SM Staff

“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.

When the NASCAR Nationwide Series chose to go to Montreal, everybody knew of the city and believed in the decision. However, when it came to NASCAR choosing Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, many questions began to enter the minds of fans.

SpeedwayMedia editor, Ed Coombs and NASCAR.com writer, Kenny Bruce, recap the 2012 season and take an early look ahead at 2013.

In just his third full-time season, Brad Keselowski is crowned champion. The road to the championship hasn’t been easy but Keselowski has gone down the path and conquered the end result.

What an incredible 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. A season that started off with a Monday night under the lights Daytona 500 all the way to a riveting championship battle all the way to the final few laps at Homestead.