Daytona: “I keep thinking I’m dreaming.” — Trevor Bayne
It wasn’t just 20-year-old Bayne who was dreaming as the start of the 2011 started with his win in one of the biggest races of the year. Bayne, who celebrated his birthday the day before, won the event in his second career Cup start. It was a sign of things to come in the NSCS.
Phoenix: “There’s always got to be one car out there to ruin the whole weekend. [Sunday] it was the 24.” — Kyle Busch
[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″]
[/media-credit]In August of 2010 Busch completed a feat that had never been done before: he won all three NASCAR events on the same weekend at Bristol. He’d come close to accomplishing it before then and after he did he came doing it again. At Phoenix he came up one race and one position short of another triple.
Las Vegas: “We just gave one away today. This Mobile 1 Chevy was the baddest thing on the West Coast today. Second sucks.” — Tony Stewart
Perhaps it was all in the cards for Carl Edwards and Stewart in 2011, which might have started in Vegas. On this day it was Stewart who dominated but Edwards who won. In the season final at Homestead it would be Edwards who dominated but Stewart who won the race and championship.
Bristol: “It’s simple, I should have hit him harder. He’s still got one coming from Phoenix.” — Carl Edwards
There have been classic Bristol moments in NASCAR and looking back it seems that Edwards knew he let a potential one get away. Racing Kyle Busch for the win he tried to race him hard and clean then regretted not taking the shot that he said back in Phoenix following the Nationwide race he owed Busch from 2010.
Fontana: “All in all a good day but it’s like kissing your sister running second. And I don’t have a sister.” —- Jimmie Johnson
Johnson was that close to winning another race in California until Kevin Harvick arrived on the scene. Harvick flew past Johnson on the final lap in turns three and four to take the win, which Johnson had taken from him in 2010.
Martinsville: “I’m frustrated that I got close, I was out there leading and I was thinking I’m gonna try to take me home a clock and I don’t know. Hate I didn’t win.” — Dale Earnhardt Jr.
For the first time in three years Earnhardt Jr. was within two laps of winning his first race and his first at Martinsville. Until again Harvick arrived on the scene to take another win from a Hendrick Motorsports driver. The two would meet again for a win a few weeks later.
Texas: “Show me where to park this thing. It’s been a while.” — Matt Kenseth
He normally takes a bad rap for the lack of personality that he shows to fans but Kenseth was plenty emotional following his first win since California in 2009. Kenseth dominated at Texas for his first of three wins in 2011.
Talladega: “Hell, no, that sucks. It’s never very good to know you made NASCAR history by losing. Sooner or later I need to start making history by winning. That guy’s won enough.” — Clint Bowyer
In the fall of 2010 it was Clint Bowyer by inches over teammate Kevin Harvick for the win. This time around Bowyer was on the other end when he was involved in a photo finish with Jimmie Johnson, the closest finish in NASCAR history. Bowyer laughed about it afterward but the loss would sting the driver for weeks to come.
Richmond: “Every time Montoya has damage, you see who did it, they usually end up getting wrecked. You usually know that’s coming.” — Denny Hamlin
It was rare that NASCAR’s boys have at it mentality didn’t appear on a race weekend this season. At Richmond it was Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman disagreeing over space when Montoya retaliated for contact Newman had made with him. Montoya’s competitors such as Hamlin said they aren’t surprised anymore.
Darlington: “This is the Southern 500. We’re not supposed to win this thing.” —- Regan Smith
First it was Trevor Bayne then Smith followed it up with a big win of his own. The prestigious Southern 500 crowned another first time winner in Smith and his No. 78 Furniture Row team who bested Carl Edwards.
Dover: “Never thought I’d say I’d kiss a guy before but if Doug Yates was here I’d probably give him a kiss. We had so much horsepower today that made our job so much easier.” — Matt Kenseth
It was horsepower and two tires for Kenseth at Dover. After watching teammate Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson dominate the race the 17 team decided they would take the win away from calling for two tires on their last pit stop. Kenseth was ever grateful in victory lane.
Charlotte: “I feel so stinkin’ bad for him.” — Kevin Harvick
His nickname used to be ‘The Closer’ but following 2011 it might be known as Junior slayer. After taking the win away at Martinsville Harvick went on to win at Charlotte when Earnhardt Jr. ran out of gas in turn three on the final lap.
Kansas: “It’s because of the hard work, it’s because of the bad finishes and the struggles it’s been to get here that I really appreciate this win.” — Brad Keselowski
A week later Earnhardt Jr. finished second to the man that he helped put on the NASCAR map. Keselowski won a fuel mileage race in Kansas for his first of three wins in 2011 when he went from also ran to championship contender.
Pocono: “Maybe it kind of shows his character and who he is and how he feels he needs to race on the racetrack. But it’s not my fight, he’s trying to turn it into one.” — Kyle Busch
The biggest rivalry of 2011 in the Sprint Cup Series will go down as Busch vs. Harvick. Following their antics at Darlington the two were put on probation but when that ended the weekend heading into Pocono the two found themselves around each other constantly. Early in the event Harvick ran Busch all the way down the frontstretch, leading the two to be warned by NASCAR to calm down.
Michigan: “Just ran us slap in the wall, I don’t know how else to explain it.” — Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Along with boys have at it in 2011, there was the recurring theme of teammates getting together. At Michigan Mark Martin came up the track and sent Earnhardt Jr. into the wall, which would later cause him to blow a tire. It was the start of a bad summer streak that cause Earnhardt Jr. to nearly miss another Chase birth.
Sonoma: “Last year when his cars were really, really good and Jamie McMurray was the man, Juan still couldn’t win a race. Shows about what he can do in NASCAR.” — Kasey Kahne
It wasn’t just at Richmond that Juan Pablo Montoya was rubbing people the wrong way. Road rage was at its best in Sonoma when drivers started dropping like flies from retaliation. Montoya claimed that others didn’t know how to drive on road courses while Kahne believes Montoya just can’t drive.
Daytona: “We got one back at Daytona, it would have been tough to lose another one.” — David Ragan
Perhaps lost in the midst of the Bayne’s win in the Daytona 500 was how it was lost for Ragan. He was leading on the first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish but was penalized for changing lanes before the start-finish line as he attempted to get hooked back together with Bayne. Had he not been penalized it could have been him in victory lane.
Kentucky: “This is cool man, this is right up there with the best of them. I haven’t won the big ones, this is as good as it gets right now.” —- Kyle Busch
Unfortunately for both the Kentucky Speedway and Busch, the inaugural race will be remembered for the horrible traffic jam. Some fans arrived late and left late, others didn’t arrive at all. Meanwhile, Busch dominated the event for his third win of the season.
Loudon: “Got to thank the U.S. Army, this one’s for the soldiers, thank you guys. We’ve been working so hard get this U.S. Army Chevrolet into victory lane.” — Ryan Newman
The site of Newman’s first career Cup win was also the site of his first win with the U.S. Army on board his Chevrolet. When Newman joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009 he didn’t win a race that season and his 2010 victory at Phoenix came with Tornadoes on the car. But on the weekend when he and Stewart started and finished first and second, the true heroes got to go to victory lane.
Indianapolis: “We’re winners in Sprint Cup and that’s a big deal. And to do it at Indy, even bigger deal. You can’t change people’s opinions.” — Paul Menard
There had to be something in the water this season. Bayne and then Smith and then came Menard with his first career Cup win. All three drivers won their first race in the biggest races of the year. For Menard, it was a long time coming and something that he doesn’t care changed the opinions of those who believe he isn’t worthy of a Cup ride.
Pocono: “I’m no hero. The heroes are the guys who died in Afghanistan this weekend … those are the heroes. I just drive racecars for a living.” —- Brad Keselowski
Winning at the Tricky Triangle in Pennsylvania is tough enough but doing so with a broken ankle seems nearly impossible. Not so for Keselowski who notched his second win of the season with one good leg. With all the focus of his gutsy performance, Keselowski tried to turn the attention to those who gave him the inspiration.
Watkins Glen: “He is the most unprofessional little scaredy cat I’ve ever seen in my life. He wouldn’t even fight me like a man after. So if someone texts me his address, I’ll go see him Wednesday at his house and show him what he really needs.” — Boris Said
The road rage from Sonoma travelled with the Cup Series to Watkins Glen just a few weeks later. While Marcos Ambrose raced his way to victory it was Said getting into David Ragan who hit the wall hard and then hit David Reutimann who flipped over. Afterwards drivers like Ragan’s teammate Greg Biffle made Said aware of his opinions of a man who is supposed to be a road course specialist.
Michigan: “I’ll be perfectly honest, at this point of the deal if we’re gonna run this bad it really doesn’t matter whether we make the Chase or not because we’re going to be occupying a spot in the Chase that somebody else that actually can run for a championship trying to take because our stuffs so bad right now we’re wasting one of those top 12 spots right now.” — Tony Stewart
Uttered in the garage after the race, this might be the quote of the year. Reason being is that after the 14 team heard their boss’s confidence in their Chase chances things quickly changed. They made the Chase and won the first two races and then two more weeks later leading into the season finale which they won to earn the championship.
Bristol: “I’ll tell ya, the pit road thing is interesting here. I think they got to look at that because if you look at how the 2 and the 17 were able to shoot out there, I think it defeats the purpose of a pit road speed.” — Jeff Gordon
Even when finishing well there are always unhappy drivers at Bristol, such as the case of Jeff Gordon. During the event it was repeatedly shown that Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth were getting off pit road much faster than the competition because of where the timing lines were. Keselowski went on the win the race and Gordon found it interesting that such a thing was able to take place.
Atlanta: “What a lot of fun. To race that hard, to be that sideways at 180 miles per hour lap after lap, is a good time.” — Jimmie Johnson
Gordon’s disappointment didn’t last long. A week later he won his 85th career race to move to third on the all-time wins list. Gordon held off a furious charge from teammate Johnson as they both slide around the high-speed, high-banked facility.
Richmond: “I know Paul Menard well enough that he wouldn’t have spun out on purpose even if he had been asked.” —- Richard Childress
Gordon however, wasn’t done finding something to talk about. He wasn’t the only one though that saw something fishy about Kevin Harvick’s Richmond win. As Gordon closed in Harvick for the lead late there was communication going on with RCR teammate Paul Menard the need for a caution. When Gordon finally got around Harvick the 27 team switched radios and soon Menard was spinning on the frontstretch to bring out the caution. On the restart Harvick retook the lead and won the race.
Chicago: “He shouldn’t count himself out, that’s pretty funny.” — Kevin Harvick
After his strong words about their chances in Michigan Tony Stewart wasn’t done talking his team out of the championship. During Chase media day heading into the first race at Chicago he counted five drivers as contenders but excluded himself. Stewart went on to win the race.
Loudon: “Well, we got rid of some dead weight earlier this week so it’s made it a lot easier.” — Tony Stewart
Then he won again the following week and the talk went from being out the Chase to being the favorite. Asked about the turnaround Stewart uttered this memorable moment that lead to much speculation around the garage about what or whom he meant. It was later found that his relationship status had indeed changed.
Dover: “To be able to conquer the Monster Mile, to have that Miles trophy now on the trophy shelf, I felt like I was missing something over the years.” —- Kurt Busch
The year wouldn’t end like either Busch brother would have imagined but both put up valiant fights for the championship. Older brother won his second race of the year after conquering the concrete and ranked the win among his best.
Kansas: “I feel like I won. I feel like we won that race, that was an unbelievable comeback.” — Carl Edwards
He didn’t win the race but had he Edwards might not have lost the championship. After getting off to a horrible start to the day, losing a lap and racing near the back of the field, the No. 99 came roaring back in the end to finish fifth. At the time it looked like it was another championship weekend.
Charlotte: “He just flat out drove right past me like I was standing still.” —- Kyle Busch
When Busch is running away from the competition on Friday and Saturday night’s they call him the restart king. But on this Sunday he was one upped by Matt Kenseth for the win in Charlotte. It left Busch short again of his first win at Charlotte and in the Chase.
Talladega: “He’s been a great teammate and I’ve learned a lot from him, but he’s already won a lot of races and I’ve only won five.” — Clint Bowyer
Whereas Johnson stung him in the spring, Bowyer retuned in the fall to back up his 2010 win. It was another photo finish and again he beat a teammate, this time Jeff Burton who had come so close to snapping his winless drought.
Martinsville: “He’d better be worried, that’s all I can say. He’s not going to have an easy three weeks.” — Tony Stewart
From talking about being down and out to suddenly throwing down the gauntlet. With his third win in the Chase Stewart was ready to make it aware that he was going after his third championship. That meant point leader Carl Edwards was on notice.
Texas: “This ones a tough one for us but sometimes in life you go through tough things, you don’t like it. But we’re certainly going to try and work our way through this one and do the right thing and try to handle it the right way.” — Joe Gibbs
His actions in Friday night’s Truck race with Kevin Harvick Inc. driver Ron Hornaday left Kyle Busch parked for the remainder of the weekend. That meant it dragged his Nationwide and Sprint Cup teams into his mess. Owner Joe Gibbs spoke to the media on Saturday morning after the punishment was handed down by NASCAR and said that Busch was remorseful and would be better moving forward.
Phoenix: “It’s been one hell of a run.” —- Jimmie Johnson
It wasn’t the way that anyone envisioned his five-year reign as king of the NASCAR mountain ending. Johnson struggled by his standards in 2011, winning only twice and never seriously contending for the championship. The ‘it’ magic just wasn’t there and following a 15th place finish in Phoenix he was officially eliminated from Chase contention.
Homestead-Miami: “They’re going to feel like [expletive] after we kick their ass after this.” — Tony Stewart
It seemed fitting that Stewart wouldn’t get to win his third championship the easy way. After fighting all season long to win to make the Chase and win a race, Stewart would have to fight all race long when his a hole was punctured in his Chevy’s grille. He had to drive from the back of the field twice – his confidence as shown never wavering – passing a total of 118 cars, on his way to the lead over Edwards. The two finished first and second with Stewart owning the point tiebreaker in wins.
