What a season the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season has been. It has been a year with changes, insanity, controversy and a Chase to remember. Things were strong across the board for NASCAR, from ratings to competition, and it has given the sanctioning body a lot to look forward to next season.
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, and everyone’s craving for racing has mostly subsided, I wanted to take a look back at some parts of the season that have been talked about the most.
From the opening green flag at Daytona, to the last checkered flag at Homestead, here is my look at the moments of the season that made the biggest headlines in my eyes.
Here’s a young man, one day removed from his 20th birthday, set to make his Daytona 500 debut. He didn’t know what to expect, especially with the new “two-car draft” that was soon becoming the normal procedure at restrictor plate tracks. But, in the Gatorade Duals, he teamed up with veteran Jeff Gordon, a driver Bayne admired since childhood, and worked with him the entire 60-lap distace.
That afternoon, teams became aware that Bayne would be good to work with on Sunday.
Little did they know that the ultimate underdog, as Bayne was only starting his second race ever in Sprint Cup competition, that he would be in the position to win it all. But Bayne took the white flag in the lead, with Bobby Labonte in tow. Soon, Carl Edwards makes a charge, and looks for the lead off the last corner.
But it was not to be, and FOX analysts Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, and Darrell Waltrip made the biggest call of the season.
“Cinderella has done it,” Joy said. It was soon followed by Waltrip screaming, “Trevor Bayne is gonna win the Daytona 500!” Soon after, McReynolds chimed in with “He did it!”
This young man didn’t even win a Nationwide Series event at that point, and was driving for the Wood Brothers, who a year earlier cut back to a part-time stint. But in one event, and one moment, a young man became a hero for everyone at Daytona.
At the Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month, Kyle Busch was entered into all three series races at the track, beginning with the Camping World Truck Series.
Just 15 laps into the event, he and Ron Hornaday had an incident where both slid up the track following contact. Each car hit the wall, and debris came off one of the two race trucks, bringing out the caution. However, it was after the caution came out where the real story broke.
Busch then decided to really put matters in his own hands, driving right onto the back of Hornaday’s truck, and then forcefully turning him into the outside wall. Not even two minutes after the act, NASCAR parked Busch for the race, and ordered him to the NASCAR hauler. Despite being in the Chase, NASCAR was not happy, and Busch didn’t do himself any favors as he showed no remorse after he emerged.
The next morning, he and car owner Joe Gibbs had a meeting with NASCAR President, Mike Helton, and a half hour later it was announced that NASCAR would maintain the “parked position” for the remainder of the weekend. To put it in terms for the average fan, Busch was relieved of his driving duties for the rest of the weekend.
NASCAR had no problem with their “Boys, have at it” mentality, but there was a limit. At Texas, that limit was made blatantly obvious.
But, Gordon entered 2011 with a strong outlook, and also a brand new look for the team. With DuPont stepping back on their sponsorship, Hendrick Motorsports was looking for some company to step in and take a majority of the races on the schedule.
Off all things, AARP decided to take a gamble and sponsor Gordon not with a product, but more of a need. So, in January, Gordon unveiled a brand new maroon, black and silver AARP “Drive To End Hunger” Chevrolet Impala, focusing on building awareness on hunger among older Americans.
Whatever the case may be, it didn’t take long for the new sponsor to get exposure. Gordon put his new sponsor on the front row in the Daytona 500. One week later, he got a long-awaited win to put a stop to a stretch of over a season of not celebrating in victory lane. At Pocono in June, Gordon got a second win, then a third in Atlanta.
It was his strongest season of competition in four years, and showed that he still had what it took to win races and compete for championships.
It also didn’t hurt that with the exposure and promotion of Drive To End Hunger, nearly seven million meals were given to older Americans that couldn’t feed themselves or their families. Quite an accomplishment for a near 20-year veteran in NASCAR competition.
All year, it seemed to be a different team and driver. It seemed as though no matter what happened, or what was tried, this team could not get momentum on their side. Yes, they won a race at Talladega, and then once more at Kansas. But in between all those races, it just seemed as though the man nicknamed “Five Time” was doomed to be taken down at some point.
Sure, there were moments where suddenly they would appear to get their mojo going and things would go in their favor.
But it seemed week in and week out, Johnson and company were not the same team that had been unbeatable in the Chase the previous five years. Even Johnson and Knaus on the radio would bicker, seemingly taking out any air in the balloon they once had.
Of course this just means they will be more driven come next year to win their sixth title, but for now, the mighty 48 team has been knocked off its throne.
Tony Stewart threw the gauntlet down at Martinsville to Carl Edwards, declaring “He better be worried. He ain’t gonna have an easy three weeks.”
Would he back it up? What exactly did he mean by that statement?
It meant that Stewart not only turned up the heat on his competition, but he lit a fire under his own team as well.
Having already won the first two Chase races, then the third at Martinsville, Stewart then went on a roll unseen in any of the previous Chase seasons. He would win the following week at Texas, then finished fourth at Phoenix. Heading into the final race of the season, only one thing would guarantee Stewart a championship: a victory.
Why just that? Simple, because he and Edwards would tie for the title, but wins would be the tie-breaker. Stewart already had more wins heading in, so he was in control of his own destiny. Stewart then went on, and put a major exclamation point on the season by winning the final race of the season at Homestead, tying in points with Edwards, but earning the Sprint Cup championship because of his five wins, all coming in the Chase.
Has there been a more dominant run in the Chase? Quite honestly, what Stewart did in one year was more impressive than any run Johnson had in the previous five. Owning his own team, driving his own car, and then winning the championship the third year out…that is impressive.
And thus ends yet another NASCAR season. The short three months off mean time to regroup, reorganize, and recharge. Let’s face it, before anyone can be fully ready, the 2012 edition of the Daytona 500 will go green on February 26.
Until then, Happy Holidays everybody.