THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
November 19th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CCXXXII
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DONATE TO HELP HURRICANE SANDY VICTIMS
We are three full weeks past Hurricane Sandy's initial impact on the East Coast. However, the suffering continues and help is still needed. If you're in an unaffected area, please consider donating to help others who will spend months rebuilding their lives and their homes after Sandy whipped onshore with winds of 80 miles an hour. Call 1-800-RED-CROSS, visit redcross.org or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation today. Every little bit helps.
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Sprint Cup Race Recap: Gordon gets First win at Homestead; Keselowski Wins Sprint Cup Championship
by Jeff Wolfe
When Brad Keselowski came onto the NASCAR Sprint Cup scene in 2008, there weren’t a lot of questions about his talent. The then 23-year-old proved rather quickly that he had a desire to win and didn’t like it if someone got in his way. There were questions however about his tactics, and yes, even tact, as at times he was called “Bad Brad.”
But over the past three years, driving for Roger Penske, Keselowski has gradually answered those questions about being a potential champion. After Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Keselowski won’t need the word “potential” in front of the word “champion” any longer.
The driver of the No. 2 Dodge finished 15th and while he never challenged for the victory in the 267-lap race, he didn’t have to in capturing his first Sprint Cup title. That’s because Jimmie Johnson, the only driver capable of beating Keselowski for the title, experienced major issues for the second straight week.
Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon was part of a major storyline for the second straight week too, but for pretty much the opposite reason as in Phoenix. Gordon won Sunday’s race, the 87th of his career and second of the year, leaving Kentucky Speedway (which has only had two races) as the lone track he has not won at on the Sprint Cup circuit.
Gordon took the lead for good with 14 laps remaining when leader Kyle Busch had to pit for fuel. Busch, who did not win a race he led the most laps in for the ninth straight time, led 191 laps and finished fourth.
However, it was Keselowski who finished where all Sprint Cup drivers like to be at the end of the season, No. 1 in the points standings.
“Well, I saw this really cool video that (Baltimore Ravens linebacker) Ray Lewis did and, you know, he said in it that you know throughout my whole life I've been told my whole life I'm not big enough, not fast enough, not strong enough, I don't have what it takes and I've used that as a chip on my shoulder to carry me through my whole career, and, you know, it took till this year for me to realize that was right,” Keselowski said. “I'm not big enough, not fast enough, not strong enough. Only a team can do that and these guys up here, they make me big enough. They make me fast enough. They make me strong enough to do anything we want to do and it's because of these guys. I can't be here without them. I really can't.”
Keselowski, who was known for his aggressive driving early in his career, knows he couldn’t have won without the support and sometimes patience of team owner Roger Penske. While Penske has been a top IndyCar owner for nearly 40 years where he’s won 12 titles, Keselowski gave him his first Sprint Cup title two years after giving Penske his first Nationwide title. While Penske first fielded a NASCAR team in 1972, he re-entered the series in earnest in 1991 with Rusty Wallace as his driver. Wallace’s second-place finish in the points in 1993 had been Penske’s best finish before this year.
“This guy Keselowski is something special, and for me it's a lifelong goal when you think about Hendrick, you think about Earnhardt and Childress and Gibbs and just to mention all the guys that have been up there, and we've been close but we've never delivered,” said Penske, who is 75. “But this guy here delivered it for us. Every week all through the year, gave us this championship. Boy, I'll tell you, man, I love you.”
Even though Johnson was behind by 20 points to start the day, the five-time champion and driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet had every intention of making Keselowski earn the title. After struggling a bit early, he found himself in the lead with 55 laps to go.
But a loose lug nut after what would have been his final pit stop caused him to return to pit road, and Johnson was a lap down in 25th-place. Johnson then smelled what he thought was a burning gear, when a possible leak in his oil line caused his cockpit to fill with smoke and end his day.
“It all unraveled pretty quickly,” Johnson said. “You know, the pit road thing, I was just kind of dealing with it, the first two or three laps I got on the track and trying to think through what was going on. Chad had some optimism left in his voice. I wasn't sure why or what. Maybe he was just doing a good job of being a cheerleader. But I ran a handful of laps and then I could smell some oil. And when the gear failed, I mean, there was a lot of shaking in the car. I knew it was big and going to be fatal.”
The fact that Johnson was leading when his problems began were not lost on Keselowski, who needed a 15th place finish or better to guarantee himself the title and give Dodge its first title since Richard Petty won the crown in 1975. By the time Johnson had the lead though, a 16th-place would have also clinched it as Busch was guaranteed the bonus point for leading the most laps.
“He's the best,” said Keselowski, who became the eighth-youngest champion. “He proved here today he was going to win this race and I know that. We were not as good as we wanted to be, I'll be the first to admit that, but my guys never gave up, we kept working and at the end, we were capable of getting back up enough to where it wouldn't have mattered if he had won which made me feel a lot better, but my guys did a great job all year long and I'm lucky to have them.”
And any champion will tell you there is at least a little luck involved in winning any championship. Keselowski, who won the title in his 125th start, the fewest since Jeff Gordon won on his 93rd start in 1995, avoided major incident all throughout the ten-race Chase for the Championship, including the now famous Gordon-Clint Bowyer crash happening right in front of him last week, then getting to the finish line after taking a hit from a sliding Kurt Busch on the final lap wreck last week.
While Gordon made plenty of headlines throughout the week for what he admitted was a revenge-filled crash against Bowyer, he was relieved to make some headlines for a different reason Sunday.
“I felt terrible about how I went about it and still regret the way I went about it but you know what, I can't take it back,” Gordon said about last week. “What we can do is look forward and race guys as hard and clean as we possibly can and, you know, this is a great way to get some positive things going because this year has been real up and down. This is awesome to have my family here in Victory Lane.”
The rest of the top-10 behind Gordon in front of a crowd of 76,000 was Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Martin Truex, Jr., Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Keselowski will get to celebrate his title at the NASCAR Sprint Cup awards banquet in Las Vegas on November 30. Howie Mandel is due to host the festivites at the Wynn Las Vegas and SPEED will televise the event.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Ford EcoBoost 400
by Amy Henderson
2012 Truck Series Wrap-Up: Buescher, Dillon, Larson and Gale
by Beth Lunkenheimer
Nationwide Series Breakdown: Ford EcoBoost 300
by Bryan Davis Keith
-- Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
November 19th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CCXXXII
~~~~~~~~~~
DONATE TO HELP HURRICANE SANDY VICTIMS
We are three full weeks past Hurricane Sandy's initial impact on the East Coast. However, the suffering continues and help is still needed. If you're in an unaffected area, please consider donating to help others who will spend months rebuilding their lives and their homes after Sandy whipped onshore with winds of 80 miles an hour. Call 1-800-RED-CROSS, visit redcross.org or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation today. Every little bit helps.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Gordon gets First win at Homestead; Keselowski Wins Sprint Cup Championship
by Jeff Wolfe
When Brad Keselowski came onto the NASCAR Sprint Cup scene in 2008, there weren’t a lot of questions about his talent. The then 23-year-old proved rather quickly that he had a desire to win and didn’t like it if someone got in his way. There were questions however about his tactics, and yes, even tact, as at times he was called “Bad Brad.”
But over the past three years, driving for Roger Penske, Keselowski has gradually answered those questions about being a potential champion. After Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Keselowski won’t need the word “potential” in front of the word “champion” any longer.
The driver of the No. 2 Dodge finished 15th and while he never challenged for the victory in the 267-lap race, he didn’t have to in capturing his first Sprint Cup title. That’s because Jimmie Johnson, the only driver capable of beating Keselowski for the title, experienced major issues for the second straight week.
Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon was part of a major storyline for the second straight week too, but for pretty much the opposite reason as in Phoenix. Gordon won Sunday’s race, the 87th of his career and second of the year, leaving Kentucky Speedway (which has only had two races) as the lone track he has not won at on the Sprint Cup circuit.
Gordon took the lead for good with 14 laps remaining when leader Kyle Busch had to pit for fuel. Busch, who did not win a race he led the most laps in for the ninth straight time, led 191 laps and finished fourth.
However, it was Keselowski who finished where all Sprint Cup drivers like to be at the end of the season, No. 1 in the points standings.
“Well, I saw this really cool video that (Baltimore Ravens linebacker) Ray Lewis did and, you know, he said in it that you know throughout my whole life I've been told my whole life I'm not big enough, not fast enough, not strong enough, I don't have what it takes and I've used that as a chip on my shoulder to carry me through my whole career, and, you know, it took till this year for me to realize that was right,” Keselowski said. “I'm not big enough, not fast enough, not strong enough. Only a team can do that and these guys up here, they make me big enough. They make me fast enough. They make me strong enough to do anything we want to do and it's because of these guys. I can't be here without them. I really can't.”
Keselowski, who was known for his aggressive driving early in his career, knows he couldn’t have won without the support and sometimes patience of team owner Roger Penske. While Penske has been a top IndyCar owner for nearly 40 years where he’s won 12 titles, Keselowski gave him his first Sprint Cup title two years after giving Penske his first Nationwide title. While Penske first fielded a NASCAR team in 1972, he re-entered the series in earnest in 1991 with Rusty Wallace as his driver. Wallace’s second-place finish in the points in 1993 had been Penske’s best finish before this year.
“This guy Keselowski is something special, and for me it's a lifelong goal when you think about Hendrick, you think about Earnhardt and Childress and Gibbs and just to mention all the guys that have been up there, and we've been close but we've never delivered,” said Penske, who is 75. “But this guy here delivered it for us. Every week all through the year, gave us this championship. Boy, I'll tell you, man, I love you.”
Even though Johnson was behind by 20 points to start the day, the five-time champion and driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet had every intention of making Keselowski earn the title. After struggling a bit early, he found himself in the lead with 55 laps to go.
But a loose lug nut after what would have been his final pit stop caused him to return to pit road, and Johnson was a lap down in 25th-place. Johnson then smelled what he thought was a burning gear, when a possible leak in his oil line caused his cockpit to fill with smoke and end his day.
“It all unraveled pretty quickly,” Johnson said. “You know, the pit road thing, I was just kind of dealing with it, the first two or three laps I got on the track and trying to think through what was going on. Chad had some optimism left in his voice. I wasn't sure why or what. Maybe he was just doing a good job of being a cheerleader. But I ran a handful of laps and then I could smell some oil. And when the gear failed, I mean, there was a lot of shaking in the car. I knew it was big and going to be fatal.”
The fact that Johnson was leading when his problems began were not lost on Keselowski, who needed a 15th place finish or better to guarantee himself the title and give Dodge its first title since Richard Petty won the crown in 1975. By the time Johnson had the lead though, a 16th-place would have also clinched it as Busch was guaranteed the bonus point for leading the most laps.
“He's the best,” said Keselowski, who became the eighth-youngest champion. “He proved here today he was going to win this race and I know that. We were not as good as we wanted to be, I'll be the first to admit that, but my guys never gave up, we kept working and at the end, we were capable of getting back up enough to where it wouldn't have mattered if he had won which made me feel a lot better, but my guys did a great job all year long and I'm lucky to have them.”
And any champion will tell you there is at least a little luck involved in winning any championship. Keselowski, who won the title in his 125th start, the fewest since Jeff Gordon won on his 93rd start in 1995, avoided major incident all throughout the ten-race Chase for the Championship, including the now famous Gordon-Clint Bowyer crash happening right in front of him last week, then getting to the finish line after taking a hit from a sliding Kurt Busch on the final lap wreck last week.
While Gordon made plenty of headlines throughout the week for what he admitted was a revenge-filled crash against Bowyer, he was relieved to make some headlines for a different reason Sunday.
“I felt terrible about how I went about it and still regret the way I went about it but you know what, I can't take it back,” Gordon said about last week. “What we can do is look forward and race guys as hard and clean as we possibly can and, you know, this is a great way to get some positive things going because this year has been real up and down. This is awesome to have my family here in Victory Lane.”
The rest of the top-10 behind Gordon in front of a crowd of 76,000 was Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Martin Truex, Jr., Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Keselowski will get to celebrate his title at the NASCAR Sprint Cup awards banquet in Las Vegas on November 30. Howie Mandel is due to host the festivites at the Wynn Las Vegas and SPEED will televise the event.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
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Chasing the Chase: As Keselowski Claims Crown, Places in Points Shuffle Behind Him
by Jeff Wolfe
As Brad Keselowski was claiming his first Sprint Cup title Sunday at Miami-Homestead Speedway, there was some movement in the standings behind him.
One thing that could be misleading when looking at the final points standings years from now is how close Jimmie Johnson was to challenging for the title. Johnson, a five-time champion, came into the race at the only driver with a chance to catch Keselowski. And the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet had worked his way to the lead with 55 laps remaining when he had to come back into the pits because of loose lug nut after what was his final scheduled pit stop of the day.
When Johnson returned to the track, he was in 25th, one lap down. Then just a few laps later, Johnson smelled a gear burning that may have been caused be a leak in an oil line. The result was a cockpit filled with smoke and trip to the garage area for the rest of the race, relegating him to a 36th-place finish.
The result, combined with Clint Bowyer’s second-place finish, put Bowyer in second place in the final standings, 39 behind Keselowski and Johnson in third, 40 back. That capped a good Chase run for Bowyer, even though he was mathematically eliminated from the title hunt last week.
“When we made the Chase, my realistic goal was to be in the top-5,” Bowyer said. “I thought that was a reachable goal for our race team the way we had been running leading into the Chase. And to be able to exceed that, I mean, we had a shot at it until last week. You just can't ask for more than that out of a brand new group like that. Just very proud of all their efforts."
Bowyer’s switch from Richard Childress Racing last year to Michael Waltrip Racing this year raised some eyebrows, but it turned out best for Bowyer, who won three races this season, while the Childress team combined for just one.
Bowyer jumped two spots in the standings to get to second, pulling ahead of Kasey Kahne, who finished 21st to drop one spot and finish fourth at 55 points back. The other driver to jump two spots was Greg Biffle, who finished fifth in the standings, after his fifth-place finish Sunday. Biffle finished 68 points behind Keselowski.
The other driver to gain in the standings was race winner Jeff Gordon. He jumped one spot to tenth. Gordon was penalized 25 points after last week’s race at Phoenix for intentionally wrecking Bowyer late in the race. If Gordon had those 25 points back, he would have finish seventh in the standings, one point behind Denny Hamlin, who finished 24th Sunday.
Finishing seventh in the final standings was Matt Kenseth, who drove his final race for Roush Fenway Racing. Kenseth, who will be moving to Joe Gibbs Racing next season to drive the No. 20 Toyota, finished 18th Sunday.
Last week’s winner at Phoenix, Kevin Harvick, had another good day, taking eighth. Harvick, who is heavily rumored to be going to Stewart-Haas Racing with primary sponsors Budweiser and Jimmy John’s in 2014, finished eighth in the final standings.
And speaking of Tony Stewart, last year’s champion who won at Homestead-Miami, was never a factor in Sunday’s race as he finished 17th and ninth in the points standings 89 behind Keselowski.
The final two spots in the top 12 standings went to Martin Truex, Jr. and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Truex Jr. was the only driver in the Chase to not win a race this year and finished 11th, 101 points out of the lead. Truex was a contender for much of Sunday, before scraping the wall late in the race, leaving him with a sixth-place finish. Earnhardt finished 10th Sunday. Any hopes he had of winning a title were lost when he had to miss two races in the Chase due to a concussion. He finished 155 points out of first.
Final Chase for the Championship Standings: 1) Brad Keselowski 2400, 2) Clint Bowyer -39, 3) Jimmie Johnson -40, 4) Kasey Kahne -55, 5) Greg Biffle -68, 6) Denny Hamlin -71, 7) Matt Kenseth -76, 8) Kevin Harvick –79, 9) Tony Stewart -89, 10) Jeff Gordon -97, 11) Martin Truex, Jr. -101, 12) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -155.
Best of the Rest: 13) Kyle Busch 1133, 14) Ryan Newman -82, 15) Carl Edwards -103, 16) Paul Menard -127, 17) Joey Logano -148, 18) Marcos Ambrose -163, 19) Jeff Burton -230, t-20) Aric Almirola -245, t-20) Jamie McMurray -245.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona 500. Talladega 2, Kansas 2), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas, Bristol 2, Atlanta, New Hampshire 2), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana, Daytona 2), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega, Kentucky, Chicagoland 2, Dover 2), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas, Michigan 2), Kyle Busch (Richmond), Jimmie Johnson (Darlington, Dover, Indianapolis, Martinsville 2, Texas 2), Kasey Kahne (Charlotte, New Hampshire), Joey Logano (Pocono 1), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Michigan 1), Clint Bowyer (Sonoma, Richmond 2, Charlotte 2), Jeff Gordon (Pocono 2, Miami-Homestead), Marcos Ambrose (Watkins Glen), Kevin Harvick (Phoenix 2).
Tracking The Top 35: So Long to the Top 35 List
In past years, finishing in the top 35 in the points standings guaranteed those car owners a spot in the first five races of the next season. But NASCAR announced earlier this fall that they would be ending the top 35 rule, going back to a rule from several years ago that puts almost all of the starting spots based strictly on time, with provisional spots available for past champions.
If it did matter though, the No. 36 car driven by Dave Blaney finished 35th in the standings, 81 ahead of the No. 21 car driven by Trevor Bayne, who drove a partial Sprint Cup schedule this year for the Wood Brothers. Bayne finished 23rd Sunday, while Blaney finished 32nd.
Here's your owners point standings around the once all-important cutoff...
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 276 points ahead of 36th.
30) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), 266 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 259 points ahead of 36th.
32) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 252 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing / Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – David Reutimann), 173 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Ken Schrader), 147 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), 81 points ahead of 36th.
36) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 81 points behind 35th.
37) Richard Childress Racing/Circle Point, LLC (No. 33 – Stephen Leicht), 174 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 – David Stremme), 189 points behind 35th.
39) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell), 228 points behind 35th.
40) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 255 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
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Secret Star of the Week: The Race You Never Saw
With the championship on the line, most eyes were focused on Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson. However, Aric Almirola managed to beat both of these drivers on Sunday. In a continued display of great form that effectively saved Almirola's job (he's been re-signed for the 2013 season along with teammate Marcos Ambrose), Almirola qualified fifth, then hung around the top-15 all day. On a day in which only a couple of drivers legitimately had a chance to win the race in a straight-up fight, Almirola and RPM attempted an alternate strategy. Much like Jimmie Johnson, the No. 43 team elected to pit during the third and final caution after Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. crashed. This gave Almirola the chance to potentially make it on fuel.
A good handling car gave Almirola a chance at besting his career-best finish of fourth (accomplished twice, one of which was at Homestead back in 2010). However, on the final lap, Almirola ran out of fuel while running 14 seconds behind winner Jeff Gordon in third. By the time Almirola coasted back to the start-finish line, he was seventh. However, Almirola was still very pleased with his result.
"About $3 worth of gas short of finishing 3rd. Extremely proud of my 43 team and everyone [at Richard Petty Motorsports], Almirola said. "Can't wait for 2013!"
The seventh-place finish allowed Almirola to finish the season in a tie for 20th in driver's points with Jamie McMurray. Almirola wins the tiebreaker over McMurray since he has the better top finish (fourth at Martinsville in October). It was the first time that Almirola had finished a race in the top-20 in points since Pocono in June. - Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 47. Represents the number of points lost by Jimmie Johnson in the final two weeks of the season to Champion Brad Keselowski, This is tantamount to a full race's worth of points lost in just two events. To future race fans, it will appear that Johnson gave away the "Conflict of Mechanical Advantage 6," but his car managed to let him down both times. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: Ford EcoBoost 400
"He's already drunk? That's awesome" - Jeff Gordon, race winner, upon hearing that Brad Keselowski did an interview with ESPN's Kevin Connors whilst drunk
"This is a big win. I mean, we've been really close here in the past years with some good race cars, but just coming up a little bit short. And today we just did all the right things. With the way this team has handled things and fought through things and some great moments and some pretty low moments, to be able to end the season like this, pretty amazing." - Gordon, during his post-race press conference.
"When we made the Chase, my realistic goal was to be in the top 5. I thought that was a reachable goal for our race team the way we had been running leading into the Chase. And to be able to exceed that, I mean, we had a shot at it until last week. You just can't ask for more than that out of a brand‑new group like that. Just very proud of all their efforts." - Clint Bowyer, finished second, on his season.
"Finishing the season with three straight top-10s and four straight top-15s – you just can’t ask for much more in a short period of time together. We’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in the last six weeks and that gives all of us plenty of confidence heading into the offseason. We laid a strong foundation and I can’t thank the Furniture Row Racing guys enough for a job well done." - Kurt Busch, finished ninth
"Yeah, we were in position and putting the pressure on the 2 car like we needed to. I said at the beginning of the week, 15th isn't a lay‑up, and I certainly had him in position. He made it really interesting here at the end of this thing. It we could have not had the mistake on pitted road and then the gear failure at the end. Didn't really catch exactly what happened but I know there was oil under the back of the car.
So there was oil under the back of the car. I'm not sure if a fitting busted or was hit by debris or line but something back there allowed the car to puke out gear oil. So as I was saying, there was oil all over under the back of the car, so something happened from either a line failure or a fitting was hit by debris or something and it puked all the gear oil out and burned up the gear. So again, disappointing, and we were right there in position and putting pressure on like we needed to" - Jimmie Johnson, finished 36th, on his issues
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Homestead Race Recap
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Runner-Up Blues, American Success Stories, and Weird Weather
by the Frontstretch Staff
Chasing the Chase: As Keselowski Claims Crown, Places in Points Shuffle Behind Him
by Jeff Wolfe
As Brad Keselowski was claiming his first Sprint Cup title Sunday at Miami-Homestead Speedway, there was some movement in the standings behind him.
One thing that could be misleading when looking at the final points standings years from now is how close Jimmie Johnson was to challenging for the title. Johnson, a five-time champion, came into the race at the only driver with a chance to catch Keselowski. And the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet had worked his way to the lead with 55 laps remaining when he had to come back into the pits because of loose lug nut after what was his final scheduled pit stop of the day.
When Johnson returned to the track, he was in 25th, one lap down. Then just a few laps later, Johnson smelled a gear burning that may have been caused be a leak in an oil line. The result was a cockpit filled with smoke and trip to the garage area for the rest of the race, relegating him to a 36th-place finish.
The result, combined with Clint Bowyer’s second-place finish, put Bowyer in second place in the final standings, 39 behind Keselowski and Johnson in third, 40 back. That capped a good Chase run for Bowyer, even though he was mathematically eliminated from the title hunt last week.
“When we made the Chase, my realistic goal was to be in the top-5,” Bowyer said. “I thought that was a reachable goal for our race team the way we had been running leading into the Chase. And to be able to exceed that, I mean, we had a shot at it until last week. You just can't ask for more than that out of a brand new group like that. Just very proud of all their efforts."
Bowyer’s switch from Richard Childress Racing last year to Michael Waltrip Racing this year raised some eyebrows, but it turned out best for Bowyer, who won three races this season, while the Childress team combined for just one.
Bowyer jumped two spots in the standings to get to second, pulling ahead of Kasey Kahne, who finished 21st to drop one spot and finish fourth at 55 points back. The other driver to jump two spots was Greg Biffle, who finished fifth in the standings, after his fifth-place finish Sunday. Biffle finished 68 points behind Keselowski.
The other driver to gain in the standings was race winner Jeff Gordon. He jumped one spot to tenth. Gordon was penalized 25 points after last week’s race at Phoenix for intentionally wrecking Bowyer late in the race. If Gordon had those 25 points back, he would have finish seventh in the standings, one point behind Denny Hamlin, who finished 24th Sunday.
Finishing seventh in the final standings was Matt Kenseth, who drove his final race for Roush Fenway Racing. Kenseth, who will be moving to Joe Gibbs Racing next season to drive the No. 20 Toyota, finished 18th Sunday.
Last week’s winner at Phoenix, Kevin Harvick, had another good day, taking eighth. Harvick, who is heavily rumored to be going to Stewart-Haas Racing with primary sponsors Budweiser and Jimmy John’s in 2014, finished eighth in the final standings.
And speaking of Tony Stewart, last year’s champion who won at Homestead-Miami, was never a factor in Sunday’s race as he finished 17th and ninth in the points standings 89 behind Keselowski.
The final two spots in the top 12 standings went to Martin Truex, Jr. and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Truex Jr. was the only driver in the Chase to not win a race this year and finished 11th, 101 points out of the lead. Truex was a contender for much of Sunday, before scraping the wall late in the race, leaving him with a sixth-place finish. Earnhardt finished 10th Sunday. Any hopes he had of winning a title were lost when he had to miss two races in the Chase due to a concussion. He finished 155 points out of first.
Final Chase for the Championship Standings: 1) Brad Keselowski 2400, 2) Clint Bowyer -39, 3) Jimmie Johnson -40, 4) Kasey Kahne -55, 5) Greg Biffle -68, 6) Denny Hamlin -71, 7) Matt Kenseth -76, 8) Kevin Harvick –79, 9) Tony Stewart -89, 10) Jeff Gordon -97, 11) Martin Truex, Jr. -101, 12) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -155.
Best of the Rest: 13) Kyle Busch 1133, 14) Ryan Newman -82, 15) Carl Edwards -103, 16) Paul Menard -127, 17) Joey Logano -148, 18) Marcos Ambrose -163, 19) Jeff Burton -230, t-20) Aric Almirola -245, t-20) Jamie McMurray -245.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona 500. Talladega 2, Kansas 2), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas, Bristol 2, Atlanta, New Hampshire 2), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana, Daytona 2), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega, Kentucky, Chicagoland 2, Dover 2), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas, Michigan 2), Kyle Busch (Richmond), Jimmie Johnson (Darlington, Dover, Indianapolis, Martinsville 2, Texas 2), Kasey Kahne (Charlotte, New Hampshire), Joey Logano (Pocono 1), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Michigan 1), Clint Bowyer (Sonoma, Richmond 2, Charlotte 2), Jeff Gordon (Pocono 2, Miami-Homestead), Marcos Ambrose (Watkins Glen), Kevin Harvick (Phoenix 2).
Tracking The Top 35: So Long to the Top 35 List
In past years, finishing in the top 35 in the points standings guaranteed those car owners a spot in the first five races of the next season. But NASCAR announced earlier this fall that they would be ending the top 35 rule, going back to a rule from several years ago that puts almost all of the starting spots based strictly on time, with provisional spots available for past champions.
If it did matter though, the No. 36 car driven by Dave Blaney finished 35th in the standings, 81 ahead of the No. 21 car driven by Trevor Bayne, who drove a partial Sprint Cup schedule this year for the Wood Brothers. Bayne finished 23rd Sunday, while Blaney finished 32nd.
Here's your owners point standings around the once all-important cutoff...
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 276 points ahead of 36th.
30) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), 266 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 259 points ahead of 36th.
32) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 252 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing / Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – David Reutimann), 173 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Ken Schrader), 147 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), 81 points ahead of 36th.
36) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 81 points behind 35th.
37) Richard Childress Racing/Circle Point, LLC (No. 33 – Stephen Leicht), 174 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 – David Stremme), 189 points behind 35th.
39) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell), 228 points behind 35th.
40) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 255 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
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Secret Star of the Week: The Race You Never Saw
With the championship on the line, most eyes were focused on Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson. However, Aric Almirola managed to beat both of these drivers on Sunday. In a continued display of great form that effectively saved Almirola's job (he's been re-signed for the 2013 season along with teammate Marcos Ambrose), Almirola qualified fifth, then hung around the top-15 all day. On a day in which only a couple of drivers legitimately had a chance to win the race in a straight-up fight, Almirola and RPM attempted an alternate strategy. Much like Jimmie Johnson, the No. 43 team elected to pit during the third and final caution after Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. crashed. This gave Almirola the chance to potentially make it on fuel.
A good handling car gave Almirola a chance at besting his career-best finish of fourth (accomplished twice, one of which was at Homestead back in 2010). However, on the final lap, Almirola ran out of fuel while running 14 seconds behind winner Jeff Gordon in third. By the time Almirola coasted back to the start-finish line, he was seventh. However, Almirola was still very pleased with his result.
"About $3 worth of gas short of finishing 3rd. Extremely proud of my 43 team and everyone [at Richard Petty Motorsports], Almirola said. "Can't wait for 2013!"
The seventh-place finish allowed Almirola to finish the season in a tie for 20th in driver's points with Jamie McMurray. Almirola wins the tiebreaker over McMurray since he has the better top finish (fourth at Martinsville in October). It was the first time that Almirola had finished a race in the top-20 in points since Pocono in June. - Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 47. Represents the number of points lost by Jimmie Johnson in the final two weeks of the season to Champion Brad Keselowski, This is tantamount to a full race's worth of points lost in just two events. To future race fans, it will appear that Johnson gave away the "Conflict of Mechanical Advantage 6," but his car managed to let him down both times. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: Ford EcoBoost 400
"He's already drunk? That's awesome" - Jeff Gordon, race winner, upon hearing that Brad Keselowski did an interview with ESPN's Kevin Connors whilst drunk
"This is a big win. I mean, we've been really close here in the past years with some good race cars, but just coming up a little bit short. And today we just did all the right things. With the way this team has handled things and fought through things and some great moments and some pretty low moments, to be able to end the season like this, pretty amazing." - Gordon, during his post-race press conference.
"When we made the Chase, my realistic goal was to be in the top 5. I thought that was a reachable goal for our race team the way we had been running leading into the Chase. And to be able to exceed that, I mean, we had a shot at it until last week. You just can't ask for more than that out of a brand‑new group like that. Just very proud of all their efforts." - Clint Bowyer, finished second, on his season.
"Finishing the season with three straight top-10s and four straight top-15s – you just can’t ask for much more in a short period of time together. We’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in the last six weeks and that gives all of us plenty of confidence heading into the offseason. We laid a strong foundation and I can’t thank the Furniture Row Racing guys enough for a job well done." - Kurt Busch, finished ninth
"Yeah, we were in position and putting the pressure on the 2 car like we needed to. I said at the beginning of the week, 15th isn't a lay‑up, and I certainly had him in position. He made it really interesting here at the end of this thing. It we could have not had the mistake on pitted road and then the gear failure at the end. Didn't really catch exactly what happened but I know there was oil under the back of the car.
So there was oil under the back of the car. I'm not sure if a fitting busted or was hit by debris or line but something back there allowed the car to puke out gear oil. So as I was saying, there was oil all over under the back of the car, so something happened from either a line failure or a fitting was hit by debris or something and it puked all the gear oil out and burned up the gear. So again, disappointing, and we were right there in position and putting pressure on like we needed to" - Jimmie Johnson, finished 36th, on his issues
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Homestead Race Recap
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Runner-Up Blues, American Success Stories, and Weird Weather
by the Frontstretch Staff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Ford EcoBoost 400
by Amy Henderson
2012 Truck Series Wrap-Up: Buescher, Dillon, Larson and Gale
by Beth Lunkenheimer
Nationwide Series Breakdown: Ford EcoBoost 300
by Bryan Davis Keith
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the very first race at Homestead-Miami Speedway for CART in 1996, debutant Alex Zanardi made a rather unusual exit from the race. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 2002 Ford 300 saw the one and only race start in Busch Series competition for one very controversial outfit. Name it.
A: That team would be the infamous Angela's Motorsports outfit, run by Angela Harkness and her then-boyfriend, Gary Jones. The team formed a brief partnership with Kevin Lepage's Matrix Motorsports to run their white and neon green colors on Lepage's No. 71, while their own team was the No. 02 Ford driven by Jay Sauter. WiredFlyer.com provided sponsorship. Sauter finished 25th, two laps down in the No. 02, while Lepage suffered brake failure and retired after 128 laps, finishing 37th. The team was going to run the full 2003 season with Mike McLaughlin driving a renumbered No. 03 with Harold Holly as crew chief, but the scam was discovered in between Daytona testing and Speedweeks. As a result, the team was shut down and equipment seized.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
Coming Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Tom Bowles
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Ford EcoBoost 400 by Garrett Horton
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
This year, we have an interesting new weekly feature for our readers where we'll have a special guest stop by on a weekly basis to discuss the technical aspects of the sport.
The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny is back with another commentary to make you think.
-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2012 Frontstretch.com
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the very first race at Homestead-Miami Speedway for CART in 1996, debutant Alex Zanardi made a rather unusual exit from the race. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 2002 Ford 300 saw the one and only race start in Busch Series competition for one very controversial outfit. Name it.
A: That team would be the infamous Angela's Motorsports outfit, run by Angela Harkness and her then-boyfriend, Gary Jones. The team formed a brief partnership with Kevin Lepage's Matrix Motorsports to run their white and neon green colors on Lepage's No. 71, while their own team was the No. 02 Ford driven by Jay Sauter. WiredFlyer.com provided sponsorship. Sauter finished 25th, two laps down in the No. 02, while Lepage suffered brake failure and retired after 128 laps, finishing 37th. The team was going to run the full 2003 season with Mike McLaughlin driving a renumbered No. 03 with Harold Holly as crew chief, but the scam was discovered in between Daytona testing and Speedweeks. As a result, the team was shut down and equipment seized.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
Coming Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Tom Bowles
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Ford EcoBoost 400 by Garrett Horton
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Five Points To Ponder by Bryan Keith
Bryan has his weekly edition of talking points to wrap up Phoenix and get us ready for Homestead.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series were all in action at Homestead-Miami Speedway for their season finales. Were the telecasts of these events "up to snuff?" Find out in this week's TV Critique.
This year, we have an interesting new weekly feature for our readers where we'll have a special guest stop by on a weekly basis to discuss the technical aspects of the sport.
The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny is back with another commentary to make you think.
-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2012 Frontstretch.com
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