James Buescher crowned NCWTS champion; Cale Gale rubs Kyle Busch for win
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[/media-credit]With a last lap pass and some fender rubbing with Kyle Busch, Cale Gale was able to become the ninth first-time winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series by winning the Ford Ecoboost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Meanwhile, Buescher would finish 13th to win his first ever championship, six points ahead of Timothy Peters.
“We had a shot last year,” he said. “Put a lot of work in to it in the off-season and won it. This is the biggest thing that I have done in racing.”
Buescher would avoid an incident with four laps to go between Kyle Larson and Ty Dillon and keep himself in the hunt all night long to take the championship.
“It was close and Ty (Dillon) and everybody at RCR, they were giving us a run for it and I guess he crowded the 4 (Larson) and they went up into the wall,” Buescher said. “We were putting everything into this Great Clips Chevy, sliding around – about slid into the wall but managed to hold on. This truck won us four races, and now it has won us a championship.”
Buescher added that he didn’t expect to win his first race and championship in the same season.
“If I had known that getting in the married in the off-season, I would have done it a long time ago,” he said. “That’s another thing that makes this special. Kristy gives me all the support I need. Mr. and Mrs. Turner gave me everything that I needed.”
It also marks the first championship for Turner Motorsports.
Dillon and Larson would make contact as Larson dived into turn four underneath Dillon while Dillon slid down slightly, resulting in the contact with both drivers hitting the wall.
“I hate it had to come down to getting into the wall like that, feel bad for my guys,” he said. “They worked hard this year. But what a year! We laid it all on the line. Not a lot of rookies get to have a shot like this to win a championship in their first year.”
The 2012 Rookie of the Year finishes the season fourth in points, 24 points behind Buescher. At the time of the wreck, Dillon had closed the gap between himself and Buescher to a single point.
“We tried to hit the home run in the bottom of the ninth,” Dillon said.
Dillon would be credited with a 25th place finish.
“It’s tough I got a point contender there, I was trying to go for a race there,” Larson said. “I had position going into the corner, may had been on the apron a bit. I may be at fault there – I don’t know. It’s just racing – it sucks I took out Ty there, but like I said, it’s just racing.”
Larson would later apologize on twitter.
Watched the replay of the wreck. Feel REALLY bad for @tydillon. I definitely would never wreck someone on purpose. I just drove over my head
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) November 17, 2012
Also would never do that to help a teammate out. Can’t really express how bad I feel about it all.
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) November 17, 2012
Ryan Blaney was also collected in the wreck, making hard contact with the outside wall after being tagged by Dillon.
“I’m alright,” he said. “Just knocked the wind out of me there. It’s one of the worst hits when you clipped like that. It wasn’t a bad night, just struggled with speed all night. Was hoping to finish well there.”
That wreck set-up a late race green-white-checkered. Busch would restart as the lead while Gale would make a three-wide pass past both Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter. Gale would then catch Busch on the final lap, getting alongside him down the backstretch.
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[/media-credit]As they came to the checkered flag, Gale would crowd Busch, finishing 0.014 seconds ahead. Gale becomes the 16th different winner this year in the Truck Series.
“I can tell you right now – coming off of four, that’s not my driving style,” Gale said. “It was my first chance to taste NASCAR victory, I had the chance, Kyle Busch was to my outside – I don’t know what’s ahead and I went for it. I’m just a hard racer from Mobile, Alabama.”
Kyle Busch finished second, finishing the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season with no wins. Busch would say that the last lap “just didn’t matter” and would reveal that Dollar General will not be back with Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) in 2013.
“Just gotta thank Dollar General and Toyota and everybody that supports this program and everything we do,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’re sponsorless for next year, we’re losing these guys – but tough year, just the way things have always gone.”
Joey Coulter would finish third in his last race for Richard Childress Racing to finish third in points, 19 behind Buescher. Coulter will be joining KBM in 2013.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “I can’t say enough about these guys. It’s been an unbelievable two years and tonight as no exception. We worked hard all night. Harold made a good call at the end with those two tires –It wasn’t fun to drive but I just held on.”
Coulter added that he owes everything to RCR as they put him on the map.
“Just forward to making them proud, even though it’s on another team as they gave me the shot,” Coulter added.
Turner Motorsports teammates Nelson Piquet Jr. and Miguel Paludo rounded out the top five.
Sauter finished sixth, followed by Parker Kligerman, Timothy Peters, Justin Lofton and Ross Chastain. Peters would get second in points, six behind Buescher.
“So close, but it has been an awesome year,” he said. “Can’t thank everybody enough at Red Horse Racing. Those guys have worked a lot in the shop. Tonight wasn’t pretty, but it just shows how much our team preservers. We have a lot of momentum going into 2013…..”
Chase or No Chase? The debate rages on.
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[/media-credit]Heading into Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400, Brad Keselowski has a 20 point lead over Jimmie Johnson with just 400 miles left in the 2012 season. However look at the points if the chase didn’t exist Keselowski’s lead over Johnson would be a mere 8 points.
Many believe the reason for the creation of the 10 race playoff format was Matt Kenseth’s 2003 season where he won only one race (Las Vegas) but recorded 25 top-10 finishes in route to winning the championship by 92 points over Jimmie Johnson. Since the chase’s inception in 2004 under the old Winston points format the championship has been decided by 60 points a season in the seven years under that scoring system. The closest battle was Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson in 2004, a battle Busch won by eight points.
Fast forward to 2011 when the new NASCAR points system was unveiled and the chase come down to one race at Homestead and the difference was in the win column where Tony Stewart out pointed Carl Edwards five wins to one, to win his third cup series title.
While the points battles have been closer under the chase format. It has left many fans clamoring for it to disappear from the Sprint Cup Series. Just by judging from the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series and their points battles the last two seasons without a chase format leads me to believe we need to get back to the traditional 36 race every race matters points system. Case in point look at this year’s 2012 NCWTS battle where James Buescher beat Timothy Peters by six points after the checkers at Homestead.
It remains to be seen if NASCAR makes any changes to their scoring system or format after Sunday’s checkered flag flies but judging by what we saw in this year’s NCWTS we can hope NASCAR goes back to making all 36 weeks on the schedule matter. It would be a great start of putting people back in the seats every week at the race tracks and viewers in front of the TV’s at home.
Lap by Lap: Ford Ecoboost 200 won by Cale Gale; Buescher crowned champion
With a last lap pass and some fender rubbing with Kyle Busch, Cale Gale was able to become the ninth first-time winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Meanwhile, Buescher would finish 13th to win his first ever championship.
Green flag as Parker Kligerman grabs the early lead into turn one ahead of Nelson Piquet Jr. and Ty Dillon
Lap 2 Kligerman leads Piquet Jr., Busch, Dillon, Larson, Gale, Crafton, Sauter, Paludo and Hornaday
Lap 3 Piquet Jr. and Busch side-by-side for second, Piquet holds Busch off
Lap 5 Larson passes Dillon for fourth
Lap 6 Piquet Jr. takes the lead from Kligerman……Busch third, followed by Dillon, Larson, Crafton, Gale, Sauter, Paludo and Hornaday
Lap 14 Piquet Jr. leads Busch, Kligerman, Larson, Dillon, Crafton, Gale, Sauter, Paludo and Blaney
Lap 21 Piquet Jr. leads Busch, Kligerman, Larson, Crafton, Gale, Dillon, Sauter, Paludo and Blaney
Lap 26 Larson passes Kligerman for third
Lap 35 Caution for debris…pit stops…..Piquet leads Busch, Larson, Kligerman. Buescher leads Dillon by seven points as they run currently. Buescher came in leading by 12 over Dillon
Restart Lap 41 as Busch pulls ahead of the field with Piquet Jr. and Kligerman side-by-side for second.
Lap 43 Busch leads Kligerman, Piquet Jr., Larson, Crafton, Gale, Dillon, Buescher, Sauter and Coulter. Peters 14th
Lap 44 Bryan Silas gets into the wall.
Lap 45 Caution for Silas as he slows. As they run, Buescher leads Dillon by 10, leads Peters by 16
Restart lap 49
Lap 50 Larson grabs the lead from Busch
Lap 58 Larson leads Piquet, Busch, Kligerman, Crafton, Dillon, Sauter, Gale, Buescher and Blaney
Lap 59 Coulter passes Blaney for 10th
Lap 67 Larson passes Piquet, Busch, Kligerman, Crafton, Dillon, Sauter, Gale, Buescher and Coulter.
55 to go Busch passes Piquet for second
49 to go Gale passes Sauter for seventh
48 to go Dillon pits, giving up the sixth position…..Larson pits, giving up the lead to Busch…….Blaney pits
47 to go Busch pits, handing the lead over to Piquet…….Paludo pits.
46 to go Peters, Buescher and Piquet pit
45 to go Coulter and Sauter pit as Bodine leads. Leftler, too quick exciting so will need to serve a penalty
44 to go Agnew and Bodine pit
42 to go Larson back to the lead
37 to go Larson leads Busch, Piquet, Kligerman, Crafton, Dillon, Gale, Sauter, Coulter and Peters. Points leader Buescher is 12th
32 to go Sauter passes Gale
Caution 30 to go Gresham gets into the wall….pit stops. Sauter leads Larson…..Dillon sits five points behind Buesher.
Restart 26 laps to go as Sauter takes the lead with Busch second, while its four-wide behind them. Busch grabs the lead off of turn four.
25 to go Busch leads Crafton while Larson and Sauter battle for third
24 to go Dillon makes a three-wide move, looking to pass Sauter for third……Larson grabs third off of turn four, ahead of Sauter and Dillon
23 to go Crafton is all over Busch’s back bumper
22 to go Busch, Crafton, Larson, Sauter, Piquet, Kligerman, Dillon, Coulter, Gale, Blaney, Peters, Buescher
21 to go Gale passes Coulter while Dillon passes Piquet and Kligerman
19 to go Busch leads Crafton, Larson, Sauter, Kligerman, Dillon, Piquet
14 to go Busch leads Crafton, Larson, Sauter, Kligerman, Dillon, Piquet, Coulter, Gale, Blaney, Buescher, Peters
12 to go Crafton and Busch side-by-side for the lead through turns three and four. Busch holds him back off of turn four
Caution 10 to go Gresham gets into the wall after blowing a right front tire. Buescher leads Dillon by seven……….Peters pits, thinking he has a vibration. Blaney pits for tires. Paludo pits.
Restart 5 laps to go. Busch grabs the early lead as Crafton and Sauter fight for second. Sauter and Dillon pass Crafton for position. Dillon behind Buescher by 2.
4 to go Dillon passes Sauter for second, now behind Buescher by one point.
3 to go Larson gets by both Dillon Sauter and Buescher for position……Larson dives down to get under Dillon – Dillon goes down to block, both drivers wreck, collecting Blaney. Buescher and Peters escape the wreck.
Buescher pits to check if tires are alright…….Crafton slid back just before wreck, pits to make sure fenders are alright….Busch leads Gale, Sauter, Coulter, Paludo, Kligerman, Bodine, Peters, Chastain, Lofton, Crafton, Buescher, Piquet Jr.
First attempt at a green white checkered…..Busch gets a three-wide as Coulter, Sauter and Gale go three-wide through the middle of turns one and two……Busch leads as Gale and Coulter battle for second.
White flag as Busch leads Gale and Coulter…..Gale and Busch side-by-side down the backstretch……Gale and Busch make contact across the finish line with Gale winning it, 14-one thousandths of a second over Busch. James Buescher wins the championship. Ninth first time winner this year, 16 different winners this year.
Stewart set to celebrate 500th NSCS start but disappointed with season
Tony Stewart hasn’t been a man of many words lately. His season, since his last win to date at Daytona in July, hasn’t given the defending champion much to talk about.
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[/media-credit]In Homestead where the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will finish the 2012 season and where Stewart will relinquish his title rein, he again was short and sweet. Eliminated from contention, he’ll be left to watch as Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson battle for supremacy. A year removed from Stewart being the hottest driver in town, followed by a performance in the finale that will go down in history, the sun will set on his season quietly.
Calling his season disappointing, Stewart noted there were times to remember and forget. Not being able to defend his third championship has to leave a bitter taste in his mouth. Especially after how he and his No. 14 Office Depot / Mobile 1 team began their title defense.
Two wins in the first five races. Confidence and performance to pick up where they left off, enough to begin the talk about a title repeat. Yet, Stewart was never able to make that consistency last and again found himself fighting for his spot in the Chase field, and again tried to assess his team’s potential.
“I think the high point is probably winning at Las Vegas, winning at a track we hadn’t won at before was definitely a high point,” said Stewart on Friday at Homestead about his season. “A lot of places that we were so good at last year in the Chase, not being good this time and this year around was a little disappointing.”
Disappointing is an understatement – Stewart lit the Chase on fire last season. Leading 573 laps and winning five of the 10 races. But that success is a distant memory, Stewart and new crew chief Steve Addington have only led 42 laps in the last nine weeks and haven’t been to Victory Lane.
That place, Victory Lane, has been elusive to Stewart, not since Daytona in July has he stepped foot in one. With one race remaining in the season he sits ninth in points and was never a serious contender for this year’s title. While he’ll celebrate 500 NSCS starts on Sunday afternoon when he takes the green flag – something he said is neat and he’s proud of but joked makes him feel old – Stewart already has his sights sets on his 501st start and next season.
“We’ve got such a different car and different package next year, everybody just kind of starts over. I am discouraged that we are finishing this way, but not because of what it’s going to lead to next year,” said Stewart.
“Everybody is going to start with stuff that is totally different package wise than what we have. A totally new body that is obvious to everybody, but things underneath the car that the guys are doing to the cars this year that we are not going to be allowed to do next year.
“There are a lot of changes and it’s going to be a whole new learning process starting over in Daytona.”
Michael Annett Focusing on Fifth for Finale
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[/media-credit]With six top-five finishes and 17 top-10 finishes in his first season with Richard Petty Motorsports, driver Michael Annett has had one heck of a year. In fact, in 32 races, Annett has only had five where he finished outside the top-15.
But in the last race of the year, Annett has just one thing on his mind. He wants to finish fifth in the championship points and beat out Justin Allgaier, who is just seven points behind him in sixth.
“Our season didn’t start off the way we wanted to and, as tough as the competition is, you can be out of the championship race pretty early in the season,” Annett said. “At some point, you have to sit down and look at what your goals are going to be.”
“It actually wasn’t too long ago that we were 50 some odd points behind the fifth spot and then we put together some really good runs,” Annett continued. “We looked at where we are and what goal we could achieve and that’s now fifth in points, and to on get on stage, and hopefully get a race win before the season is out.”
“I think we’d be disappointed if we didn’t achieve that goal but still so happy with our season.”
Although Annett is focused on that fifth place in the point standings, make no mistake. The young driver is also focused on going for the win in the season finale.
“We’d like to get that win and this is the last chance of the season to bring home a trophy,” Annett said. “It would be really cool to win and a testament to how hard my guys have worked this season, starting about a month before Daytona in February.”
“To get where we are right now, a win would be a huge honor,” Annett continued. “To get the 43 car back in Victory Lane, knowing how much that means to the sport, would be great.”
“It has been a long time since I’ve won a stock car race so it would be a huge deal.”
While racing for the win, will Annett keep a look out the corner of his eye on the No. 31 Brandt Chevrolet, piloted by the driver know as ‘Lil Gator’? You bet he will, in no uncertain terms.
“We just want to do our best to stay on the same strategy as him,” Annett said. “We know we can beat them but if we stay on that same strategy we know we will beat them straight up.”
Annett is definitely looking forward to racing the finale at Homestead, a track that he enjoys and finds challenging. He has four Nationwide starts there, with a best finish of 19th at the 1.5 mile track.
“The biggest challenges at Homestead are the changes in the track from one end to the other,” Annett said. “We’ve already seen in the first practice that the tire fall off is huge, about a second it seems like.”
“That’s the biggest thing we fight,” Annett continued. “The track is hot and slick and that’s a challenge, especially to get a car to work good in both ends of the track.
Annett will be piloting Chassis No. 621 for the 200-lap Ford EcoBoost 300. This particular Ford Mustang has previously run at Bristol and at Dover, where Annett finished eighth and third respectively.
“The chassis is one of our mile and a half cars that has run well in the past,” Annett said. “We’ll definitely use it up for the final race.”
While Annett prepares for the Nationwide finale, he will also have spent his Friday night watching the Truck race as well.
“Not only am I a driver but I’m a race fan too and the trucks put on a good show,” Annett said. “I want to pick up what the track is going to do and what’s going to change throughout the race.”
“Also, I’ll watch who tries two tires, no tires or four tires and how that either helps or hurts them,” Annett continued. “Those are the kind of things you watch and those races are always exciting and they have a tight points battle to boot.”
Annett is also excited about the end of the season because he, unlike many drivers, knows that he will be back in a race car again in 2013.
“RPM picked up the option so we will be back with our whole team intact,” Annett said. “We have some new partners coming on board and for sure, we are back again.”
Although excited about the season finale, Annett also has an eye to the off-season.
“I’m going to go to the Dominican Republic for Thanksgiving and then I go home for ten or fifteen days for Christmas,” Annett said. “Other than those two trips, then we will start getting focused and get ready to race again in February.”
But for now, Annett has winning and clinching fifth in points on his mind and in his sights.
“We put ourselves in position for top-five in points so we need to keep doing what we’re doing,” Annett said. “Hopefully, we can win the race and if not, then staying in the top five would be the best.”
“If we can keep improving on our results and finish fifth this year, we’ll definitely be a championship team next year.”
Logano captures the pole at Homestead-Miami; Keselowski starts third, Johnson10th
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[/media-credit]Joey Logano captured the pole for Sundays NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a lap of 176.056 MPH, 30.672 seconds.
“These guys have given me a really good RedBeacon.com Toyota here. We were good in practice and they made the right adjustments for us to make sure it was good when the sun went down. They did their part and I did my part, and it came out perfect. I appreciate it. My last run with them, so it’s awesome to get a pole for them again.” Logano said.
Marcos Ambrose qualified second, series points leader Brad Keselowski third, Carl Edwards fourth and Aric Almirola qualified fifth.
Both championship contenders qualified in the top-10. Keselowski third and Jimmie Johnson qualified 10th.
Keselowski expected Johnson to qualify better than he did.
“I totally expected him to out-qualify us, to be quite honest. I was going to be fine with that. At least we were prepared for the worst and that’s not what happened so I guess we’re okay.” Keselowski said.
With a 20 point advantage heading into Sunday, Keselowski is feeling the pressure to win his first championship and the first for team owner Roger Penske.
“There’s always pressure. There was pressure all year long. I don’t feel drastically more than what I have. But the pressure is what makes it worth it. That’s part of what makes it special, what makes it mean something, so I’m not going to try to run from it. But I can deal with it very well.”
Johnson will be looking to score his sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) championship on Sunday and wanted to keep the pressure on Keselowski by capturing the pole.
“The best pressure I could put on him would be winning the pole. But we didn’t do that. Hopefully we’ll stay there in the top 10, which is good for us. We’ll get a good pit stall on pit road and go into race trim tomorrow and make sure we’ve got our race car right.”
