Tom Bowles - Articles on Frontstretch
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Tom Bowles
Majority Owner and Editor in Chief at Frontstretch

The author of Did You Notice? (Wednesdays) Tom spends his time overseeing Frontstretch’s 40+ staff members as its majority owner and Editor-in-Chief. Based outside Philadelphia, Bowles is a two-time Emmy winner in NASCAR television and has worked in racing production with FOX, TNT, and ESPN while appearing on-air for SIRIUS XM Radio and FOX Sports 1's former show, the Crowd Goes Wild. He most recently consulted with SRX Racing, helping manage cutting-edge technology and graphics that appeared on their CBS broadcasts during 2021 and 2022.

You can find Tom’s writing here, at CBSSports.com and Athlonsports.com, where he’s been an editorial consultant for the annual racing magazine for 15 years.

Did You Notice? … Here Come The Lawsuits, Good Samaritans And NASCAR’s Public Perception

*Did You Notice? …* Daytona International Speedway, along with NASCAR better make some major withdrawals from the bank? Lawyers have been retained for three of the fans injured in the crash, investigating whether they’ll sue both the track and the sanctioning body for negligence. Matt Morgan, of the law firm Morgan & Morgan based out of Florida has taken the case, going national in their quest to publicize their investigation into whether the sport could have done anything to prevent their injuries.

This next wave is where NASCAR’s PR machine, retooled over the last couple of years has to be ready to tackle head-on. It’s notable, in their favor every fan I talked to Sunday at Daytona, including one who had coolant sprayed on his glasses he was so close to where the majority of debris landed had no concerns of returning to the track. The running theme, on the reasonable sample size I spoke with was “fluke accident,” “you can’t live your life in fear” and “you assume a risk when you go to the track.” Heck, some of the fans who got hurt were back the next day attending the Daytona 500 and getting the most out of their money.

Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2013 Budweiser Duel 150s at Daytona

Duel One – Kevin Harvick thought it was time to go, prior to the first green-flag pit stop of the race and he went, blowing by Trevor Bayne on Lap 37. That was pretty much all she wrote. The field spent the rest of the day simply trying to lap up Harvick’s beer exhaust, the Bud Chevy in another time zone just like the Sprint Unlimited Saturday night.

Duel Two – Jeff Gordon led. Then he sped… on pit road, so Kyle Busch pretty much took control from there. Kasey Kahne tried, and failed on the last lap to make a charge as teammate Matt Kenseth served as sacrificial lamb for Busch’s second career Duel victory.

Did You Notice? … The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Of NASCAR 2012

*Did You Notice?…* As the dust begins to settle on the 2012 Sprint Cup season, a look inside the numbers tells you the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly on the state of the sport. Let’s get right to it:

*The Good:* A total of fifteen different drivers won a race this season, roughly one-third of what would compose a 43-car grid in a total that’s roughly in line with previous years. Also, for the second straight season parity took center stage as no driver got more than five wins apiece. Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin, drivers from three different organizations _and_ manufacturers shared the honor. It’s hard to get competition any closer than that; NASCAR hasn’t had league-leading victory totals this low in back-to-back years since 1991-92.