November 2nd - November 6th, 2009
Don't miss this week's edition!
Frontstretch Podcast: Just how good is Jimmie Johnson?
Check in with Matt and Jay on their site at CareyandCoffey.com.
- 2008 Driver Review Schedule
Miss out on your favorite driver's report card / season preview? Just click the link above and you can find them all archived together! - This week on the Frontstretch!
Looking to see when and where your favorite columns (and columnists) pop up every week? Click here to find out all the details! - Advertise With Us!
Want your products and services to be a part of one of the fastest growing racing website on the net? Get all your questions answered about advertising here. - Write for Us
Think you have what it takes to write for the Frontstretch? Follow this link for more information on how you can become a weekly columnist for the site! - Driver Diary Schedule
Want to know when your favorite drivers are telling their latest stories to the Frontstretch? Check out the schedule link to figure out when Scott Speed, David Starr, James Buescher, and Kenny Wallace are stopping by.
|
| Subscribe to The Frontstretch Newsletter |
| Visit this group |
1. Matt’s Momentum – Matt Kenseth has had a great second half of the Chase, posting finishes of 5th, 4th, 2nd, 3rd, and 1st in the last five races – an average finish of 3.0. Six races ago, Kenseth was 12th in the points – Sunday, he finished the season in 4th. With all the talk about how critical it is to carry momentum to Daytona, you have to figure Kenseth must be feeling pretty good about the ’08 season ahead.
2. Countdown Clock – If you’re already starting to worry about withdrawal during the offseason, there are places on the ‘net already featuring Daytona 500 Countdown Clocks – it’s just 90 days and counting! And don’t forget that the Bud Shootout is a week earlier this year, running on February 9th, 2008.
3. Proper Props – NASCAR’s eternally unanswered question – how much of a racer’s success is the car and how much is the driver – seems to be affecting the kind of praise that Jimmie Johnson should be getting by now. He has 33 wins and two Nextel Cup titles in just six seasons, but you rarely hear him spoken of as one of the “greats” of the sport. Mark Martin (by way of comparison) has 35 wins and no championships in 23 full-time seasons. Is it because fans give more credit to Johnson’s ride than they do to him?
4. Short-track Shortage – On tonight’s Wind Tunnel program, announcer Mike Joy was asked what concerns him about the current state of motorsports. He replied that he’s worried about the welfare of short tracks around the country, because that’s where the future driving talent comes from. Really? Try telling that to Jacques Villeneuve, Patrick Carpentier, Juan Pablo Montoya, Marcos Ambrose, A.J. Allmendinger, Sam Hornish, Jr. … et al.
5. Kasey’s Conflict – Guess by now you’ve read that Kasey Kahne was allegedly involved in a scuffle with a security guard at Homestead on Friday, resulting in him being briefly handcuffed and detained by police who are still investigating the incident. This comes shortly after Kahne inexplicably dyed his hair black and a week after he said of his run at Phoenix, “I drove like an idiot all day.” Success in NASCAR can be quite fleeting, and the swing from a six-win season in ’06 to a winless season in ’07 seems to be taking a toll on Kasey. But it does put that one Allstate commercial in a whole new light, doesn’t it?
6. SPEED Plea – Dear SPEED TV, I really enjoy your NASCAR RaceDay show – but next year could you please, PLEASE, drop Ricki Rachtman from the act? ‘Nuf said.
7. Speaking of SPEED TV – I have long asserted that Dave Despain does not do a very good job of concealing his dislike for NASCAR and its fans – which makes me wonder why he hosts so much of their NASCAR programming. For a very insightful commentary on the subject, I recommend today’s column at “The Daly Planet” – http://dalyplanet.blogspot.com/2007/11/dave-despain-shows-his-nascar-distain.html.
8. Hendrick History – Of course, you never know what you’re going to hear on the pre-race programming when ABC/ESPN is in charge, but was it really necessary this morning to mention that Rick Hendrick pled guilty to one count of mail fraud in 1997? Not only is it 10-year-old news, but Hendrick received a full pardon by President Bill Clinton in 2000.
9. Light Pole – With Coors Light being named the Official Beer of NASCAR, the Bud Pole Award becomes the Coors Light Pole Award in 2008. How long do you think it will take before people start referring to the pole sitter as having won the “Light Pole”?
10. Fond Farewells – Here are just a few of the people and things we’re saying goodbye to with the end of the 2007 season: Ricky Rudd and Dale Jarrett as full-time Cup drivers, Robert Yates as a Cup team owner, the names “Nextel Cup Series” and “Busch Series,” the Chevy Monte Carlo, Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving the No. 8 car, Tony Stewart and the other JGR drivers in Chevys, and the current Cup car. Your thoughts?
Do you want the chance to win a free Frontstretch T-Shirt, and are you really good at talking about NASCAR? Well, we have the perfect opportunity for you. Our staff will be giving away a free T-Shirt to the reader who makes the best post in our Frontstretch Forum between now and the end of the season. So, what makes a good post? It’s pretty hard to impress us, but here are some things we are looking for:
Does your post spark passionate reactions from other readers? Are you commenting on meaningful NASCAR-related events? Do your posts have substance? In other words, “Dale Jr. is the best driver ever” or “Danica Patrick is hot” will not cut it.
So go to the Frontstretch Forums, post early, post often, and post well! We’ll announce the winner following the final race of the season at Homestead.
©2000 - 2008 Becca Gladden and Frontstetch.com. Thanks for visiting the Frontstretch!
