SM Staff

Every NASCAR fan can agree that the Sprint Cup Series has an excess number of mile and a half tracks on the schedule. Mile and a half tracks don’t feature the close, competitive racing that superspeedway’s, short tracks and road courses do. NASCAR is always looking for fan input on the series and one suggestion they’re not listening to is fans no longer wanting as many mile and a half tracks on the schedule.

Now that the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is in the history books. It is time to look back at how the top teams in the sport performed in 2012. Some teams rose to the occasion and performed at the top of their game while others disappointed and performed below expectations. Here are my grades for the 2012 season.

NASCAR drivers were once thought of as elusive figures. Heroes who were more likely to be seen instead of heard; behind pit walls, in...

Dreams. They come in all shapes and sizes. Little dreams, big dreams. Some dreams include finding happiness in life or dreaming to make yourself a better person.

“I'm more excited about this year being over than anything else in my entire life.”

Regan Smith had just won his first career Nationwide Series race Saturday night in Homestead. He did so after a five year hiatus in one those cars. And he won with the organization he’ll drive for full-time in 2013.

In a weekend full of champion-crowning, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Let’s take a flashback to the beginning of the season; the smell of a new race season filled the air with endless possibilities. After a busy off-season everyone was excited to see the first race of the season and see all the drivers in their new cars.

When it came to hard racing, Brad Keselowski made a point at Phoenix International Raceway after the criticism that he received following the battle for the lead with Jimmie Johnson at Texas Motor Speedway.

After a controversial race last week at Phoenix, Jeff Gordon stretched his fuel mileage and won Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This was Gordon’s second win of the season and the 87th of his career.