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Edwards Placed On Probation For Three Races
posted by Jay Pennell
Tuesday March 9, 2010
NASCAR President Mike Helton addressed the media Tuesday afternoon following Sunday’s late-race incident between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Well over 100 laps down, Edwards intentionally spun Keselowski through the tri-oval while Keselowski was running sixth. The No. 12 car lifted in the air and slammed the outside wall with the driver’s side window. NASCAR parked Edwards for his actions and ordered him to the NASCAR hauler for further discussion on the matter. Tuesday, Helton explained Edwards would be placed on probation for the next three races and the drivers and their teams would meet with NASCAR about the situation. “Following that incident we asked the driver of the 99 to visit us in the hauler, and we made it very clear to him that these actions were not acceptable and did go beyond what we said back in January about putting the driving back in the hands of the drivers,” Helton said. “We believe the driver of the 99 understands our position at this point.” For NASCAR, the biggest issue emerging from Sunday’s incident was the fact the No. 12 car lifted into the air. “But the bigger topic is the 12 car getting airborne at a mile-and-a-half track which we typically don’t see,” Helton said. “It’s been years since we’ve seen that. So a lot of our effort yesterday, today and until we find resolve to it is figuring out how it happened, why it happened and what we can do to prevent it from happening in the future.”
Keyed Up and Key Motorsports split
posted by Doug Turnbull
Saturday March 6, 2010
If missing the first three races to date was not enough drama for the No. 90 Keyed Up Motorsports Chevy team and Casey Mears, organizational upheaval may tip the scales. A member with the team tells Frontstretch.com that Raymond Key’s Cup operation, originally formed with ties to Curtis Key’s teams in the Nationwide and Truck Series, has become its own entity. As of Monday, the team began a move into Tommy Baldwin Racing’s old shop while planning to continue trying to qualify on Cup races. However, if sponsorship for the team fails to pan out, Keyed-Up may vie for a partial schedule similar to that of the Wood Brothers and only run about 12 races the rest of the year.
Wood Brothers running FR9 for now, Roush says no big problems with new motor
posted by Doug Turnbull
Saturday March 6, 2010
Ford’s new FR9 motor has not made a speedy entrance to the Sprint Cup Series, mainly because the Ford teams need adequate supplies from the engine parts vendors and not because of performance problems, says team owner Jack Roush. Claiming the engine will perform well over the long-term, he still expects the new design to be “the Ford engine of the future” and fully in use by the end of 2010. While his four Ford teams are not running the revamped engine, Roush revealed that the Wood Brothers Ford team will run the FR9 this weekend at Atlanta and in April at Texas. Beyond that, either Roush nor Ford officials have announced a set schedule for full or future implementation of the power plants.
Crawford says truck team is 'close' on sponsorship
posted by Doug Turnbull
Saturday March 6, 2010
While never a standout in the Camping World Truck Series, Rick Crawford has experienced moderate success over his long career in NASCAR’s third-tier. After losing sponsorship at the end of 2009, his Circle Bar Racing team finds itself on the ropes, wondering how many races the future may hold. The veteran Crawford, though, remains optimistic a deal is imminent. “I would say we’re pretty close on signing a sponsor for the 2010 season and 2011 and beyond. [Not starting 2010 with a sponsor] was a matter of losing a sponsor late last year and [the prospective sponsor] getting its marketing efforts done. We’ve got the contracts ready; we’re waiting to get that signed.” Crawford started 2010 with a DNF at Daytona, placing 28th.
Justin Marks Wins The ARCA Race!
posted by Thomas Bowles
Saturday February 27, 2010
Justin Marks won a rain-shortened event at Palm Beach Saturday, collecting his first ever win in the series. Robb Brent, Blake Koch, Tom Hessert III, and Steve Arpin rounds out the top 5. Stay tuned to Frontstretch.com for plenty of post-race coverage on both the website and our Newsletter.
Looking For ARCA Coverage? We Got It!
posted by Thomas Bowles
Saturday February 27, 2010
While the ARCA race at Palm Beach may not be televised … we’ve got you covered. Our own Bryan Davis Keith is at Palm Beach all weekend and will be posting news, commentary, and features from the Florida road course both on the website and in our newsletter. Don’t miss out! And don’t forget, our own Tom Bowles is spending the weekend in Vegas, too … so we’ve got you covered from all angles. Just another reason why we’re the best seat at the track and the best view on the ‘net!
Carter Simo still plans 2010 Cup races
posted by Doug Turnbull
Friday February 19, 2010
One story lost in the shadow of Speedweeks in Daytona was the absence of Carter Simo Racing’s No. 08 car. Much of the team’s equipment was put up for auction Tuesday; however, a source tells Frontstretch.com the operation still plans to field a car in 2010, with a limited schedule of races TBD. CSR may also try and field a car for the Talladega ARCA race in April; until then, most of the team’s employees have been temporarily released and are working for other teams in the sport. In mid-2009, team owner John Carter bought the assets of beleaguered owner/driver Jeremy Mayfield, using the newly purchased equipment and Toyotas to field entries in five races with two-time champion driver Terry Labonte. Equipment issues kept the team from cracking the top 30 in those races. Road course ringer Boris Said also wielded No. 08 Fords last year at both road course races, scoring the team’s season-best finish of 24th at Infineon. Later on that season, Said and longtime partner Mark Simo split, creating the newly-named Carter Simo racing with Labonte behind the wheel. On Tuesday, CSR only placed the equipment purchased from Mayfield on the block, including five Toyotas, a race hauler, and other pit equipment and tools. However, the source says that the team still owns three old Yates chassis and an old Ganassi piece (all of which they converted to Dodges last year) in the shop, with plans on returning to the track midseason pending sponsorship. The move is similar to what happened with Carter Simo last year, in which they took a four-month break between Daytona and Infineon while preparing to race at specific tracks. CSR, which still splits its time between its shops in Charlotte and in Toccoa, Georgia, just has to modify the top of the noses on their cars before returning to the track, due to a minor, lightly-discussed rules change before the season. As for CSR’s 2009 drivers and whether they will return to the team, Boris Said currently is driving the No. 26 for Bill Jenkins’ Latitude 43 Motorsports, and is working on a long-term deal that should remove him as an option. Terry Labonte is also out of the running; he and former owner Bill Stavola formed Stavola Labonte Racing in 2009, but are currently sidelined due to a lack of sponsorship. According to sources, Labonte was offered but initially turned down a return to the No. 08. A John Carter-owned car did participate in the ARCA race at Daytona on February 6th. Former CSR driver James Hylton borrowed a car from Carter, then leased it to driver Jill George for the race. But George infamously crashed the No. 48 roof-first into the wall just 25 laps into the 80-lap Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, finishing 31st in the 43 car field.
Parrott In As Crew Chief For Kenseth
posted by Jay Pennell
Wednesday February 17, 2010
Less than a week into the 2010 season and Roush Fenway Racing has already made a switch at the crew chief position. News broke on Wednesday that Todd Parrott would take over atop the pit box for the No. 17 team with driver Matt Kenseth, replacing Drew Blickensderfer. The Kenseth-Blickensderfer combination won last year’s Daytona 500 and backed it up by winning the next weekend at the Auto Club Speedway. Despite their strong start out of the box, the No. 17 team failed to live up to expectations in 2009, scoring seven top-5s, 12 top-10s and failing to make, along with missing the Chase. Now after an 8th place finish in Sunday’s Daytona 500, Blickensderfer is headed to the Roush Fenway Racing R&D Department and Parrott is taking over as crew chief.
Danica Out in Daytona
posted by Mike Lovecchio
Saturday February 13, 2010
A lap 79 crash abruptly ended Danica Patrick’s first career NASCAR start Saturday in Daytona. Patrick went a lap down early in the race and later got back on the lead lap on lap 55 via the “Lucky Dog” rule. As she began moving through the field, she was collected in an incident that involved 12 cars. “I’m just going to take away the fact that I know what it’s going to be like out there come next year,” she said. “I felt we would’ve finished strong if we would’ve finished, but as you can see it’s easier said than done.”
Truck Series Race Postponed Until 7:00 PM Saturday
posted by Thomas Bowles
Friday February 12, 2010
It’s official – Friday track activities were washed out by the weather. Not only was Nationwide qualifying pushed back, but the Truck race was postponed, too – they’ll run at 7:00 PM Saturday night. Be sure to come back tomorrow for the latest news ‘n’ notes from the track! |
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Despite Early Off Road Adventure, Allmendinger Posts Top Ten Finish
Mike Ravesi · Monday June 22, 2009
Had you watched qualifying on Friday, you may have been asking yourself, “why did Scott Speed have to qualify on time while John Andretti had a guaranteed spot?NASCAR’s website has Speed in the 35th spot in points and Andretti in 36th.”
The answer is simple; you were looking at the wrong standings. The top 35 rule is based on the owner’s points and not the driver’s points. When Andretti sat out two races to go to Indy for the 500, Front Row Motorsports put Tony Raines in the car. Despite the fact that Scott Speed was able to supass John Andretti in the driver’s points, it was Raines’ efforts that kept the team ahead of Team Red Bull in the owner’s standings. And even though Speed raced at Infineon on Sunday, Team Red Bull didn’t accumulate those owner’s points—NEMCO Motorsports benefitted from his 37th place finish.
Without further ado, here’s your bubble breakdown for Sunday’s Toyota Save Mart 350.
The Good:
The Richard Petty Motorsports’ No. 44 Dodge driven by A. J. Allmendinger posted a career best road course finish, albeit an adventurous one, by overcoming several incidents to finish in the seventh position. Allmendinger got T.V. time early on by going off track on lap 10. His drive through the sand required a pit stop for tires and body damage repairs. Later, just after getting his lap back, a nudge from race leader Denny Hamlin sent him spinning again. Allmendinger gathered it up and managed to stay out of trouble for the remainder of the race. His seventh place finish gave the team a much needed boost—they had fallen all the way to 31st in the owner’s standings.
A.J. Allmendinger posted a career best road course finish on Sunday at Infineon by overcoming several incidents to finish in the seventh position.
Michael Waltrip Racing makes a showing in this week’s ‘good’ section thanks to fill in driver Patrick Carpentier. Team owner Michael Waltrip made the decision to give his seat to the talented road course racer for the weekend…and it paid off big. Despite a little incident on lap 106 in which Carpentier booted Casey Mears, he ran a relatively clean, steady race and ended the day with an 11th place finish. The run was also the best for the No. 55 team since a seventh place run at Daytona.
Rounding out the ‘good’ section is the No. 13 Geico sponsored team owned by Germain Racing and led by driver Max Papis. Papis, a road course specialist, was outstanding on Sunday, coming from the 33rd starting position all the way up to 12th place when the checkered flag flew. Papis and crew chief Peter Suspenzo worked all day to get more forward bite in the car and finally got it to his liking late in the event. The run boosts the team from 46th to 43rd in the owner’s standings despite running only seven races.
The Bad:
Once again Robby Gordon’s finish isn’t indicative of how well he was running. His pit stop on lap 54 put him in position to run with Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne on their cycle and be there at the end with a car that was capable of winning the race. However, contrary to some of the T.V. commentary, Gordon had to stay out a few laps longer than Stewart—Gordon only got 3.8 miles per gallon on their first run and 3.6 miles per gallon on the second run as opposed to the 4.0 mpg the other teams were getting. The caution flag flew right before Gordon’s intended green flag pit stop, ending any real chance he had of winning. Restarting from the rear of the field, a dejected Gordon keyed his radio telling the crew, “Doesn’t matter we ain’t winning this thing. Don’t talk to me anymore”. If that wasn’t enough, he then got caught up in two more incidents, including the final one on lap 113 along with Mark Martin and Jeff Burton.
David Gilliland just had a bad weekend. But I will give him this; he manned up and took responsibility for the practice wreck involving John Andretti that sent his primary car to the hauler. If you missed it, Gilliland ran into the back of Andretti coming off pit road and mushed the front of his car. In the post incident interview, Gilliland said he was turning on some of his blower switches and wasn’t looking where he was going. TRG Motorsports got a car from Martin Truex, Jr’s team…and thanked them by driving into Truex halfway through the race. Gilliland was later caught up in a lap 83 incident with Sam Hornish, Jr. and Boris Said that pretty much finished off any competitive racing he would do for the day. The news wasn’t all bad for TRG Motorsports as Scott Speed failed to make the race TRG Motorsports picked up 67 points on Team Red Bull and closed to within 41 points of 36th place.
Maybe Joe Nemechek is on to something. More often than not this year, the predominately start and park team has raced until the first caution, or less, and then quit. This strategy has netted the team an average finish this season of 38th place. Before this weekend’s race at Infineon, NEMCO Motorsports made a deal with Team Red Bull to put their driver, Scott Speed, in the No. 87 Toyota and their pit crew behind the wall. The result was Scott Speed driving around all afternoon and finishing 37th—one position higher than Nemechek’s average. Speed managed to lead the race for a short stint by staying out when most other teams pitted on lap 77. He then had to pit on lap 81 after contact with the 20 car and spun on lap 108, ending his day. On the bright side, a start and park on Sunday would have netted the team a 41st place finish.
The Ugly:
Team Red Bull’s No. 82 Toyota driven by Scott Speed had a great qualifying run going…right up until Turn 10. Speed overdrove the corner and went into the dirt, causing the Pitcommand tracker that had been bouncing from seventh to ninth place to go all the way back to 41st. He did manage to grab two positions in the last corner but it wasn’t enough. The team failed to qualify for Sunday’s race. This is especially devastating as the team sits in the 36th position in the owner’s standings.
Tommy Baldwin Racing had a “ringer” in the No. 36 Toyota for the weekend and picked up a sponsor that the team said would allow them to run the whole race. Unfortunately they didn’t have an engine able to get through qualifying. Brian Simo had the power plant let go heading into Turn 11, in almost the same spot where Marcos Ambrose’s engine blew during practice. These incidents add fuel to the speculation as to whether or not Toyotas engine department is up to par.
And this wouldn’t be an ugly section if we didn’t mention how long one of the start and part teams didn’t last in the race. Prism Motorsports No. 66 Toyota driven by Dave Blaney finished in the 42nd position, completing just three laps of the event. After the drop if the green flag, Blaney fell immediately to 43rd place and drove directly to the garage without a word after just six miles. Officially, the rear end gave out.
A Look Ahead:
The series moves to Loudon, New Hampshire next week and no one is happier than Michael Waltrip. Last year in this event, not only did the team post a season’s best second place finish, they also won the USG Improving the Finish award, EA Sports Move of the Race award, and the Dow Automotive Strategic Call of the Race award. Waltrip’s team stayed out on the track and was in the right spot when the rains came. His other appearance at Loudon in 2008 resulted in a 25th place run. Loudon, however, isn’t good news for the rest of the bubble drivers: Allmendinger finished 43rd due to a broken oil line; Menard was 29th; Robby Gordon finished 26th and Gilliland 28th. Waltrip is likely to post another top 25 finish but probably no higher than 20th. Allmendinger and Gordon will probably both be in the top 25 also as both have shown improvement in some of their 2009 runs. Assuming Gilliland’s team has enough money to run the whole race, I look for them to post a top 30 finish.
So that’s it for your bubble breakdown for Infineon Raceway. Check back next week to see if Scott Speed can get his own car into the field at Loudon and cut into the margin between himself and Front Row Racing’s No. 34 Chevrolet. And don’t forget to check out the Newsletter during the week, as Phil and I are in a tight head to head battle for our spoiler picks. So until next Monday, so long from the bubble!
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