2011 NASCAR Memories

With the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at an end I thought I would start the off-season by looking back at highlights of this tightly fought Championship...

After five consecutive Jimmie Johnson titles was 2011 going to become number 6?



The season got off to a great start with a new name, Trevor Bayne, winning the years biggest race. Not only that, but he also put one of NASCARs oldest teams, Wood Brothers Racing, back in Victory Lane!

The Daytona 500 signalled the start of an up and down year for restrictor plate racing in NASCAR with "tandem drafting" one of the stories of the year. Two cars have always been faster than one, but this year things got physical with drivers literally pushing each other all the way round the two 'plate tracks. Sounds exciting but was not always, until...



The finish was close but many fans were not convinced by this style of racing, me included. The downside of this style of racing was that the drivers teamed up before the race and decided who was going to do the pushing and who was going to be pushed. It all got a little too planned for my liking. I do not want a return to the old "pack" races where drivers could not overtake, but it would be nice if a driver could race for themselves... then again...



Clint Bowyer proved that even in the era of the "tandem", the slingshot is alive and kicking!!

That wasn't the only close finish of the year...



2011 brought a renewed emphasis on winning and several drivers took their first Sprint Cup win this year...





Which brings me on to another story of the year, Kyle Busch... for all the wrong reasons...



"Boys Have At It" has always had an imaginary line that drivers should not cross, trouble is NASCAR decided that he did! NASCAR told Kyle he wasn't racing any more that weekend, put him on probation to the end of the year and issued him with a fine! He also got in trouble with his team and his sponsors. What effects that incident will have on him for next year only time will tell.

"Retaliation" and "payback" were two of the years watch words...




Which brings me to what will be the long standing story of the year, not a sixth title for the 48 car but the battle between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. After such a dominating run by one driver it was great to see that run broken by one of the tightest battles in NASCAR history.



One of the greatest NASCAR Championship battles ever?

Certainly!

Do NASCAR have to work on the product a bit... I think so, but that's for another day...

Performance Parity - NASCAR

Over the last few weeks we have had some fuel mileage racing, some pit strategy racing, some “boys have at it” racing, some good racing, some not so good racing...

The best thing about the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series? To take a phrase from BTCC driver Jason Plato, “Performance Parity”!

The Hendrick cars are up there, but not dominating. Sure Jimmie Johnson is high up in the points and Jeff Gordon has ended his winless streak. Dale Jr is looking good, has come close to ending his winless streak and is also high up in points... but none are dominating!

The Gibbs cars are competitive, are leading laps and getting in the wars, but are not dominating!

Kevin Harvick, the “finisher” and dictionary definition of “boys have at it” has won races and looks like he badly wants the end of season trophy, but none of the Childress cars are dominating!

The Roush Fords are back in the hunt this year after a quiet season last year, but are not dominating!

Holding up the honour for Dodge are the Penske cars, good at times, but not dominating!

This is Tony Stewarts time of year to shine... the Red Bull cars of Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers have looked good... the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing cars... the Richard Petty Motorsport cars have all been running well... at times very well... however no one is dominating!

But here’s the thing...

Carl Edwards is currently leading the points, just ahead of... the 48! You remember him don’t you; he’s done quite well over the past few years... Somehow the 48 car always seems to find a fifth gear once the Chase begins!

In my opinion the drivers most likely to keep up with Johnson once the Chase starts are Edwards, Harvick, and if he can get it together, Kyle Busch.

I am glad Dale Jr has been running well. He finally looks like he can drive a race car and is third in points right now but does he quiet have enough? Only time will tell.

But again, the question is... Who has what in reserve for the Chase?

Performace parity... that's BTCC talk, in NASCAR it's called good hard racing!

Slip Sliding Away

Paul Simon once wrote...

“...She said a good day ain't got no rain

She said a bad day is when I lie in the bed

And I think of things that might have been”

“You know the nearer your destination, the more your slip sliding away”

These may well be the words Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer use to describe their life after they let a shot at a race win at the Monster Mile slip through their fingers.

If the last few races have produced rivalries between drivers, this week’s rivalry was between the drivers and the track! For good two-wide racing a track needs to be predictable, have grip and have a wide grippy predictable racing groove.

Dover, however, didn’t!

This unpredictability did make for a very intriguing race though! The crayon-like build up of rubber kept the drivers on their proverbial toes for the whole race.

I enjoyed watching the drivers fight their cars and the surface... oh and each other!

I especially enjoyed watching Marcos Ambrose drive to another third place finish on an oval! If a driver moves to America to try his hand at NASCAR he needs to adopt the NASCAR attitude and the NASCAR mentality to earn his respect. Ambrose is doing just that!

On a different issue I think it’s a shame that the ”All Star Race” is included in NASCAR probationary periods, imposed after a driver has done something untoward. The non-points scoring sprint race format is be the perfect arena for drivers to “have at it,” safe in the knowledge that their actions in the “All Star Race” would not affect the regular season.

Whatever happens I am sure it will be fun!!

Crossing Over To The Other Side

Why can I not get excited about Kimi Raikkonen testing and racing a NASCAR Craftsman Truck?

When Juan Pablo Montoya started in NASCAR I thought he was the sort of driver who could do well. He had raced in the IRL and won the Indy 500, and he had never really fitted in in F1 as he was a “racer” not a corporate “driver”. He was more likely to crash trying to overtake you than execute the perfect pit stop strategy and win.

I guess I don’t see Kimi as that sort of driver. Maybe I am being harsh. We are talking about a driver who went rallying, because he wanted too! To give him credit, he is starting out his NASCAR adventure in the Craftsman Truck series. Many non-American drivers have tried to break into stock car racing by jumping straight into a Cup or Nationwide car and then failed to learn the craft or make an impact.

If you are going to make it work you have to do your time, earn the respect. Obviously you have to learn to drive the cars, but for a driver from a “European” background you also have to learn the etiquette. Grooves are an alien concept in most European racing, especially single seaters and that includes F1. In Europe we have a racing line, not grooves, we have no idea of spotters and quite frankly not many race cars even have three pedals anymore.

So which non-American drivers would I like to see testing or racing a NASCAR Craftsman Truck?

If, like me, you are from this side of the pond, you may have a favourite short oval driver who you would like to see have a shot at the big time. You may even have a favourite ex-ASCAR or Pickup Truck driver who could give it a go, or a BTCC driver you think might make it. But in terms of F1 or other international series?

With moderns form of communication and transport the world is not as big as it used to be, however in racing terms I still believe the world to be a big place.

I believe different parts of the world have different styles of racing that work in their own markets but don’t necessarily work in other parts of the world. In the UK we like F1 and touring cars. In Australia they love touring cars too, but theirs are very different to the UK machines. The same applies to Germany. In Japan they like a different sort of racing again. Americans love NASCAR, but we are not talking about moving championships, we are talking about drivers crossing over. Drivers like Marcos Ambrose, and JPM have switched disciples successfully. Others like Sam Hornish and Dario Franchitti found it much, much harder.

Would I like to see Messrs Hamilton or Button in a Cup car? No. I would rather NASCAR concentrate on developing the next generation of American stock car drivers.

I have nothing against international drivers racing in NASCAR as long as they earn their place, and as long as the series for the “good old boys” stays true to that.