Pace Laps

_Did you miss an event during this busy week in racing? How about a late-night press release, an important sponsorship rumor, or a juicy piece of news? If you did, you’ve come to the right place! Each week, The Frontstretch will break down the racing, series by series, to bring you the biggest stories that you need to watch going forward for the week ahead. Let our experts help you get up to speed, no matter what series you might have missed, all in this edition of Pace Laps!_

*Sprint Cup: It IS Where You Start – That’s Where You Finish* Matt Kenseth’s dominating Cup victory at Kansas, leading 163 of 267 laps hardly came as a surprise. After all, the No. 20 team had already won Las Vegas, establishing themselves as a threat on intermediates and been in contention at virtually every race this year.

_Did you miss an event during this busy week in racing? How about a late-night press release, an important sponsorship rumor, or a juicy piece of news? If you did, you’ve come to the right place! Each week, The Frontstretch will break down the racing, series by series, to bring you the biggest stories that you need to watch going forward for the week ahead. Let our experts help you get up to speed, no matter what series you might have missed, all in this edition of Pace Laps!_

*Sprint Cup: Truex’s Tough Out* Saturday’s Texas triumph, with Kyle Busch shooting towards the skies left Martin Truex, Jr. in the shadows, deep in thought over another lost trip to Victory Lane. This moment was supposed to be his; after 142 laps led, the Toyota driver seemed poised for an easy victory until a late caution opened the door for his competition. Onto pit road, the race cars went and when it was over? Truex was in second place.

_Did you miss an event during this busy week in racing? How about a late-night press release, an important sponsorship rumor, or a juicy piece of news? If you did, you’ve come to the right place! Each week, The Frontstretch will break down the racing, series by series, to bring you the biggest stories that you need to watch going forward for the week ahead. Let our experts help you get up to speed, no matter what series you might have missed, all in this edition of Pace Laps!_

*Sprint Cup: Johnson Reaches Martinsville Milestone* Jimmie Johnson’s dominance at Martinsville continued Sunday, and this win was a particularly memorable one for the 37-year-old Californian as he broke a tie with Jeff Gordon to become the winningest active driver at the Cup Series’ shortest track. Johnson’s win was his eighth, which also puts him third all-time at the track, behind Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty. Gordon and Rusty Wallace are next on that list with seven apiece.

*Sprint Cup: Clarifying The Hamlin Substitution Mess* How crazy has it been to put a replacement driver in the Fex Ex Toyota? Full-time regular Denny Hamlin tweeted on Friday, “This just in.. I’ll give away the Driver’s Seat to the #11 car at ‘Dega to one of my followers.”

All joking aside, it has been difficult to follow, a story that’s been evolving since the first hint of a long-term injury last Monday morning. So for those who haven’t been on it, 24/7 here’s where the situation stands now for each driver involved.

*Sprint Cup: The Latest On Hamlin’s Health* The week off for NASCAR’s top series couldn’t have come at a better time for Denny Hamlin. Hospitalized after his last-lap wreck with Joey Logano, Hamlin will stay there through at least Monday morning as a precaution. While no specific injuries have been announced, his back – which he’s had problems with in the past – remains a primary concern after head-on contact with the inside wall off Turn 4.

It should be noted that area, before the start of pit road is not equipped with a SAFER Barrier. That left Hamlin susceptible at a track whose speeds reach upwards of 205 miles an hour on the straightaways — roughly 5-10 MPH faster than you’d see at Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR requires that every Sprint Cup oval has some degree of those barriers installed, on the outside walls but has no such requirements for other areas within the track.