Heading to Homestead: Keselowski and Johnson ready to finish feisty Chase

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November 14, 2012

It seems only fitting that when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship is decided this Sunday night, bringing down the curtain on the a season full of memories, it will be between two drivers who started the season in Florida by grabbing all the mainstream media attention.

Point leader Brad Keselowski – yes, point leader, is in command of his first championship. The Michigan native would love to add another title to his resume after earning his first Nationwide Series championship in 2010. Keselowski holds a 20 point lead on Jimmie Johnson and has three possible scenarios in order to become the new man on the NASCAR mountain.

The first: finish 15th or better and win the championship. Lead a lap and finish 16th or better and win the championship. Or, lead the most laps and finish 17th or better and win the championship. That’s regardless of what Johnson goes out and does. But Keselowski’s mentality will be to follow in Tony Stewart’s path from last season and head to Homestead and win the race, leaving all doubt and clinching scenarios far behind.

What a better way for Keselowski to end the season that he kicked off by bringing NASCAR some new attention. During a two-hour red flag in the February Daytona 500, Keselowski sent Twitter updates from inside his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing. It was the tweet heard ‘round the world with Keselowski and NASCAR becoming fan favorites.

Except, Keselowski did more than just tweet, send out behind the wheel photos and engage fans. He started winning and running well. Well enough to make the Chase for the second straight year. But, it was hard pressed to find many who pictured Keselowski as more than a top five driver. Surely he couldn’t take down the likes of Johnson and Denny Hamlin? The hottest and most experienced Chase drivers in the field.

But as he’s always done, Keselowski just wouldn’t go away. He won some more – two of the first three Chase races. More than enough to put him at the top of the leaderboard, a driver to no longer doubt or second guess, Keselowski became real. He wasn’t just going to finish the year in the top five, he was looking at the top three. A lucky break last weekend in Phoenix, which saw Johnson finish 32nd after hitting the wall from a melted bead, put him in the position he’s now in heading to Homestead.

Just let it sink in. Brad Keselowski could be the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. Have you tried saying it out yet? It’s a major possibility. The man who is in his third, just third, full-time season in NSCS could be our next champion. The man who was given a chance by Dale Earnhardt Jr., had early run-ins with Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards, found his way into the legendary Blue Deuce, is on the verge of doing something none of those drivers have, yet.

His hard-nosed, refuse to back down, brash and often outspoken 28-year-old, is the perfect rival to Johnson. They come from different backgrounds, teams and their accomplishments couldn’t be more polar opposites. Keselowski, a nine-time Cup winner with one NNS title shouldn’t be about to beat the man who made the Chase his personal playground the last few years.

Johnson, with 60 Cup wins and five championships, being five straight from 2006-2010, can simply be described as the man. And in order to be the man, you have to beat the man. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has a tall task ahead of him on Sunday, but isn’t about to let Keselowski become the man.

Feared by many, hated by some but respected by all – Johnson has accomplished nearly everything there is in the sport. Winning another championship on Sunday would only add to his legacy. Johnson has blown everyone out of the water since he entered the sport in 2002 and the years that he was winning titles, he was untouchable, invincible to the competition and just flat out great.

That greatness hasn’t wavered, but it’s been discovered that he’s human. When his championship reign came to a close last year it left the haters believing it was the end of all his success. The 48 fans and team just used it as motivation and in 2012 they’re right back where they expected and are expected to be. It’s a matter of finishing the deal now.

A sixth championship would be unprecedented. Hell, five was. But something about saying six-time champion just brings goose bumps. Perhaps because not since teammate Jeff Gordon in 2001 has anyone thought it would be possible to win more than four. Forget about getting close enough to see the greats of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the windshield. Make no mistake, Johnson and company have the makings to get six, seven and eight titles as well as many more.

What fans see on a weekly basis is greatness. Right before their eyes, love it or hate it. Whatever happens on Sunday night in Homestead, Johnson can hold his head high. When the season started it looked like he wasn’t going to even make Homestead in this position.

Like Keselowski, the Daytona 500 was a memorable one involving Johnson. The race wasn’t even a lap old when he was wrecked in a big crash. That wasn’t headline making, the fact that he left the first race of the season with negative points because NASCAR had penalized his HMS team for illegal C posts during initial practice for the Daytona 500, was.

Crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec were initially suspended for six weeks. They were docked 25 championship points. On appeal, the suspensions were rescinded, the points returned but Knaus still lost $100,000. The team quickly got to work, moving from 37th in points to fifth after their first win of the season at Darlington, the eleventh race of the year.

They haven’t looked back since and there’s one more race to make their comeback and six pack complete. It’s Keselowski and Johnson, they will settled the 2012 Sprint Cup, everyone else has been left in the dust. Perhaps a matchup that once seemed far-fetched or even considered at all, the two have given it everything they have over the last nine weeks and provided a formidable clash. Now the time has come to leave it all out on the track, one more time.

Fear not, this battle is far from over. While 20 points is not ideal for Johnson or the story lines it’s not insurmountable. Since the checkered flag flew at Phoenix he’s been sending out tweets as well all week that he’s ready to race, he’s not giving up and that anything can happen. It’s never over until it’s over, something that has played out again and again this season.

And lest we not forget, the points may be different now, but the last two years the eventual champion came from behind entering Homestead. One of those was Johnson just two years ago. He’s ready and believing he can do it again. Except Keselowski has never been one to go down easy, he’s just as ready for the fight and the championship upset.

So, let’s get ready to ring the bell, the final round of this knockout fight is about to begin. Only question is, who will be the man that delivers the final punch?

SRT Motorsports – Dodge NSCS Championship Weekend Fast Facts – Homestead

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SM Archive

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November 14, 2012

Will safe be sorry? Stenhouse and Keselowski control destinies heading to Homestead

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SM Staff

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November 14, 2012

Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. find themselves in similar situations heading into their respective season ending series finales at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Both drivers lead their respective series championships heading into Homestead by 20 points and only need 15th place finishes to lock up their series championships.

The question isn’t are Keselowski and Stenhouse in the best position for the finales at Homestead because a 20 point lead under the current NASCAR point system is classified as huge. The question is for both teams heading into this weekend is How safe do you play it?

Both Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are very aggressive on the race track and aren’t afraid to mix it up whenever the opportunity presents itself. But knowing what happened with Jimmie Johnson and Elliott Sadler at Phoenix last weekend one has to wonder does it change the mindset for these two drivers heading into the biggest race of their young careers?

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the only one of the two that finds himself in a familiar position heading into the weekend. At this time last season Stenhouse took an insurmountable 41 point lead into the final race at Homestead and secured his first NNS title with a solid second place effort in the season finale and won by 45 points over Sadler in the final standings.

Brad Keselowski on the other hand finds himself on the cusp of his first NSCS title. Brad leads Jimmie Johnson by 20 points heading into Sunday’s 400 miler at Homestead. Keselowski and the No.2 Miller Lite team have a history of being very aggressive with in race strategy. One has to wonder with the sport’s richest prize in their grasp will the No.2 team stay with their all in not afraid to take a gamble mentality or will they dial it back something they haven’t done all season long.

While yes this is the most exciting time for these two race teams. It is also one of the most stressful times as well. Nine long hard months of hard work all coming down to one final race for a championship. For the drivers it is all about what they have done the past 30 plus weeks, for the crew chief it is what strategy are you going to employ, and for the pit crews it is all about those perfect 13 second pit stops with no mistakes knowing one could mean the difference between celebration and heartbreak until next season.

This should be a fun weekend at Homestead and I think I speak for every race fan when I say it is going to be fun watching it all shake out.

Keselowski Is For Real

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SM Staff

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November 14, 2012

[media-credit name=”Noel Lanier” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]A couple of years ago, I had to wonder what Roger Penske was thinking. I mean, giving Brad Keselowski a ride in a great car? What was he thinking? Here was the guy who hit everything but the pace car in the Nationwide Series, won a race at Talladega by punting Carl Edwards into the stands, and cussed like a sailor. The Captain had to be crazy. Crazy like a fox.

So here we are and Keselowski is in the driver’s seat. A 20-point lead translates to a 100 point lead under the old system (you know, the one Bob Latford created and served us well forever), and though it’s not certain, a 15th place finish on Sunday will make him the Sprint Cup champion for 2012. No drama this year, or so it seems. But as Lee Corso might say maybe this is a little too fast.

Last year, Carl Edwards came into Homestead with a slim lead only to have Tony Stewart win the race against all odds to snatch the championship from Edwards against all odds. That’s why I’m not declaring this championship this week. Ask Jimmie Johnson about a tire failure. Ask the late Davey Allison about a commanding point lead (if we could and how much do we wish we could). As Yogi Berra said, it’s not over until it’s over. And it isn’t over for the next our days, but the proverbial fat lady is singing. Who would have thunk it?

These days, Keselowski is still as brash, and from all indications, still cusses like a sailor, but he also is one heckuva driver. He’s proven it this season by winning races and, with his crew chief, has proven that he is willing to gamble for the final goal. He has shown maturity that no one could ever imagine. Also, remember this is a team in the midst of transition from Dodge to Ford. No matter what anyone says, that has to be a distraction, and still here he is on the verge of a championship. It would be bittersweet for SRT, Dodge’s racing arm, and the engine program at Penske, which will go away at season’s end. It’s quite of an accomplishment no matter what happens on Sunday in south Florida, but it’s not enough.

Many think Johnson can somehow pull this one out. Today, my Twitter field was bombarded with over 1,200 tweets from Johnson and Keselowski fans, most of them from Johnson fans (and I still don’t understand why subscribing to Johnson’s and Keselowski’s feeds has me getting anyone’s tweets about the two drivers on my feed). NASCAR should be proud of this despite the fines of Monday. As some wise man said, there is no such thing as bad publicity. My feeling is the fine was more about Brad’s language in the media center than his tweeting under a red flag, but no matter, It is what it is. Under the dictatorship that NASCAR, you are fee to pick and choose rules as you please, and they do it frequently. It’s just the way it is.

I tend to think Keselowski will win the Cup. Why? Simply because he is in the lead and drives for a great team that will not let him fail. Of course I’ve said this before, and like this last year, the impossible happened, so you never know. But, I know this for sure. The kid see a championship within his grasp again and many times after that. Jimmie Johnson had better reach up and get those belts tight (as Larry McReynolds would say). He has competition.