Phil Allaway

Contact Phil

Phil Allaway, the newest addition to the Frontstretch roster, is in his final year of college at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 23, 1984, but grew up in the Upstate New York town of North Greenbush, which is a small suburb of Albany. Prior to writing for The Frontstretch, Phil Allaway has only worked at a hospital in Troy, New York as a film librarian (originally file clerk, where he still works today when he’s home from school). He is in charge of keeping all the X-rays, MRI’s, Mammograms, CT Scans and other exams in order and where they should be. This sounds like a fairly easy job, and it is, but it can be a lot of work.

However, Phil Allaway’s experience in watching NASCAR (and racing on television in general) is far more extensive. Phil discovered the series now known as the Sprint Cup Series on August 14, 1988 (got that date from racing-reference.info) while watching television with his father. He came upon the Bud at the Glen on ESPN and Phil was enthralled. Phil’s immediate family members are not fans of the sport (with the slight exception of his father, who will watch some of the big races every now and then), so they did not understand Phil’s fixation with the sport. Phil was hooked, but didn’t know the schedule, so he could only watch the races whenever he was lucky enough to come upon them. This changed in 1991, when he finally figured out the schedule and could determine when the races were run, and on what channel. He also had his first race taped for him when his mother taped the Daytona 500 for him that year while he went to New York City to go see the New York Knicks take on the Detroit Pistons (his favorite basketball team at the time, who were without Isiah Thomas that day (his favorite player at the time, who was injured)). After this point, Phil began watching NASCAR on a more regular basis. He could not watch all the races until 1996 because his cable system, for some reason, did not carry TBS for the longest time. As for favorite drivers, Phil believes that at first, beginning fans latch onto whatever driver (or driver’s car) they first see, or whoever is being talked about. This resulted in him briefly being a fan of Geoff Bodine, then Dale Earnhardt, and Ricky Craven before settling on Johnny Benson.

As for hobbies, when Phil is not talking about motorsports, watching them, or viewing them, he likes to spend time with his buddies, watch sports, play video games, play a little Golf (however, he’s not very good) and ride his road bicycle (the kind with the skinny tires). He hopes to make writing about motorsports into a full-time career. In addition, he also hopes to be able to build more endurance on his bike, while at the same time being able to ride faster. His personal long distance at the moment is 51.5 miles (in June 2005) and his typical cruise speed on flat land is between 12-17 mph.

When You Can See Phil’s Frontstretch Columns :
Sprint Cup Race Recap : Mondays (Newsletter)

Phil’s Favorite Non-Racing Sites He Recommends

ESPN’s Page 2 – Great site for sports coverage, and some humor as well. I almost wish that the Bucks don’t hire Bill Simmons as their GM because I won’t get to read his columns anymore.
Digital Press – If you’re a video game nut, this is the place to go. This can’t miss site has been around since way back in 1991. Also, they have a sweet store in Clifton, New Jersey if you’re ever there.
Deadspin –A great sports blog. The creator recently released a book that’s fairly good.
Facebook –Not as good as it once was when it still required a college e-mail address in order to be eligible to have a profile(and a lot more contained), but still a lot less annoying to use than MySpace (Regardless, I still have profiles on both).
GameFAQs –The place to go to find guides to nearly video game in your library. Everything from Super Mario Brothers to the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game (1989, on the NES, very difficult) to the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon series and beyond.
USGS -For the acquisition of topographic quadrangle maps. The maps are much easier to obtain by purchasing direct from the USGS than finding them on your own. Phil is admittedly a nut for maps in general, but also uses them to help plan routes for bike rides.

Q & A With Phil Allaway

What Is Your Favorite Sports Team? : The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (not a fan of the new name thought up by Arte [Moreno, the owner]), but I like the overall scrappiness of the team, even though this has decreased since David Eckstein went to the Cardinals. Years ago, this used to be the New York Knickerbockers, but the games have become hard to watch ever since Isiah Thomas took over the team and screwed it up royally.

What Is Your Favorite TV Show(s)? : South Park, Family Guy, The Simpsons, PTI (Pardon the Interruption, when both Mike and Tony are there)

How Many Sprint Cup Events Have You Attended? : Four; 1995 Miller Genuine Draft 500 (Pocono, July), 1998 Bud at the Glen (Watkins Glen), 1998 Farm Aid on CMT 300 (Loudon, August), 2006 AMD @ the Glen (Watkins Glen)

What Is Your Favorite Racing Memory? : I don’t have one particular memory, but here are a few I can think of (in no particular order): 1988 Bud at the Glen (when I discovered the series), 1993 Daytona 500, 1995 Goody’s 500 (Bristol, August, for obvious reasons including staying up until 1am to catch the finish), 1996 Busch Pole Qualifying, Watkins Glen (for Earnhardt winning the pole with the broken bones and his quote afterwards), 2002 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400, Rockingham (October, when Benson got his one and only Winston Cup victory)

What Was Your Favorite Cup Series Racecar? : 1987 Buick LeSabre. Those things could have been dominant if more upper echelon teams had run them. As it stands, it was the Stavola Brothers, a mid-pack King Racing and a couple of part-time teams that ran the car.

What Is Your Favorite Food? : Tuna Casserole, made by my mother (Man, that’s good).

Past articles by Phil Allaway

November 2009

11/17: Talking NASCAR TV: The Championship Is A Big Story -- But Not THAT Big [7]

11/10: Talking NASCAR TV: ESPN, We Know Johnson Wrecked. Thank You... [15]

11/03: Talking NASCAR TV: Slight Problems Affect Telecasts; Rules Hurt More [15]

October 2009

10/29: Fanning the Flames: Taking Chad Knaus Away, Loosening Lugnuts, And Chase Venting [5]

10/27: Talking NASCAR TV: ESPN Should Promote Nationwide-Only Drivers While Showing Us More Backbone [12]

10/20: Talking NASCAR TV: Knights of Standards and Practices, Please Report to the SPEED Stage [9]

10/13: Talking NASCAR TV: Rough Weekend For Racing Broadcasters Across The Board [3]

10/06: Talking NASCAR TV: ESPN Coverage Excellent At Kansas ... Until The Green Flag Dropped [5]

September 2009

09/29: Talking NASCAR TV: Dover A Repeat of Past Issues For ABC/ESPN [7]

09/22: Talking NASCAR TV: ESPN ... Chase ... Overload [9]

09/15: Talking NASCAR TV: "Chasing" Diverts Too Much Attention From "Racing" At Richmond [7]

09/08: Talking NASCAR TV: Poor Post-Race Aside, ESPN Atlanta Telecasts Show Improvement [6]

09/01: From The Track To Your TV: An Inside Look At How ESPN NASCAR Broadcasts Tick [11]

09/01: Talking NASCAR TV: ESPN Endures The Montreal Marathon [2]

August 2009

08/25: Talking NASCAR TV: Strong Pre-Race Show At Bristol, But In-Race Improvements Needed For ESPN [5]

08/18: Talking NASCAR TV: Backseat Drivers Bring Different Feel To ESPN's Booth At Michigan [7]

08/11: Marcos Ambrose's Pit Strategy Doomed His Chances at Watkins Glen

08/10: Beyond the Cockpit: Andy Lally

08/06: Talking NASCAR TV: Lack of Focus Hurts ESPN Broadcasts [4]

July 2009

07/28: Talking NASCAR TV: ORP Good, IMS Bad As ESPN Jumps Back Into Double-Duty [4]

07/21: Talking NASCAR TV: Nationwide Shines, But SPEED Fails to Recognize Start and Park Presence [3]

07/14: Talking NASCAR TV: Lack of On-Track Action Hurts All Broadcasts at Chicagoland [9]

07/07: Talking NASCAR TV: Punch Mails In The Nationwide Race While TNT Shines [7]

June 2009

06/30: Talking NASCAR TV: Loudon Telecasts Marked By Bill Weber's Departure In The Booth [11]

06/23: Talking NASCAR TV: Action Overload for TNT [4]

06/16: Talking NASCAR TV: Bill Weber, You Lied To Us [18]

06/09: Talking NASCAR TV: TNT's First Effort of the Year Promising, But Issues Remain [7]

06/02: Talking NASCAR TV: Grading FOX's 2009 Season, And...What's Stopping The Scrolls? [8]

May 2009

05/26: Talking NASCAR TV: Impartiality Needs To Be Worked On Across All Fronts [8]

05/19: Talking NASCAR TV: All-Star Race Not The Best Showcase For SPEED [3]

05/12: Talking NASCAR TV: Some Thoughts About In Car Cameras In Between Spotty Darlington Coverage [10]

05/05: Talking NASCAR TV: FOX Forgets Important Pit Road Injury During Kyle Busch Coronation [25]

April 2009

04/28: Talking NASCAR TV: FOX "Back Of The Pack" Battles No Laughing Matter For Fans [11]

04/21: Talking NASCAR TV: Jump the Shark [7]

04/14: Talking NASCAR TV: Creative Approach To Practice Makes ESPN Shine At Nashville ... Until Nemechek's Flip [1]

04/07: Talking NASCAR TV: Digger Returns... But That's Not The Only Problem With Texas Coverage [6]

March 2009

03/31: Talking NASCAR TV: FOX Needs To Cover More Than Just The Cars Up Front [12]

03/24: Talking NASCAR TV: Digger's Bristol Disappearance, Lazy Legends Coverage, And Screwy Scrolls [5]

03/17: Talking NASCAR TV: Grading NASCAR Smarts On SPEED ... With This Week In NASCAR Thrown In [5]

03/10: Talking NASCAR TV: Aching Over FOX's Graphical Gremlins In Atlanta [9]

03/03: Talking NASCAR TV: My Pre-Race Cup Runneth Over -- How To Fix It, And Other Vegas Notes [2]

February 2009

02/24: Talking NASCAR TV: Race Coverage at Fontana Improves ... But Digger Still Lurks In The Shadows [15]

02/17: Talking NASCAR TV: SPEEDing Through A Critique of Daytona 500 Week in 3,000 Words or Less [4]

02/10: Talking NASCAR TV: Verizon Uses FOX To Work Around Sponsorship Ban [5]

02/03: Talking NASCAR TV: Four Big Offseason Changes For 2009 [1]

October 2008

10/07: Tires at Talladega: What Caused the Failures? [16]

September 2008

09/01: Thinkin' Out Loud Like Matt McLaughlin : Pepsi 500 [11]

August 2008

08/05: Talking NASCAR TV: Cup Race Good, But ESPN Stands Alone With Poor Nationwide Coverage In Montreal [5]

June 2008

06/23: Bubble Breakdown: Waltrip Racing Shines While Road Course Ringers Struggle At Sonoma