*With 2013 on the horizon, what was the biggest issue in NASCAR that has, thus far, gone unresolved?*
Matt S.: Aero push.
Mike N.: Aero dependency.
Amy: Aero dependency and late season ratings.
Summer: The way these cars race (even with the new ones coming). No one likes them. Not the drivers, not the crews, not the fans.
Any of his six wins looked awful good, but the high point of the season for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came on a night where the No. 6 team didn’t visit victory lane.
Some might say Sonoma was the high point for Kurt Busch, perhaps the only race in 2012 he had a realistic chance to win driving the No. 51 Phoenix Chevy.
Following a slow start to his young Penske Racing career with bad luck defining some mediocre performances, AJ Allmendinger found himself at Martinsville Speedway for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500.
These days, the brunt of both fan and media attention is focused on the larger, more well-funded teams of NASCAR — and rightfully so. They’re, …
*Brad Keselowski is the 2012 Sprint Cup champion, and is a bit polarizing with his “Bad Brad” moniker. How do you think Keselowski will be remembered as champion…and how many more will he win?*
Phil: Especially since Brad’s only 28, it’s a little early to say how many he’ll win. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he snags a couple of more.
Mike N.: Keselowski is going to be a great spokesperson for the sport. I believe he’ll be able to effect change, unlike some other champs because he is extremely smart and very introspective. I believe he’ll be remembered for changing the social media aspect of the sport, making it mainstream and speaking his mind. That, and drinking out of the biggest Miller Lite glass he could find after winning.
*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.
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to Couch Potato Tuesday, where race telecast critique is the name of my game. This will mark the final full-fledged TV critique of the 2012 season, as every series of note with the exception of Formula One and the V8 Supercars are done for the year. This past weekend was Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the final races of the 2012 season for the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.
For possibly the first time ever, Dale Earnhardt Jr. snuck up for a good finish. Usually, it’s impossible for Earnhardt to fly under the radar in a race. But this week, with the spotlight on his teammate and his former employee running for the Cup, Earnhardt did just that, finishing 10th after running mid-pack for most of the day.
When you think of the Truck Series and the teams involved, Red Horse Racing is likely one of the names that comes to mind. Having been a part of the series since 2005, they’ve steadily made their presence known, but everything changed this year. Coming into the 2012 season, RHR boasted five victories, 46 top 5s and 99 top-10 finishes, but with just one race left in the year, they’ve added five more wins, 22 top 5s and 31 top 10s in just a single season. So how did the team get to where it is today? To find the answer, we’ll start the very beginning.