The fat lady is on stage, the band is ready, the curtain has gone up. All we need now is a nod from the conductor for her to sing her song. Jimmie Johnson finished third at Phoenix. Matt Kenseth had problems, came home 23rd, and the gap between the two leaders is now 28 points. With only 48 left on the table at Homestead, Five Time needs to finish 23rd or better to amend his nickname yet again.
Petty is one of the most recognized names in the history of NASCAR. But Lee Petty didn’t begin competing in NASCAR for fame or fortune. It was a means to an end. On a good day it was a way to put food on the table and pay the bills. His career bore little resemblance to the pampered lifestyle of today’s stock car racing elite.
Johnson started on the pole and finished third in the AdvoCare 500, well ahead of Matt Kenseth, who struggled and finished 23rd. Johnson has a 28-point lead heading into Homestead, and needs only a finish of 23rd or better to clinch the Cup.
58-year-old Ken Schrader will end his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) driving the No. 32 this weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway (HMS). Schrader began his career racing at Nashville Speedway in 1984 where he qualified 28th and concluded the race in 19th. Schrader most likely expected racing to stay a hobby after that event, I doubt he though it become an entire life for him until 2013.
Rumors are boiling like stew in a pot about who will be the primary driver for the No. 20 Toyota in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in 2014.