weekend as a garage area imbed (yes, that’s right – I didn’t leave out an “r”), there are some things in NASCAR that I don’t understand.

Now I know what you’re going to say. “No kidding Vito, your columns every week are proof positive of that.” While that very well might be true (and funny), the weekly news items that pop up give me pause for reflection. Literally.

Top Ten Reasons New Hampshire Was the Only Race This Year To See a Ratings Increase

Jeff Meyer · Wednesday July 1, 2009

10. It’s the week before the Fourth of July, and most folks stayed home this weekend so they could afford to go out.

9. Most of “Junior Nation” cashed in their “end of the month beer cans” and got their cable reconnected.

Frontstretch Sprint Cup Power Rankings : Top 15 After New Hampshire

Frontstretch Staff · Wednesday July 1, 2009

Mother Nature interfered in yet another race this season, causing some drivers who don’t normally run in the top 15 to come home with quality finishes at New Hampshire. Joey Logano was perhaps the happiest of all to see the raindrops, becoming the youngest driver ever to win a Cup race at just 19 years old. But was setting the record with a little extra gas enough fuel for the experts to vote him inside our poll’s top 15? On the flip side, many of this year’s Chase contenders struggled through a jumbled finish that had them losing several spots in the final running order. Did that cause them to fall a few more notches down the Frontstretch ladder?

Well, you’ll just have to read below to find the answers. Check out this week’s top 15 rankings to see if your driver found gold at the end of the rainbow — or if his hopes were just left out in the rain at the Magic Mile.

Beyond the Cockpit: Bobby Labonte on Adjusting, Winning, and... Shooting The Truck?

Amy Henderson · Tuesday June 30, 2009

At a time when veteran drivers are becoming a thing of the past in NASCAR, Bobby Labonte is the rare fortysomething who’s remained a fixture in the series. Indeed, the sport has changed quite a bit since the Texan captured his lone Cup title nine years ago — but one thing that hasn’t is how hard it is to win races and championships. In fact, Labonte says, it’s tougher than ever these days, evidenced by a slump of his own that’s gone on far longer than anyone might have expected. He last visited Victory Lane at Homestead in November, 2003, and has yet to make the Chase since the playoff began one year later. This season to date has been the worst of his career statistically, as he’s got just one top 10 finish and ranks 28th in the standings in his first year driving the No. 96 Ford.

Still, Labonte’s NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup titles stand as a NASCAR record — no other driver can lay claim to both. Amy Henderson sat down with Labonte to discuss whether that mark will ever be broken, why his season has been such a struggle, and how a little fun involving two brothers and a pickup truck may have been the coolest thing that’s ever happened in his life.

Talking NASCAR TV: Loudon Telecasts Marked By Bill Weber's Departure In The Booth

Phil Allaway · Tuesday June 30, 2009

Greetings, race fans. This past weekend, all three of NASCAR’s major series were in action. The Truck Series was in Millington, TN at the Memphis Motorsports Park for the MemphisTravel.com 200 presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts. Meanwhile, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series were both in Loudon, NH for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 and Camping World RV Sales 200 presented by Turtle Wax, respectively. The NASCAR Camping World East Series and NASCAR Whelen Modified Series also provided additional support; but unfortunately, those races didn’t get the coverage they deserved this past weekend.

I should say that the Camping World East Series was televised on HDNet, but there were still a whole a lot of people who didn’t get a chance to see it.

The Frontstretch

Don't miss this week's edition!

Frontstretch Podcast - The Mayfield Mess

The Frontstretch Foto Funnies! Loudon, June 2009

Greatness Is Made Of Many Things

Holding A Pretty Wheel
Amy Henderson · Friday July 3, 2009