 |
 |
 |
NASCAR Will Use New Spoiler At Martinsville
posted by Jay Pennell
Wednesday March 17, 2010
During a press conference for the Sprint All-Star Race in Charlotte, N.C. today, NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton confirmed the Sprint Cup Series would officially make the transition to the rear spoiler beginning with the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway. Pemberton said 83 spoilers had been sent to the teams on Monday. Teams tested the new rear spoiler on Tuesday at the Talladega Superspeedway, where the cars reached speeds well over 200mph in the draft. Throughout the test, NASCAR tried different combinations of spoiler height and restrictor plate size. Next week there is a two-day (Tuesday and Wednesday) test planned at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, where over 50 teams are scheduled to participate. Along with the return of the rear spoiler, Pemberton explained NASCAR is still working on other changes to the aero package on the Sprint Cup cars that will go into effect at all the tracks, possibly starting as soon as Texas in April.
High speeds in Talladega at first CoT spoiler test
posted by Doug Turnbull
Tuesday March 16, 2010
The highly anticipated first official spoiler test for the Car of Tomorrow may be noteworthy for other reasons. In an attempt to break up the large packs of cars, a notorious characteristic for restrictor plate tracks like Talladega, NASCAR allowed teams to try plates with larger holes – they started with a record size plate of 66/64th of an inch before shortening to 62/64ths of an inch after speeds were listed as too high. Just how high did those speeds go? Sources tell Frontstretch.com that this change, combined with the replacement of the rear wing with the traditional spoiler and the lowering of the front edge of the rear quarterpanels on both sides of the race car, allowed cars to approach straightaway speeds of up to 208 mph and average laps over the 200 mph mark. To set a mark for comparison, Juan Pablo Montoya’s April 2009 Talladega pole speed was 188.171 mph. Since speeds were in the 200 mph range, the same source says that NASCAR may consider having teams change the gear ratios on the cars, instead of decreasing the plate holes going forward, so the packs will remain broken up. Interestingly enough, the higher speeds come in light of the infamous Brad Keselowski-Carl Edwards race car flipping episode at Atlanta Motor Speedway two weeks ago, Ryan Newman’s incredible end-over-end flip at Talladega last October, and Keselowski turning Edwards airborne into the Talladega frontstretch catchfence last April. Read Wednesday’s Frontstretch.com Newsletter for more details on the Talladega spoiler test.
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. |
||
 |
Check in with Matt and Jay on their site at CareyandCoffey.com.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Subscribe to The Frontstretch Newsletter |
| Visit this group |
Miss out on your favorite driver's report card / season preview? Just click the link above and you can find them all archived together!
Side By Side: Should Kyle Busch And Carl Edwards Have Been Penalized?
Phil Allaway and Vito Pugliese · Thursday August 28, 2008
Editor’s Note : The following is a special edition of Frontstretch’s Side By Side. Occasionally throughout the season, two of your favorite Frontstretch writers will duke it out in a debate concerning one of NASCAR’s biggest stories. Don’t let us be the only ones to speak our minds, though… be sure to read both sides and let us know what you think about the situation in the comment section below!
Today’s Question: Following Saturday’s on-track altercation after the race between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, NASCAR chose to penalize both drivers for their transgressions. On Wednesday, they announced the two men would be put on probation for six straight races — although they determined there’d be no fines or loss of points for either of them. Did the sport stop short by not producing a harsher penalty? Or should Busch and Edwards have never been penalized at all?
The Penalties Didn’t Go Far Enough — For Kyle Busch
Phil Allaway
On Wednesday, NASCAR placed Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch, the top two drivers in the Sprint Cup point standings, on probation for the next six races for their antics on Saturday night. At first glance, the sheer equality of the penalties itself is what seems to be the most unfair. Sure, Edwards pulled the bump and run on Busch to start this whole mess; but that was relatively minor compared to Busch’s inappropriate reaction.
While the move wasn’t “clean” racing, any typical driver in Busch’s shoes should have simply taken it like a man and just went about their business. It’s not like Edwards’ bump on lap 470 resulted in Busch crashing — he still finished a strong second, and had enough time to run Edwards back down if only his car was handling as good. Historically, this type of maneuver is typical at Bristol — even with the new repaving job — and the point leader should have expected something like this. But instead of taking it all in stride, Busch decided to essentially ram Edwards after the checkered flag in a display of petulance not seen in the Sprint Cup Series in quite awhile. It was the motorsports equivalent of throwing a hissy fit — and Busch should have paid for it.
But instead, he’s on “probation” — a penalty that doesn’t really, well, have you “paying” for anything. I am generally not in agreement with these probation penalties to either driver, due to the fact that they’re kind of empty on the surface. As we’ve seen so many times before, being put on probation in NASCAR is akin to being told, “Don’t do that again.” It is less than or equal to a slap on the wrist, one with little to no backbone behind it that doesn’t really do much of anything for anyone. Based on what I’ve seen from NASCAR over the past few years, it’s actually debatable whether penalties levied to drivers on probation are any stricter than those given to drivers not on probation. If you’re going to penalize the drivers, penalize them legitimately by some sort of tangible consequence. Hit them in the wallet, hard — with the edict that the fine comes directly from their personal bank accounts instead of letting the teams pay the fines for the drivers.
Carl Edwards was never called into a meeting with NASCAR officials to even explain his role in a post-race incident at Bristol; does that make his sudden probation unfair?
As for this specific incident, you could make the argument that Edwards started this whole conflict with the slight bump of the No. 18 on lap 470. However, Busch was clearly the aggressor afterwards. Yes, Edwards eventually spun out Busch after he became tired of Busch’s antics — but everyone has a breaking point in these types of situations. Busch probably acted more inappropriate than Edwards did here, and should have been punished more. NASCAR’s opinion, based on their decision, seems to be that both drivers’ actions were equally inappropriate — but probation? That’s not going to stop them from doing it again.
Based on the facts shown here, and my personal beliefs on NASCAR intervention in these conflicts, I don’t think Edwards should have been punished to begin with. However, Busch needed a harsher penalty for his actions, such as a fine. Past precedent shows that intentionally spinning someone out on pit road after the race will get a driver a fine of approximately $10,000 and a probationary period. Since this occurred on the track, where no people (outside of race cars) were, I would think a smaller fine right out of Busch’s pocket would suffice — five thousand bucks, paid, before he is allowed entrance to the infield at Auto Club Speedway. That would send a message that this behavior will not be tolerated by drivers in the future, and connect it to the appropriate punishments inflicted by such behaviors in the past.
So, We Can’t Even Bump Into Each Other At Bristol Now?
Vito Pugliese
Earlier this week, I was going to write about how whether or not Kyle Busch vs. Carl Edwards was the rivalry that NASCAR needed — and it seems to be working. Their mutual dust up following the completion of the Sharpie 500 last weekend at Bristol served to ignite the fires in a vain attempt at injecting some much needed excitement in what has been a very beige, boring, and bland season. During Edwards’ victory lap, Busch ran up into the side of him a couple of times, and Edwards responded by turning down the track and spinning Busch out at what appeared to be a teeth-sucking 45 mph.
As a result, Kyle Busch was summoned to the officials’ trailer, but not before he got in his digs on Edwards with a Mr. Ed quote heard around the NASCAR world. Following Edwards’ unapologetic remark that all he would do differently next time is hit him harder, both were slapped with a six-race probation. Considering the broad scope of the incident, some are wondering if the penalties were not harsh enough.
Are you kidding?
The contact between Busch and Edwards was about the only remarkable thing about that 3.5-hour snoozefest over the weekend at Bristol. What once was the most exciting and anticipated race of the year had degenerated into little more than Michigan on concrete. There were all of five lead changes among three drivers, and Busch and Edwards combined to lead 499 laps. Competition, this isn’t. If we can’t have cars that don’t look like one another, is it too much to ask to have races that have some different aspects and attributes to them instead?
Part of NASCAR’s goal for the 2008 season was to “get back to their roots.” If getting back to you roots means a lead change once every two hours at Bristol, then spare me. But if it means letting guys rough each other up a little bit at the track that was once synonymous with, “rubbin’s racin,” then by all means, have at it! The whole point of Bristol used to be about settling old scores, getting back at a guy who did you wrong three weeks ago, beating, banging, and close short track racing. Had it not been for the Bristol of old, the term “rattle his cage” would never have been thrust into our racing lexicon, Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch would have never enjoyed their two year long feud, and Rusty Wallace would have never chucked a water bottle at Dale Earnhardt, Sr.
With that in mind, the whole concept of penalties for these two’s post-race antics are pretty silly if you think about it. Is this really what NASCAR has become? What once was an underground sport, whose most compelling and endearing quality was that it was politically incorrect and unabashedly proud of it, has devolved into a tit-for-tat festival of rules and regulations? “Oh no, someone’s radio chatter picked up a curse word! We must fine them! That driver gave that guy the finger, he should be put on probation! There is a scuffle in the pits, everybody is suspended for this race weekend! WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?!!!”
Please, just stop. Stop the madness.
I still have a souvenir Cup from a trip to Thunder Valley with my buddy Ryan back in 2000. It clearly states, “Bristol: Racin’ The Way It Oughta Be!” Well for God sakes, let them race, run into each other, beat, bang, and rough each other up a little bit. Why does everything need to be fined, policed, or patrolled? The golden rule is alive and well in auto racing more so than anyplace else. Thankfully, unlike many things, NASCAR gets this, and is at least letting this pass with little more than an innocuous “probation” period of six races…whatever that means. Hopefully, this act of logic and common sense is not their only use of good judgment for 2008. This season is in dire need of some excitement, and if the best track on the circuit can’t give it to us — we need a rivalry that can.
Contact Phil Allaway
Contact Vito Pugliese
LOOKING FOR FREE NASCAR NEWS AND COMMENTARY SENT RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. The Frontstretch Newsletter is back in action for 2010, giving you more of the daily news, commentary, and NASCAR features from your favorite writers you know and love. Don’t waste another minute – click here to sign up and get all the information you need. We’re here to make sure you start 2010 off on the right foot … so make sure you jump on for the ride!
©2000 - 2008 Phil Allaway and Vito Pugliese and Frontstetch.com. Thanks for visiting the Frontstretch!
