Now that the season is over,
let’s take some time to reflect on NASCAR’s top three series Champions and the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
Season
Finale:
He Said: The only hot spot in Homestead was in Juan Pablo Montoya's
car after a late race accident. Jimmie Johnson cruised easily to a championship in the season finale, all he had to do was
stay out of trouble, have good pit stops, and he the Championship was his. He did, and it was. It was as anti-climatic as
you and I predicted last week. He was not only consistent all year long, but he also won five races. Could he have won more
if he were not point racing? Was he point racing? Who knows? The season is over and Johnson is the Champ. Bad drivers do not
become Champions and Johnson (love him or hate him) has over all shown he is a good driver despite his occasional habit of
"running out of talent" and causing a wreck. In five years of racing in Cup he has finished no lower than 5th in points (twice)
with two second place season finishes. Not too shabby. All in all though, the "Chase for the Championship" has been written
in stone since Johnson took the lead. After a brief misstep at the beginning of the chase, the team regained their stride
and stepped on out.
She Said: Jimmie
Johnson flat out deserved this championship. I am not a fan of the No. 48 bunch, but I give credit where credit is due. Any
team that can fall to the bottom of the standings and race their way back to a championship, certainly epitomizes what a champion
is in my book. Isn't it funny how the Chase was supposed to provide all this drama right down to the wire? It did not. Yes,
it had moments, but the whole entire race season wasn’t thrilling, there are just thrilling moments. The media
touted that five guys mathematically had a chance, but realistically it was Johnson's to lose and no one was going to hang
it all out and go for it. They all played nice and that was about it. So why do we need the Chase?
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Busch Series Champion:
He Said: How about
that Busch Championship? Veteran Cup driver Kevin Harvick beat out a largely Cup field for the title. Of the top ten there
were only two Busch "regulars", Paul Menard and Johnny Sauter. Considering that only 15 drivers in the Busch series ran all
35 races, five of them full time Cup drivers, what can one say? Prior to the massive migration of Cup drivers to Busch in
2003, there were regularly 18-25 true Busch drivers running the whole season. Non-Cup teams are being forced out of Busch.
Harvick won the Cup-Lite title. As Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."
She Said: The
Busch series was a joke. There is nothing you can say or do to make anything more of the Busch Series this season. Why do
Cup guys need to race for a Busch title? I am all for Cup guys racing (for fun) in the series, but NASCAR should not award
points to full time Cup drivers. They have moved on and so should their opportunity to win a Busch series title when the move
up full time to the Nextel Cup. There was nothing spectacular about what Harvick did. Guys like Menard and Sauter should
have been gunning for the Busch title, not a former winner of the title who is in Nextel Cup.
Truck Champion… Bodine:
He Said: Todd
Bodine finally won a championship for the Bodine family. They have been scrapping it with the "big boys" in Cup since Geoff
got his first start in 1979. Brett started his first Cup race in 1986 and Todd in 1992. In over 27 years of NASCAR racing
the family finally saw some pay dirt this year. One could arguably say it is the first year Todd has been in a quality ride
in a major NASCAR series. He was easily leading the Busch series in 2003, in a family supported ride, when they ran out of
money and could not find a sponsor for the rest of the season. He was point leader for 9 of the first 14 weeks. They ran un-sponsored
for a couple more races then had to quit after the 19th week, missing 9 races until returning the 28th week to finish
the season. Good job Todd, it took a long time to get there, but you finally did.
She Said:
I am not sure what to say about the Truck series. I find it a little odd and scary that Todd Bodine is a champion in a
NASCAR series. I am not sure what that says for the Truck Series itself. Look at the guys who competed for the title, Bodine,
Johnny Benson, Mike Skinner, and Jack Sprague. These names are not new to NASCAR and they certainly aren't synonymous with
winning and being competitive. So what does that say about the series itself? The past champions of the series with
exception of Greg Biffle haven't exactly burned up the Nextel Cup series either. If you look at the final point standings
and you see that the Top 10 is mostly made up of Toyotas. In fact, seven of the top 10 drivers drive for Toyota. I think that
is what people fear in Cup. Can you imagine Michael Waltrip as a Nextel Cup champion? Scary!
He Said:
Todd has never been in a quality Cup ride and is a popular scapegoat. He showed what he could do in a comparable ride this
year. Jack Sprague? He won three Truck Championships and never landed a full season Cup ride. Yet Carl Edwards who never even
scored a Truck Championship landed a premier ride with Roush. Johnny Benson drove most of his Cup career for under funded
teams. He still collected a win which ties him with Mario Andretti and Johnny Rutherford. Would you call those two scrub drivers
because they only won one Cup race? The Trucks run and run well. The last good race I saw at the Atlanta Motor Speedway was
a truck race. As for the Toyota
presence and "dominance" in Truck racing, no other manufacturer seems interested in spending dollars there and dollars equal
victories. I do not see Toyota coming in a dominating Cup immediately nor can
I ever envision Michael Waltrip as a Champion. Bless his heart; he is past his best years. He is not even in the top 35 in
owner’s points for the season which means he will have to race his way into every race starting with Daytona until he
does get into the top 35. Michael Waltrip a CHAMPION? That is just crazy talk...........
She Said:
Crazy talk? Listen, a Bodine is a champion. Need I say more? You are right, no other manufacturer is willing to spend the
money needed in the Truck Series, but Toyota is. Now will they do the same now
that they are going Cup racing? Will their priority be Trucks or Cup or both? My guess is both. That is what people are up
in arms about, the endless limit to fund all the teams in both series without any real effort. I think the reason why Carl
Edwards was picked for a quality ride over three time Jack Sprague is he is younger, good looking, and marketable. And the
kid hasn't done too badly in a Cup car either. It's all about marketing a product these days.
2006 StockCar Review.
