It seems only fitting that when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship is decided this Sunday night, bringing down the curtain on the a season full of memories, it will be between two drivers who started the season in Florida by grabbing all the mainstream media attention. 
Point leader Brad Keselowski – yes, point leader, is in command of his first championship. The Michigan native would love to add another title to his resume after earning his first Nationwide Series championship in 2010. Keselowski holds a 20 point lead on Jimmie Johnson and has three possible scenarios in order to become the new man on the NASCAR mountain.
The first: finish 15th or better and win the championship. Lead a lap and finish 16th or better and win the championship. Or, lead the most laps and finish 17th or better and win the championship. That’s regardless of what Johnson goes out and does. But Keselowski’s mentality will be to follow in Tony Stewart’s path from last season and head to Homestead and win the race, leaving all doubt and clinching scenarios far behind.
What a better way for Keselowski to end the season that he kicked off by bringing NASCAR some new attention. During a two-hour red flag in the February Daytona 500, Keselowski sent Twitter updates from inside his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing. It was the tweet heard ‘round the world with Keselowski and NASCAR becoming fan favorites.
Except, Keselowski did more than just tweet, send out behind the wheel photos and engage fans. He started winning and running well. Well enough to make the Chase for the second straight year. But, it was hard pressed to find many who pictured Keselowski as more than a top five driver. Surely he couldn’t take down the likes of Johnson and Denny Hamlin? The hottest and most experienced Chase drivers in the field.
But as he’s always done, Keselowski just wouldn’t go away. He won some more – two of the first three Chase races. More than enough to put him at the top of the leaderboard, a driver to no longer doubt or second guess, Keselowski became real. He wasn’t just going to finish the year in the top five, he was looking at the top three. A lucky break last weekend in Phoenix, which saw Johnson finish 32nd after hitting the wall from a melted bead, put him in the position he’s now in heading to Homestead.
Just let it sink in. Brad Keselowski could be the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. Have you tried saying it out yet? It’s a major possibility. The man who is in his third, just third, full-time season in NSCS could be our next champion. The man who was given a chance by Dale Earnhardt Jr., had early run-ins with Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards, found his way into the legendary Blue Deuce, is on the verge of doing something none of those drivers have, yet.
His hard-nosed, refuse to back down, brash and often outspoken 28-year-old, is the perfect rival to Johnson. They come from different backgrounds, teams and their accomplishments couldn’t be more polar opposites. Keselowski, a nine-time Cup winner with one NNS title shouldn’t be about to beat the man who made the Chase his personal playground the last few years.
Johnson, with 60 Cup wins and five championships, being five straight from 2006-2010, can simply be described as the man. And in order to be the man, you have to beat the man. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has a tall task ahead of him on Sunday, but isn’t about to let Keselowski become the man.
Feared by many, hated by some but respected by all – Johnson has accomplished nearly everything there is in the sport. Winning another championship on Sunday would only add to his legacy. Johnson has blown everyone out of the water since he entered the sport in 2002 and the years that he was winning titles, he was untouchable, invincible to the competition and just flat out great.
That greatness hasn’t wavered, but it’s been discovered that he’s human. When his championship reign came to a close last year it left the haters believing it was the end of all his success. The 48 fans and team just used it as motivation and in 2012 they’re right back where they expected and are expected to be. It’s a matter of finishing the deal now.
A sixth championship would be unprecedented. Hell, five was. But something about saying six-time champion just brings goose bumps. Perhaps because not since teammate Jeff Gordon in 2001 has anyone thought it would be possible to win more than four. Forget about getting close enough to see the greats of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the windshield. Make no mistake, Johnson and company have the makings to get six, seven and eight titles as well as many more.
What fans see on a weekly basis is greatness. Right before their eyes, love it or hate it. Whatever happens on Sunday night in Homestead, Johnson can hold his head high. When the season started it looked like he wasn’t going to even make Homestead in this position.
Like Keselowski, the Daytona 500 was a memorable one involving Johnson. The race wasn’t even a lap old when he was wrecked in a big crash. That wasn’t headline making, the fact that he left the first race of the season with negative points because NASCAR had penalized his HMS team for illegal C posts during initial practice for the Daytona 500, was.
Crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec were initially suspended for six weeks. They were docked 25 championship points. On appeal, the suspensions were rescinded, the points returned but Knaus still lost $100,000. The team quickly got to work, moving from 37th in points to fifth after their first win of the season at Darlington, the eleventh race of the year.
They haven’t looked back since and there’s one more race to make their comeback and six pack complete. It’s Keselowski and Johnson, they will settled the 2012 Sprint Cup, everyone else has been left in the dust. Perhaps a matchup that once seemed far-fetched or even considered at all, the two have given it everything they have over the last nine weeks and provided a formidable clash. Now the time has come to leave it all out on the track, one more time.
Fear not, this battle is far from over. While 20 points is not ideal for Johnson or the story lines it’s not insurmountable. Since the checkered flag flew at Phoenix he’s been sending out tweets as well all week that he’s ready to race, he’s not giving up and that anything can happen. It’s never over until it’s over, something that has played out again and again this season.
And lest we not forget, the points may be different now, but the last two years the eventual champion came from behind entering Homestead. One of those was Johnson just two years ago. He’s ready and believing he can do it again. Except Keselowski has never been one to go down easy, he’s just as ready for the fight and the championship upset.
So, let’s get ready to ring the bell, the final round of this knockout fight is about to begin. Only question is, who will be the man that delivers the final punch?
