NASCAR Yearend Awards

12/20/2011 By Leave a Comment

NASCAR has their own awards ceremony and I have mine. While their year-end banquet is a bit drab and generally lacks spontaneity – Jimmie Johnson jokingly walking on stage in place of Tony Stewart aside – my version, called the Golden Geekers, does not.

My awards ceremony includes an open bar, crass jokes, a loosey-goosey approach which encourages individuality, and most importantly, actual categories with nominees.

So fire up the music, cue the intro and let’s start handing out some hardware.

Don’t Delete From the DVR Award (Best Race)
A. Ford 400
This wasn’t a race. This was a heavyweight fight featuring more twists and turns than a James Ellroy novel.

B. Daytona 500
A record number of leader changes and a surprising first-time victor who became the youngest winner in 500 history, made this year’s Daytona 500 a race no one will soon forget.

Award Goes To: In a year that was one of the most competitive in recent history, having just two nominees doesn’t seem quite fair. Except the two events in question are so head-and-shoulders above everything else, it would be a disservice to include any other race.

Every generation has a signature race. One they look back on with fondness. For some that’s the 1979 Daytona 500 when Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison slugged it out in Turn 3 before a national television audience. For others, it is the 1992 season finale at Atlanta when Alan Kulwicki pulled the upset of all upsets and beat Bill Elliott and Davey Allison for the title, while Richard Petty made his final start and Jeff Gordon his first.

With everything that transpired at Homestead, there is little doubt the Ford 400 is going to join the pantheon of races people always will bring up when discussing the best races in NASCAR history. It may not be the greatest, but it certainly is in the discussion. As such, the Ford 400 is the winner in a landslide.

Dale Inman Award (Best Crew Chief)
A. Bob Osborne
From Daytona to Homestead, no team was more consistent this year than the one led by Bob Osborne. All told, Carl Edwards led all drivers in top-fives, top-10s, average finish, poles, and was tied for first in lead lap finishes. He also led the points for 24 of 36 weeks. Add everything up and there is no doubt Osborne is a worthy nominee, even if his team failed to win the championship.

B. Kenny Francis
If you’re asking yourself why Kenny Francis made this list, allow me to explain. With his future plans already set in stone and with an organization crumbling around him, it would have been incredibly easy for Francis and driver Kasey Kahne to put a big postage stamp on the 2011 season. Instead, crew chief and driver approached the year with an attitude that should be commended. They approached every weekend as if they had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Although the equipment they had to work with was clearly inferior, Francis guided Kahne to one win, eight top-fives and 15 top-10s. Further testament as to why big things are expected of the duo when they join Hendrick Motorsports in 2012.

C. Darian Grubb
Darian Grubb’s story has been told countless times. Despite being told he was out of a job at the end of the year, he kept his focus and led Tony Stewart to the championship on the strength of a Chase-record five victories. That Grubb still refuses to badmouth his now previous employer says everything there is to say about him.

Award Goes To: Before we handout another Golden Geeker, let’s give a special nod to Steve Addington, a gentlemen who wasn’t nominated, but deserves recognition for putting up with the continued antics of Kurt Busch. Just about every week Addington was treated like a punching bag, all the while preparing cars for Busch that twice took him to Victory Lane and had him in the Chase for the third straight year. Not surprisingly, and certainly understandable, Addington submitted his resignation just one day removed from the season coming to an end.

With that out of the way, this award is a lot tougher to pick than maybe any other category. All three nominees are worthy in their own way, and to choose between the three isn’t easy. Do you value season-long consistency and dominance over a 10-week stretch unlike any other in NASCAR history? Do you place greater emphasis on a team doing what it was expected to do over a team doing the most with the least?

At the end of the day, this is a sport based on winning. No team won in 2011 like the one led by Darian Grubb. The team he put together won the most races and they won the championship. Because of that, it is Grubb who is the recipient of the Dale Inman Award.

Bobby Ginn Award (Organization That Laid the Biggest Egg)
A. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
From four wins in 2010 to zero victories in 2011 says just about everything you need to know about the kind of year of year Earnhardt Ganassi Racing experienced. Combined, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray finished in the top-five on just four occasions and collectively dropped 17 positions in the standings from where they were at the year before.

B. Michael Waltrip Racing
Once again the team headed by Michael Waltrip failed to place a driver in the Chase. In fact, they didn’t even come close to doing so with both Martin Truex Jr. and David Reutimann out of contention before the calendar had even turned to summer. Oh, let’s not forget, they also didn’t win a race for the third time in five years.

C. Joe Gibbs Racing
Kyle Busch won four races but again pulled a vanishing act in the Chase. A year after notching eight victories, Denny Hamlin won just once. While Joey Logano won nothing, missed the Chase and came this close to losing his ride.

Award Goes To: This is an award where we use a sliding scale to determine the winner. Yes, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing was coming off a year in 2010 when they won four races, but not many expected them to repeat that performance this past season. Whereas over at the flagship team for Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing, the expectations were higher entering ’11.

Significantly higher.

Both Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were projected to win multiple races and be in contention for the championship, while their teammate, Joey Logano was supposed to at least contend for a spot in the Chase, if not make it altogether.

Alas, for a multitude of reasons Busch and Hamlin came nowhere close to fulfilling the preseason hype that accompanied both entering the year.

Busch continually reverted back to his immature ways, cumulating with him being sat for a race by NASCAR. On top of that, he again was a complete and utter non-factor in the Chase.

Hamlin was never able to put behind him the agonizing way he lost the title to Jimmie Johnson the year before, and with a few exceptions, was a virtual shell of his former self throughout the season.

Then there was Logano, who again came nowhere close to showing the talent which landed him a coveted ride with JGR, and was such a bust he was in danger of being replaced in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota by Carl Edwards.

Yes, the bar was incredibly high for everyone at Joe Gibbs. But the fact they fell so far short of reaching said bar, wins them this dubious award.

Derrick Cope Award (Biggest Surprise)
A. Trevor Bayne stuns the racing world and wins The Daytona 500
On the morning of February 20, Trevor Bayne was a highly-touted young driver getting ready to make his second career Sprint Cup start. Although everyone in the garage knew the 20-year-old possessed talent, it was outlandish to think a driver who thus far was winless in Nationwide, would be a factor in the sports marquee event. Yet, when the day was over, there he was standing tall in the Daytona 500 victory lane and holding the Harley J. Early trophy.

B. Regan Smith holds off Carl Edward to win The Southern 500
Like Bayne, Regan Smith was viewed as a driver who if in the right situation, could one day win at the Sprint Cup level. But to win on the circuit’s oldest speedway in the granddaddy of all races, and to do so by holding off Carl Edwards on old tires is something no one foresaw.

C. Jimmie Johnson being a virtual nonfactor in The Chase
Nothing lasts forever, and we knew that one day Jimmie Johnson’s five-year reign atop the Sprint Cup standings was going to come to an end. However to see it end with a series of self-inflicted mistakes – running out of fuel, poor strategy, driving too aggressively, and overall, just a simple lack of speed – was not the way I, or anyone for that matter, envisioned Johnson’s run ending.

D. Paul Menard wins The Brickyard 400
It’s okay to admit it, I promise you you’re not alone in thinking the way you did. You never thought Paul Menard would win a Cup race. Right or wrong, you viewed him as someone who had bought his way into NASCAR and thusly landed a ride with one of the top teams in the garage. But for one day, Menard showed he belonged and proved his many detractors wrong. He stretched his fuel to the utmost, outdueled Jeff Gordon, and at a place that holds many a fond memory for him and his family, scored his first Sprint Cup.

E. Brad Keselowski notches three victories and finishes fifth in points
Unlike Bayne, Smith and Menard, the surprise Brad Keselowski pulled off was one that culminated throughout the course of a full season. Three times he went to Victory Lane during the regular season, including a dramatic victory at Pocono. When the Chase started, not many thought he would be much of a factor. Yet, when the checkered flag waved at Homestead, there was Keselowski sitting fifth in points and ahead of the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kurt and Kyle Busch.

Award Goes To: 2011 could easily be classified as “The Year of The Surprise,” and there’s no shortage of worthy candidates to choose from. However, 20-year-old Trevor Bayne making just his second career start and winning the biggest race in North America, in a car fielded by the Wood Brothers to boot, easily takes the cake.

Richard Petty Award of Excellence (Driver of the Year)
A. Tony Stewart
Five victories and a come-from-behind rally to secure his third Sprint Cup title more than speaks for itself.

B. Carl Edwards
Carl Edwards was a popular preseason pick to unseat Jimmie Johnson. Unlike previous years when expectations were high, this time around Edwards actually delivered, both in the regular season and in the Chase. Were it not for Tony Stewart and his improbable performance in the Chase, Edwards would have handedly won his first series crown with a Chase record average finish of 4.9.

Award Goes To: In what was almost exclusively a two-man fight for the title, it’s not surprising there are only two candidates for the Richard Petty Award of Excellence.

Also not surprising, is the fact Stewart walks away with this honor after a scintillating Chase which saw him win five times (a Chase record) and by the slimmest of margins, win his third Sprint Cup championship over Carl Edwards.

Stop the Presses Award (Year’s Biggest Story)
A. NASCAR parking Kyle Busch for a race after he maliciously and deliberately wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution.

B. Richard Childress taking it to Kyle Busch in the driver’s lot at Kansas, which involved the term “Hold my watch” being added to our lexicon.

C. Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards staging one of the more epic championship battles in NASCAR history.

D. The sluggish economy and the resulting lack of sponsorship which forced Red Bull Racing to shutter its doors after the season and Richard Childress and Jack Roush to trim their Cup organizations from four fulltime teams to three for 2012.

Award Goes To: Never before in the 62 years of NASCAR had there been a tie for the championship at the sports top level. In the not too distant future, there is a very good chance we’re going to look back on the mano-a-mano duel between Stewart and Edwards and realize how transcendent it was. What we saw this past year, very well could go down as a once in a lifetime moment.

Alan Kulwicki Award (Driver Who Did the Most with the Least)
A. Regan Smith
Driving for an underfunded, single-car team is the equivalent of being a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest. No matter how hard you try, the results just won’t be there. Except for Regan Smith in 2011, the results were there. He not only scored his first career win – in the Southern 500 nonetheless – he also had five other top-10 finishes including a third-place finish in the Brickyard 400. He also has the distinction of being the only driver to post a top-10 result in the four biggest races of the year.

B. Kasey Kahne
In one year at Red Bull Racing, Kasey Kahne did more for the floundering two-car team than any other driver had done for them previously. In a season void of hope for the now-defunct organization, he provided it on almost a weekly basis. If you wanted to call Kahne a miracle worker, I wouldn’t object.

C. David Gilliland
With a dearth of candidates, let’s give a nod to David Gilliland who in 2011 qualified for all 36 races, kept his team in the top-35 in points and even posted two top-10 finishes, including a third-place run in the Daytona 500.

Award Goes To: For not only surviving but prospering in his only year at Team Dysfunctional, otherwise known as Red Bull Racing, Kasey Kahne more than deserves this honor.

On a side note, it will be strange next year actually seeing Kahne behind the wheel of equipment that actually matches his immense talent.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Award (Most Disappointing Driver)
A. Denny Hamlin
When you go from winning eight races, posting 14 top-fives and finishing runner-up to Jimmie Johnson to winning just once with a mere five top-fives and finishing a nondescript ninth in points, it’s a safe assumption you’re going to be on the list of most disappointing drivers of 2012.

B. Jamie McMurray
Jamie McMurray’s drop was expected. Nonetheless, when you go from winning the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and another points race at Charlotte, to being completely shutout in the win column, and on top of that, falling from 14th in points to 27th, it’s more than fair to be labeled a disappointment.

C. Greg Biffle
In a year when all three of his teammates managed to win at least one race, and two of them not only made the Chase, but were factor throughout, Greg Biffle neither won nor qualified for the playoffs.

D. Joey Logano
Not to beat a dead horse, but Joey Logano again failed to win, didn’t come anywhere close to making the Chase and generally just failed to live up to the potential he has on occasion flashed.

Award Goes To: Another category where we use a curve to guide us to the winner. And in this case, the curve points strictly towards Denny Hamlin.

Losing a title in the manner in which he did last year can be absolutely devastating to ones psyche. Just ask Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon, all of whom went winless the year after finishing second to Jimmie Johnson.

While Joe Gibbs Racing may have had their issues on and off the track this season, it didn’t prevent Kyle Busch, Hamlin’s teammate, from winning four races and securing the number one seed in the Chase.

No matter how you slice it, there is no acceptable excuse for Hamlin to not produce more than he did this past season.

 

If you would like to contact the author of this post, simply click here, and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

 

Filed Under: Awards, NASCAR, Sub-Feature

Handing Out The Sprint Cup Hardware

11/29/2010 By Leave a Comment

Friday night, NASCAR hosts its annual Sprint Cup awards banquet. The problem with this is we already know who’s won all the major awards. Not to mention, the lack of drama, how uncomfortable everyone looks wearing tuxedos and the fun level is pegged at zero.

In its place, I present to you The Golden Geeks. A far less stuffy affair, where you’re encouraged to wear shorts – and if you’re a good looking woman, something skimpy – the bar is open, the drinks stiff and the results unexpected.

Without any further hesitation, let’s get to the reason you came here, and start handing out the hardware.

Derrick Cope Award (Biggest Surprise)
A. Jamie McMurray
From the unemployment line to winning the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Bank of America 500, along with runner-up finishes at Talladega, Darlington and Charlotte. There is no one, and I mean no one, who would have predicted this before the season.

B. Denny Hamlin
Although Denny Hamlin was picked to contend for the title, it was still a surprise that he did so in the manner that he did. Notching eight victories and leading the points heading into the final race of the year at Homestead. Sometimes the surprise is simply living up the expectations and doing what’s expected.

C. Kevin Harvick
Last fall, in the midst of a dismal season, Kevin Harvick was openly campaigning for his release from Richard Childress Racing. Flash-forward a year and the driver nicknamed “Happy,” snapped his 115-race winless streak three times over and racked up the most points in the regular season. Although him winning a race this season wasn’t a surprise, it was him being as dominant and consistent as he was that qualifies him for this award.

Award Goes To: Jamie McMurray, the driver who didn’t have a job last October and whose best offer was only a one-year deal with Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing.

Before this year, the consensus was McMurray was a nice guy, great in front of the camera and with sponsors, and occasionally would find a way to snag a ‘W.” Basically, long story short, he was looked at as a journeyman driver; no more, no less.

Then for some reason – pride, comfortability with his new old team, powerful engines – things just clicked and the results were something no one expected. A shocking Daytona 500 victory, followed by near-misses in some of the sports biggest races, then a win at Indianapolis and the Brickyard 400, and capping it off by taking the checkered flag in the October stop at Charlotte.

In fact, McMurray’s season might be the most unexpected since 2002. That was the year when Kurt Busch, in his sophomore season, came out of nowhere to win four races and finish third overall.

Dale Inman Award (Best Crew Chief)
A. Chad Knaus
It was just another ho-hum year for the “The Mastermind,” guiding his team to their fifth straight championship, along with six victories. Like I said, ho-hum.

B. Gil Martin
Rejuvenated the fortunes of the 29 team and led the temperamental Kevin Harvick to three wins, the regular season points crown and his best overall finish of his 10-year career.

C. Mike Ford
Masterfully handled not only the preseason expectations which have a tendency to sink some teams (See: Edwards, Carl, 2009) but also a slow start and his driver’s knee surgery in April to come within 39 points shy of winning the title.

D. Kevin Manion
In his first year working with Jamie McMurray, Manion guided his team to two majors (Daytona and Indianapolis), plus a win at Charlotte. Far and away, excluding the three title contenders, his team had the best season of everyone else.

Award Goes To: This is arguably the toughest category. All four of the nominees were excellent this season and each was instrumental in their drivers having remarkable years. But for what he did in the Chase, from benching his pit crew at Texas, to rolling the dice and his title hopes on fuel at Phoenix, to calmly withstanding the pressure chamber that was Homestead, no crew chief earned this award more than Chad Knaus.

Down the road and with a little perspective, we’re going to look back at how Knaus willed his team to an unprecedented fifth championship with great admiration. There is no team in all of motorsports that takes on the personality of the guy in charge like the 48 team does with Knaus. This team is built in his image and that is why they’re unflappable when it matters the most.

Richard Petty Award of Excellence (Driver of the Year)
A. Jimmie Johnson
If you don’t know why he’s a nominee, I don’t know why you’re taking the time to read this column.

B. Denny Hamlin
Even driving with a surgically repaired left knee, Denny Hamlin still led the series in wins with eight and was just one of three drivers to lead 1,000-plus laps. If it weren’t for an ill-timed decision early in the Ford 400, he would be your 2010 Sprint Cup champion.

C. Kevin Harvick
Here are Kevin Harvick’s credentials: Three wins, a season-best 26 top-10 finishes, and no driver was better during the regular season. Not to mention, he finished third in points and won the Budweiser Shootout in February.

D. Jamie McMurray
There is not a driver outside of the above three who wouldn’t trade their season for the one Jamie McMurray had in ‘10. One could make a good case that he had arguably a better season than any driver not named Johnson, Hamlin or Harvick.

Award Goes To: Listen, Denny Hamlin had a terrific season, and if it weren’t for that bobble in the opening laps at Homestead he would be getting this award. That’s even with Johnson winning the championship. But that mistake in South Florida can’t be ignored. Johnson didn’t so much win the title, as Hamlin lost it.

Although what Kevin Harvick did was nice, the fact is he won half the number of races as Johnson and five less than Hamlin and finished behind both in the standings.

As for McMurray and his career-year; it was a good story and all, but this sport is about contending and winning championships. Something he didn’t come close to doing in ’10.

Thus, it’s the people’s champion (sarcasm switch firmly placed in the ‘on’ position) who again wins the Richard Petty Award of Excellence. At this point in his career, the debate is no longer, “Where does Jimmie Johnson rank among the all-time greats?” but rather “Is he the best NASCAR driver ever?”

Grab The Headlines Award (Year’s Biggest Story)
A. Jimmie Johnson’s five-peat
Never in the sport’s history has a driver done what Jimmie Johnson has done these last five years. And the numbers he’s amassed during his championship reign are simply staggering: 35 wins, 81 top-fives, 117 top-10s and 7,655 laps led.

B. Denny Hamlin’s emergence
It wasn’t like Denny Hamlin was a nobody before the season started, but in ’10 the fifth-year driver emerged on the track as one of NASCAR’s elite drivers. While off of it, he became one of the leaders in the garage. Frequently sharing his well thought-out opinions on the direction the sport was headed. Even, if it meant incurring NASCAR’s wrath in the form of a substantial fine.

C. RCR’s resurgence
Out of all the teams that run fulltime, none has been around longer than Richard Childress Racing. But after perhaps their worst year in the 33 years they’ve ran a full schedule, there were some serious questions about the viability of RCR and how much longer they were going to be around. Those questions were put to bed though, in a year when the organization won five times and placed all three of its cars in the Chase.

D. Best points race in years
In ‘10, we saw arguably the best points battle since 1992 and certainly since 2004. What made the points race so good, besides how tight the standings were heading into the final race of the year, was the participants involved. Jimmie Johnson racing for his place in NASCAR immortality; Denny Hamlin and his all out quest to slay the 48; and Kevin Harvick, propelled by the legacy of Dale Earnhardt, attempting to win RCR’s first title since 1994.

E. Continued shrinkage in television ratings and attendance
Despite some of the best racing we’ve seen in years, the number of people watching in person and at home continued to dwindle. Seemingly every race featured sections of empty seats, and it was generally doom and gloom when the TV ratings were released mid-week. Again, this was all in the midst of what was consistently some of the best on-track action in many years.

F. “Boys, Have At It”
When NASCAR announced in January that they were going to let the drivers police themselves and they were not going to sanction their on-track behavior unless absolutely necessary, there was a collective, “We’ll believe it when we see it.” But true to their word, the sanctioning body abided by their proclamation. Even when certain situations demanded that they step in and do something. The end result was fantastic racing and a mentality that harkened back to the sports glory days.

G. NASCAR reorganizing the schedule
Over the last 10 years the Sprint Cup schedule had grown a bit stale. Not only that, some tracks had multiple dates that they didn’t warrant, while others deserved more than they were getting. This summer, NASCAR in conjunction ISC and SMI – the two major bodies that own the majority of tracks – took action. Gone were second dates at Fontana and Atlanta and in their place came a second stop at Kansas and an inaugural race at Kentucky. In addition, Chicagoland was moved so that it would be the first race in the Chase starting in 2011.

Award Goes To: Although each of the stories above was newsworthy in their own right, the winner is “Boys, Have At It” in a landslide. The philosophy of letting drivers settle things for themselves on the track, and sometimes off of it, would resonate throughout the season. As this decree dramatically affected what we saw on the track each week and had a hand in some of the most memorable moments of the season.

Bobby Ginn Award (Organization That Laid the Biggest Egg)
A. Michael Waltrip Racing
With David Reutimann winning the organizations first race last season and the signing of Martin Truex Jr. along with crew chief extraordinaire Pat Tryson, big things were predicted for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010. Instead, outside of Reutimann’s surprise win at Chicagoland, the team continued to wallow in mediocrity. They frequently combined some good to great runs with a lot of subpar days. Not to mention the four engine failures that plagued them early in the season. Overall, this team didn’t come anywhere close to meeting its preseason expectations.

B. Team Red Bull Racing
2009 was a year of firsts for Team Red Bull Racing. The two-car team won its first race and placed a car in the Chase for the first time. In 2010 reality hit and TRB came back to earth with a resounding thud. Team leader, Brian Vickers, struggled out of the gate and was eventually sidelined due to blood clots. At the same time, F1 reject Scott Speed had difficulty in learning the nuances of stockcar racing.

C. Roush Fenway Racing
While the other superteams of NASCAR – Hendrick, Gibbs and Childress – were winning just about every week, it took Roush Fenway 21 races to make their way to victory lane. While the team placed three cars in the Chase, more than any other, accumulating just four wins on the year is unacceptable. I’ve yet to hear a reasonable explanation as to why Jack Roush continues to employ David Ragan.

D. Penske Racing
If you take away the season Kurt Busch had, Penske Racing was pretty much nonexistent in 2010. Sam Hornish Jr. continued to show that he made the wrong career choice when he decided to switch from IndyCar to NASCAR. Posting just one finish inside the top-10, a 10th at Loudon, crashing out of three races and finishing the year a dismal 29th in the final points rundown. Then there was Brad Keselowski, who had a tough go of it in his first year running fulltime in Sprint Cup. A pair of 10th-place finishes represents his best result of the year.

Award Goes To: Based on sheer expectations, the award based on ineptitude and failed expectations, should go to Roush Fenway Racing. Then again, they did win four races and had Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth finish fourth and fifth respectively overall.

Instead, in a mild upset, let’s acknowledge the lost season that Team Red Bull Racing had this past year.

Alan Kulwicki Award (Driver Who Did the Most with the Least)
A. Kurt Busch
Despite driving for the lone factory backed Doge team and despite being saddled with two inferior teammates, who combined for three top-10s and finished 25th and 29th in points respectively, Kurt Busch still managed to find a way to win twice, record nine finishes of fifth or better, 17 top-10s and lead 17 races for a total of 842 laps.

B. AJ Allmendinger
Throughout the year, AJ Allmendinger was faced with many questions. Among them, questions about his future, a team that couldn’t pay its bills and wasn’t sure it could make it to the track through the latter part of the season, a lack of funding and just the overall craziness that is associated with being a part of Richard Petty Motorsports; or as I like to refer to them as, Team Dysfunctional. No worries though for the former IndyCar pilot, as he set career-highs in top-fives (2), top-10s (8), laps led (181), lead lap finishes (26), and average finish (17.8).

C. Regan Smith
Driving for an underfunded single-car team is not an easy proposition, but in 2010 Regan Smith made it work. He qualified for all 36 races and finished 20th or better on 12 different occasions. Not great by any means, but it’s still a lot better than most would do given the circumstances.

Award Goes To: For not only surviving but thriving in the madness that evolved Richard Petty Motorsports in ’10, no one deserves this honor more than AJ Allmendinger. Therefore, he receives the Alan Kulwicki Award, along with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. For those unaware, that’s the good stuff, as The Racing Geek spares no expenses.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Award (Most Disappointing Driver)
A. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The namesake of this award had yet another, in an increasing long line of them, miserable/disappointing/frustrating season. 21st in points, 0 wins, 3 top-fives, eight top-10s and an average finish of 18.6 isn’t going to cut driving for the preeminent motorsports team in the Western Hemisphere.

B. Juan Pablo Montoya
Yeah, that win at Watkins Glen was nice, a
s were the six top-fives and the 14 top-10s. But a year after making an appearance in the Chase and being in the thick of the championship race through the first five races, more was expected of Juan Pablo Montoya in 2010. Unfortunately, due to a combination of mechanical failures, accidents, simple bad luck, over aggressiveness and poor pit strategy, the former Indy 500 winner didn’t come close to matching the season he had a year ago.

C. Kasey Kahne
Like Juan Pablo Montoya, a myriad of factors kept Kasey Kahne out of victory lane and out of the Chase for the second consecutive season. Unlike Montoya, a lot of Kahne’s issues in 2010 were self-induced. After his announcement in April that he would be leaving for greener pastures after the season, he became a lame-duck. As a result of all the problems that go with being in a limbo, his year was effectively over.

D. Mark Martin
Martin fell hard from five wins and a runner-up finish in points last year to being completely shutout of victory lane and not even making the Chase this season.

Award Goes To: The easy answer is Dale Earnhardt Jr., but to be honest, at this point we’re use to him underachieving. Instead the award goes to his Hendricks tablemate, Mark Martin.

While expecting Martin to repeat his performance of a year ago was a bit much, there’s no reason why the 51-year-old driver couldn’t have won at least once and put up more of a fight to earn a Chase berth. I understand that the constant questions about his future plans and whether Kasey Kahne would replace him behind the wheel of the No. 5 car in 2011 were a distraction for both driver and team. But at some point you have to be able to put the blinders on and focus on the task at hand. It’s no coincidence that when everything became settled in mid-August, Martin started running better on the track.

Don’t Delete From the DVR Award (Best Race)
A. Daytona 500
The Great American Race lived up its billing, featuring a Daytona-record 21 different leaders exchanging the lead 52 times, and stirring finish featuring Jamie McMurray withstanding a furious charge from Dale Earnhardt Jr.

B. Kobalt Tools 500
The penultimate race of the season was filled with high-drama. Denny Hamlin dominated all afternoon and was inline for the win, which would have all but locked up the championship. Except for one thing; his fuel tank ran dry with 12 laps to go. Chad Knaus, knowing that the only chance his driver Jimmie Johnson had of finishing ahead of the 11 car was by foregoing a final pit stop, called for his driver to nurse his car the final 82 miles. Johnson did so effectively and came home in fifth. Hamlin never recovered and fell back to 12th. Afterwards, we saw Johnson uncharacteristically talk a little trash, Hamlin seethe and the fans rejoice in what was shaping up to be an epic title fight.

C. Ford 400
If you thought above race was dramatic, it didn’t hold a candle to what we witnessed in the season-ending race at Homestead. Three drivers, all with a realistic chance at winning the championship and a race that featured more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. There was Denny Hamlin, spinning out through the grass early on and his ensuing comeback; Jimmie Johnson’s troubles on pit road throughout the day; Kevin Harvick’s costly speeding penalty; his dustup with Kyle Busch, which cumulated with Harvick wrecking Busch and trapping Hamlin a lap down; and in the end, Johnson calmly driving to a runner-up finish and his fifth straight title.

D. Aaron’s 499
With 88 lead changes and a series-record 29 different leaders, the Aaron’s 499 was the most competitive race in NASCAR history. It also featured a photo finish that saw Kevin Harvick nip Jamie McMurray by 11 one-thousands of a second, and snapped Harvick’s 115-race winless streak.

Award Goes To: It comes down to competiveness vs. nail biting drama. In the end, the Aaron’s 499 will be remembered as a great race. Albeit, one aided by the use of restrictor-plates, which diminishes its significance greatly. Years from now, the Ford 400 will be talked about as one of the great races that ended up deciding one of the all-time best championship battles in NASCAR history.

If you would like to contact the author of this post, please feel free to email him at jordan@theracinggeek.com and you can also follow The Racing Geek on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media/Getty Images

Filed Under: Awards, NASCAR

Awards Ceremony Makeover

12/03/2009 By Leave a Comment

NASCAR did a great thing this year. No I’m not talking about implementing double-file restarts – which by the way, might go down as the best decision by NASCAR since they decided to add Indianapolis to the schedule.

I’m talking about them acknowledging that the annual Sprint Cup Awards Ceremony was about as exciting as playing Parcheesi at a nursing home with Aunt Edna.

So, realizing that the banquet needed a dash of excitement and sprinkle of pizzazz, they did what anyone does when they’re looking for a little pick-me-up; they moved the ceremony from New York City to Las Vegas.

Sin City baby!

Ok, on the surface that decision alone gets me slightly excited to watch the festivities Friday night. At least more than I’ve been in a long while.

I mean who can argue with that decision considering Vegas is widely regarded as the most exciting city in the United States. It is a city after all, that to some degree, has come to embrace NASCAR, with the series making an annual stop each spring to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. New York City just didn’t seem like the appropriate place for NASCAR to dole out its awards. Yeah, I know it’s the media capital of the world and all that jazz, but to be honest, it just didn’t fit. It seemed forced and awkward, which is the exact opposite of what an awards ceremony should feel like.

But that doesn’t mean however that just by shifting venues one is going to feel more compelled to tune into SPEED Friday night to watch drivers saunter up to the stage to accept their awards and collect their checks.

More work still needs to be done to get the awards banquet where it needs to be. This is precisely where The Racing Geek comes in.

C’mon, you didn’t think I was going to have some ideas on making this a can’t miss event. Because do I. And let me tell you something, these ideas are good, I mean really good.

Here’s my three-pronged attack to making the NASCAR Awards Ceremony better.

1. Add Some Spontaneity and Dump the Teleprompters
The banquet has become undeniably stagnant over the years, and that’s being kind. What was supposed to be an event to honor everyone’s accomplishments and reflect on the year that was, has become an exercise in curing insomnia.

What is desperately, desperately needed is some spontaneity.

The format is beyond redundant. The top-10 drivers are called up on stage individually. They each then proceed to read a preplanned speech off a teleprompter thanking their owner, crew chief, crew, sponsors and their fifth-grade elementary teacher.

Drivers spend all year in front of television cameras. Whether it’s sitting in front of a horde of cameras post-qualifying or getting asked right after a wreck “What Happened?,” NASCAR drivers are professionally trained to handle themselves in front of large groups of people.

So why do we restrict what they say by insisting that they use teleprompters?

Let’s let the drivers speak from the heart and really share how they feel about the past season.

I’m sure Denny Hamlin would have something to say that would get people riled up. Perhaps he would throw down the gauntlet and tell Jimmie Johnson he won’t be the champion next year because he plans on dethroning him? Who knows? This is exactly what we’re looking for here.

More than likely though Hamlin’s speech will be written by his PR person and will not have a hint of controversy in it, because god knows we wouldn’t want to offend anyone and share our true feelings.

What’s exciting and memorable about that?

Taking things a step further, why not create some fun, and dare I say controversial categories and announce the winners that evening?

Categories like Best Feud, Most Daring Pass, Most Memorable Moment, Best Finish etc.

Wouldn’t you watch if NASCAR had a category for Best Feud and there was the possibility that Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya were going to have to share the stage side-by-side and relive their confrontation from Homestead? There’s a distinct possibility that those two would exchange words, not to mention blows.

I know I would be double-checking and making sure my DVR was set to record.

Spontaneity is a good thing, let’s embrace it.

2. Get a Real Host/MC
Granted SPEED has all ready done this by bringing in Mike Joy and Krista Voda to serve as this year’s emcees. Both Joy and Voda follow the sport on a weekly basis and both are dynamic enough personality-wise to be more than capable emcees.

Which begs me to ask the question, why did NASCAR feel the need to bring in comedian Frank Caliendo as a third host? Were they afraid that Joy and Voda weren’t catchy enough names to snag casual viewers?

Because I hate to say this, but Caliendo has a shelf life and his expired about a year ago. And this is coming from someone who genuinely finds Caliendo’s impersonations funny. But you can only listen to the same John Madden or Jay Leno impersonation so many times.

NASCAR doesn’t need to wheel out some B-list comedian that is in-between bookings at the local Casino. Anyone remember Jay Mohr?

If NASCAR feels as if they need some big name to attract attention, why not bring in someone who loves the sport or at the very least follows the sport enough as to where they don’t need a crash course in NASCAR 101 prior to the show.

Names I would throw out would include names like Jay Leno or Jeff Foxworthy.

While not everyone may find either humorous, both at the very least are just as funny as Caliendo and both certainly have an unwavering passion for NASCAR. Something that Caliendo can’t say.

Let’s stop catering to the casual fan get back to those who genuinely loves NASCAR and what it stands for.

3. Add Alcohol; No Seriously Add Alcohol
And just for the record, I’m not saying this because I’m an advocate for boozing it up.

I am what you would call an awards show junkie. If there is some kind of awards show on, the chances are fairly high that I am probably watching it.

And of all the award shows out there, do you know which one is best?

It’s not the MTV Music Awards, which ends up selecting it’s winners by who will attract the most eyeballs

And it’s not the Academy Awards, which is the most pretentious.

No, it’s the Golden Globe Awards.

Whereas the Oscars are generally dry, stuffy and have all the excitement of a funeral, the Golden Globe Awards are fun, loose and off-the-cuff.

And you want to know the number one reason what makes the Golden Globes so much fun?

Liquor.

The Golden Globes, God bless’em has openly embraced the concept of an open bar.

Everyone is drinking. Everyone is happy to be there. And everyone is a lot looser – which take it from an awards show junkie – is the key to any good awards show.

NASCAR already has deals in place with Coors Light and Crown Royal. Embrace and celebrate those deals. It won’t cost anything to tap the kegs and crack open the bottles.

As Homer Simpson said so poetically, “Beer: The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.”

Filed Under: Awards, Awards Ceremony, NASCAR

Handing Out Some Hardware

12/01/2009 By 1 Comment

It’s that time of the year again when I put on my hideous looking powder blue tuxedo – please don’t ask, The Racing Geek has an unhealthy fetish with 70’s fashion, and yes, I’m well aware that it’s a bit weird – and handout some equally hideous looking awards, which I’m certain will become nothing more than a glorified paperweight. Cue the cheesy orchestra music and let’s get this awards ceremony started.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Award (Most Disappointing Driver)
A. Dale Earnhardt Junior
While his three Hendrick teammates were winning races and ultimately finishing 1-2-3 in the final standings, Junior won absolutely nothing, had only two top-5s on the year and had by far, the worst season of his career.

B. Kevin Harvick
Despite a late-season rally, Harvick still went from fifth in points in 2008, to 19th this year, the biggest decline by any driver from last year to this.

C. Carl Edwards
Despite being saddled with an inferior engine, the preseason championship favorite not only was never in championship contention, he didn’t even make it to victory lane once, just a year removed from winning nine times.

D. Kyle Busch
Busch, like Edwards, was a popular preseason pick; he went from winning eight races in 2008 and the regular season point’s crown, to not even making the Chase. On top of that, Busch’s immature behavior got his more than capable crew chief canned.

Award Goes To: Carl Edwards, who for the first time in 2009 actually wins something tangible.

It’s incredibly easy to give this award to its namesake, the problem is what happened to Junior this year you could see coming from a mile away. You can’t label someone a disappointment if you never expected much from them to begin with.

Harvick hasn’t won a race since 2007, so again our expectations were pretty minimal coming into the year despite the fine year he had last year.

It’s hard to completely label Busch’s season a bust because he did win four races, which is something that no other nominee can claim.

While quite often the popular preseason pick fails to meet everyone’s expectations, it’s rare that they perform a belly flop like the one Edwards did this year. I can on some level accept Edwards’ struggles this year, but to not win a race is inexcusable and thus is the very reason why Edwards is the recipient of this award.

Derrick Cope Award (Biggest Surprise)
A. Juan Pablo Montoya
In his third year in NASCAR, Montoya made the Chase for the first time in his career, became a consistent presence in the top-10, all while driving for Earnhardt-Ganassi, which no one will ever confuse for Hendrick, Gibbs or even RCR.

B. Tony Stewart/Stewart-Haas Racing
Stewart took control of a team where finishing in the top-10 was considered a victory. He then proceeded to take them to unforeseen heights, winning four races plus the All-Star race and leading the points for the majority of the regular season. And his second car driven by Ryan Newman rebounded from a dismal start to also make the Chase. That means Stewart-Haas had as many cars in the Chase as Roush, and one more car than Gibbs. I’m pretty sure no one saw that coming.

C. Mark Martin
No one thought Martin was finished when he announced his return fulltime, but who foresaw him winning five times and finishing second in points for the fifth time in his career?

D. Kyle Busch not making the Chase
After winning three of the first 10 races, Busch looked like a lock to make the Chase. Unfortunately for him, the bottom fell out and the sport’s most talented wheelman fell of the map almost completely and missed the Chase for the first time since his rookie year.

Award Goes To: Tony Stewart/Stewart-Haas Racing

We all knew Montoya had the talent and that it was just a matter of time when he figured this NASCAR thing out.

Martin winning races and making the Chase wasn’t a complete shocker; in fact a lot of pundits – not me though – expected this to happen.

Kyle Busch’s problems in last year’s Chase for the Championship was a strong indicator that making this year’s Chase was no sure thing.

How shocking was what Tony Stewart did in year one as an owner-driver? Here’s what Haas Racing accomplished before Stewart came aboard: 0 wins, 1 top-5, 14 top-10s and 109 laps led. Here’s what Stewart’s operation did in his first year at the helm: 4 wins, 20 top-5s, 38 top-10s and 628 laps led. If you could have predicted that, start buying lotto numbers.

Dale Inman Award (Best Crew Chief)
A. Chad Knaus
It was just another ho-hum year for Knaus as he led the 48 bunch to only seven wins and their fourth-consecutive championship.

B. Brian Pattie
Pattie masterfully harnessed Juan Pablo Montoya’s talent and his aggressiveness into a Chase berth.

C. Alan Gustafson
One of the most unheralded head wrenches in the garage became a regular visitor to victory lane, guiding Mark Martin to five wins and a runner-up finish in the standings.

D. Darrian Grubb
Getting along with Tony Stewart is no easy thing, but getting Stewart to trust your calls 100 percent is an even tougher thing to do. Grubb made them both look easy in his first year working with Stewart and the results proved it.

Award Goes To: Chad Knaus in the shocker of all shockers.

The 48 team continues to do things in this sport that have never been done before. A lot of that has to do with the guy whose drive, well, drives them to what once was considered the impossible, but has now very much the reality.

Richard Petty Award of Excellence (Driver of the Year)
A. Jimmie Johnson
Seven wins, 16 top-5s, 24 top-10s and his fourth-straight championship. All in all I would call Johnson’s credentials to be more than worthy for consideration for the Richard Petty Award of Excellence.

B. Tony Stewart
Stewart won four times and that’s not counting the All-Star race, which Stewart won for the first time in his career.

C. Mark Martin
From semi-retirement to the front of the field, Martin showed that age is nothing more than just another number.

Award Goes To: Again be prepared to be surprised, but Jimmie Johnson once again gets the nod.

Tony Stewart and Mark Martin had outstanding years, but when you do something that is unprecedented, it’s a safe assumption that you’re going to be named the 2009 Driver of the Year. Not much else really needs to be said.

Stop the Presses Award (Year’s Biggest Story)
A. The continued madness that is otherwise known as restrictor-plate racing at Talladega.
Both races featured scary multi-car accidents that resulted in cars ending up on their roofs.

B. Mark Martin coming out of semi-retirement to win five races and contend for the championship.

C. Jimmie Johnson’s four-peat.

D. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s miserable year.

E. TV ratings continuing to trend downwards.
At different points during the year, the ratings were the lowest they’ve been in 10 years. Even typically strong races like the Daytona 500 and both Talladega races suffered lackluster numbers.

Award Goes To: The guy who is going to need a wheelbarrow from Lowes to haul all his hardware home – Jimmie Johnson.

Restrictor-plate racing is really no different now then it was 15 years ago –which in no way makes it right.

Mark Martin doing all that he did was nice and everything, but the ending to his fairytale season lacked the storybook conclusion.

Junior because he’s the series most popular driver certainly dominated the headlines with his poor year, but
we’re looking for something slightly more positive here. Plus to be honest, it wasn’t all that shocking that Junior ran as bad as he did.

The TV ratings have been gradually declining for the last couple of years, and in all honesty, I don’t think they’ve hit rock bottom yet.

And sorry to be redundant, but when a driver steamrolls the competition for his fourth straight Sprint Cup title, I don’t know how that’s not the biggest story of 2009.

Bobby Ginn Award (Organization That Laid the Biggest Egg)
A. Richard Childress Racing
A year removed from having three cars in the Chase, RCR failed to even get one in and was shutout of victory lane for the first time since 2004.

B. Roush Fenway Racing
Yes Roush won the Daytona 500, but other than that noteworthy win, the year was pretty much a lost one. Roush never was able to find additional horsepower to make his cars competitive and as a result his fleet of Ford’s more often than not trailed Hendrick’s Chevys and the Gibbs’ Toyotas.

C. Joe Gibbs Racing
By its own lofty standards Joe Gibbs Racing struggled in 2009, placing only one of its three cars in the Chase. And outside of Hamlin’s late-season push, JGR never really had a car that could be considered a bona fide championship threat.

Award Goes To: Sadly, Richard Childress Racing.

When you have four fulltime teams and none of them wins a race that by the very definition is laying a giant stinky egg that’s going to fester all offseason.

Alan Kulwicki Award (Driver Who Did the Most with the Least)
A. Brian Vickers
Made the Chase for the first time in his career and he won Team Red Bull’s first NASCAR race of any kind when he took the checkers at Michigan in August.

B. Marcos Ambrose
In his first full year in Sprint Cup, Ambrose racked-up seven top-10s including a very impressive third under the lights at Bristol and finished the year out 18th in points.

C. David Reutimann
Like Vickers, Reutimann took his team to victory lane for their maiden win. Unlike Vickers, Reutimann had to deal with having Michael Waltrip for a teammate.

D. Juan Pablo Montoya
Not since 2001 had a Ganassi owned car finished in the top-10 in points. Montoya though, with his remarkable driving talent was able to overcome the disadvantage of driving for a team that before the season was unsure of its future.

Award Goes To: In an extremely close category with a lot of deserving candidates, Juan Pablo Montoya warrants the hardware more than any other nominee.

If Brian Vickers would have finished the year anywhere close to how he performed in the summer months, he would merited more consideration.

Ambrose had a great year and is an even greater guy, but to win this award it takes more than what he did, no matter how remarkable it was.

Like Vickers, Reutimann lacked the consistency that is needed if you want the recognition and the trophy from me.

Here’s the shortlist of what Montoya had stacked against him heading into the year: A new teammate; a manufacture change from Dodge to Chevrolet; and an owner who was uncertain if we wanted to continue in NASCAR. That’s a lot of stuff to overcome for a driver who’s known for not handling adversity well.

Don’t Delete From the DVR Award (Best Race)
A. Aaron’s 499-Talladega
Carl Edwards turns his car into a kite coming to the checkered flag and we have a surprising first time winner in Brad Keselowski.

B. Lifelock 400-Michigan
Jimmie Johnson runs out of fuel coming to the white flag, while Greg Biffle hits empty on the final lap, allowing Mark Martin to sneak by for his third win of 2009

C. Coke Zero 400-Daytona
Coming to the stripe, Kyle Busch attempts to block Tony Stewart, which doesn’t end well for Busch, as he gets sent spinning towards the outside wall igniting a frantic scramble to the finish.

D. Chevy Rock & Roll 400-Richmond
With Denny Hamlin dominating to get his first win on his hometown track, Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch fight tooth-and-nail for the final spot in the Chase.

Award Goes To: Despite my increasing apathy towards plate-racing at Talladega, in a controversial finish, the Aaron’s 499 hears its name called.

Michigan was only exciting for the last 50 laps and really outside of Johnson and Biffle miscalculating their fuel mileage, not a whole lot happened.

The Coke 400 was good – and I mean really good – however in the grand scheme of things, the race pales in comparison to what transpired at Talladega.

Richmond rocked on a lot of different levels, but is anyone going to remember that race five years from now?

Which is precisely what makes the Aaron’s 499 so good. People are going to remember that finish for years and years to come. It’s a finish that will be replayed countless times and is an ending that cheesy racing movies will attempt to copy one too many times.

Filed Under: 2009, Awards, NASCAR, Review