After a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and more food that I should have even attempted to consume, it was finally time to reflect on the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Although the result at the end was the same as it has been for the last five years, I keep hearing the new rallying cry for those who tend to cheerlead for the sanctioning body. That statement is that the 2010 season was the most competitive in the history of NASCAR. Please. It’s not even close and for a number of reasons.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]The 2010 championship race was close, but just like a closer 2004 championship in which Kurt Busch beat out Jimmie Johnson by eight points, it was artificially contrived. Listening to those cheerleaders, you’d think that racing in the past were always runaways with the winner being ahead by a lap and the rest of the field just driving around. Today we have the “Lucky Dog” which allows a driver to make up a lap without racing for it. Done in the name of safety, it allows the more affluent teams to make up laps when they make an unfortunate mistake. I can remember the race at Richmond International Raceway in 1970 when Richard Petty made up multiple laps by racing for them. James Hylton won the race, but Petty wasn’t given any consideration, like today.

Then there’s the wave around. Fans love this system whereby if the cars are on the end of the lead lap they are waved around to the end of the lead lap and don’t have to race to keep their position on the lead lap. The double-file restart artificially makes racing closer allowing a car in the tenth position to only be only four cars from the lead. There are advantages today.

In 1970, when you really had to earn your position on the track by racing, there were 10 winners, among three manufacturers. In 47 races, 21 Plymouths, 14 Dodges, and 12 Fords won that year. In 1980, Dale Earnhardt won the championship by 18 points. In 2010, Jimmie Johnson won the championship by 39 points. During the season, 12 drivers won, but most were in Chevrolets (18). Toyota won 12 races, Ford won four races, and Dodge won two. The four dominant teams of Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Roush-Fenway Racing won 28 of the 36 races (and I’m counting the Stewart-Haas wins in this total). And they won those with a contrived system.

So I contend that 2010 wasn’t the most competitive season in NASCAR history. Far from it. NASCAR, in their quest to make folks more interested, have created the Chase, the Lucky Dog, the wave around, and the double file restart and then have proclaimed how much better they are. Sorry, but it just doesn’t play well with those of us who have lived long enough to remember the past.

It’s a good marketing slogan, and lord knows the series needs it, but it’s nowhere accurate. The year 2010 was good, but claiming it the best in history is a little much. Any sport that claims the most competitive season must explain why the same guy wins every year. Of course, that the fallacy of placing so much emphasis on the championship, but as we have seen, it has a lot more to do with competition in the races than the championship anyway. Let’s hope 2011 sees the parity among teams that we should see and have seen in the distant past.

Seven-time NASCAR champion, Richard Petty, has regained control of day to day operations and will serve as Chairman at the new Richard Petty Motorsports.

The racing organization that found itself in financial distress has signed and closed a sale of it’s racing assets.  Richard Petty Motorsports will now be owned by an investment group comprised of Richard Petty, Medallion Financial Corp. and DGB Investments.

The team will continue to operate out of the Concord shop with the famous No. 43 being driven by AJ Allmendinger and the No. 9 car being driven by Marcos Ambrose.

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Petty said, “Today is a great day for me, my family, our fans, and our wonderful sponsors, Ford, Stanley Tools, Best Buy, Valvoline, Reynolds, Air Force, Super 8, PVA, Wix Filters and Menards have supported me through thick and thin and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

Petty gave credit to George Gillett and his son, Foster Gillett, for running a successful team and their significant investment that helped get them to Victory Lane.

Andrew Murstein, President of Medallion Financial, stated, “We could not be happier to be able to acquire these assets together.  Richard Petty is one of the greatest names, not only in NASCAR, but in all sports.  His name and image are a world recognized brand with unlimited potential to grow and expand in racing.  Ample working capital has been invested in the company to insure this great team and legend will not only continue to perform, but will thrive and be back in the winner’s circle.”

Douglas Bergeron of DGB Investments commented, “With Richard Petty’s unmatched name and reputation in the motorsports industry, I know this investment is well-timed to succeed.  We are going to help put Richard Petty Motorsports back in Victory Lane.”

Petty concluded, “Our partnership with Andy Murstein and Doug Bergeron will help take us to a whole new level and I could not be more excited about our future.”

Homestead-Miami, November 2009.

Denny Hamlin climbs out of his No. 11 FedEx Toyota in victory lane and proudly proclaims, “I promise you within the next two years this team is going to win a championship.”

The impending offseason brought predictions of Hamlin being the favorite in 2010. NASCAR nation marked he and his Joe Gibbs Racing team as the ones to dethrone Jimmie Johnson. Everything looked good on paper but preseason favorites had hardly risen to the occasion in the past, I.E. Carl Edwards.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Why would Hamlin be any different?

In January came the much-publicized torn ACL and how it was going to affect his season. Then came the waiting of when he would have surgery: during the season or after the season?

No matter what it was, there is no denying that NASCAR and its fans saw a growth in Hamlin over the 2010 season. From Homestead of 2009 to Homestead of 2010, a different driver graced the racetrack.

No more were the days of thinking of what could have or what should have been on the results sheet. The potential was finally met.

It was there all along, however Hamlin was spoiled when he entered the Sprint Cup Series in 2006. Success came early and often. Things appeared easy and he expected them to be and it wasn’t until the 11 team started to fall on hard times that the attitude began to change.

At Dover in 2007 he and veteran Kyle Petty got into a war of words in the garage after the two wrecked on the track. Hamlin hadn’t even been in the NSCS a full year yet, certainly not enough time for a kid to start throwing his weight around. Standing up for what he believes though, has always been one of his better qualities even when it rubbed others the wrong way.

Ironically it would be at Dover in 2010 where Hamlin again wasn’t holding back. This time it would be with Richard Childress Racing, who he was battling for in the championship.

But, there were times when Hamlin pushed too hard on the racetrack and ended up costing his team the finishes they deserved. Instead, he faulted them and said they weren’t good enough to get the job done or make the Chase.

When Tony Stewart left JGR at the end of the 2008 season, the company went through an identity crisis. They needed a leader and Hamlin, being the senior member of the company was in prime position to step up.

Joey Logano was about to embark on his rookie season and had too much learning to do; he wasn’t in a position to do anything but listen. But Hamlin, along with Kyle Busch, was more concerned with winning races than much else.

Looking back, he admits he didn’t handle things the way he should have.

Communication with Mike Ford improved, so did his trust in his crew chief. Ford has the experience and the knowledge, Hamlin the talent and once the two came together, the team hit their stride. The confidence in what was around him led Hamlin to the racetrack with the confidence that he could win every week.

That’s the Hamlin who showed up each weekend this past season and became Johnson’s worst nightmare. And as Hamlin changed, some of the fans perceptions did as well.

According to the Virginia native it was because he finally figured it out.

He finally knew what it took to contend on a consistent basis and be a championship driver. It was more than just getting in the car and driving, it was about putting together a whole race, a whole season.

All he had to do was show he knew what that was and make sure that it didn’t turn into another driver falsely predicting his own destiny.

The first test of Hamlin’s championship ability came not when he won at Martinsville in April as his knee continued to get worse, but 10 days later when he climbed aboard his car at Phoenix. Before hand Hamlin said he wasn’t “going to be stupid,” and would most likely get out of the car at the first caution to give his knee more time to heal from surgery.

Call him stupid, but he didn’t get out of the car. The fans responded with admiration, as did his fellow competitors.

Gutting it out and stepping up for his team was more important to Hamlin than any pain. Through thick and thin the team was going to stick together and their bond was growing stronger.

Knowing that many were ready to write him off for the season, Hamlin wanted to send a message – not so fast. His No. 11 team saw Hamlin wasn’t going to quit on them and in turn they became one of the top teams on pit road.

The following week they were in victory lane at Texas, winning where Hamlin’s never won before, making him a threat on many different types of tracks. The wins were huge because it brought legitimacy to the team, showing they could win on tracks that weren’t named Martinsville or Pocono.

Said Hamlin on the knee surgery in the beginning stages of the year, “I did it for the long run. I did it for the Chase. I did it for the championship.”

Three weeks later Hamlin was being praised by his competition. Not only did he conquer the toughest track on the circuit, Darlington, he swept the weekend. On Friday he beat teammate Busch in the Nationwide Series and on Saturday he beat the two Jeff’s, Burton and Gordon.

It had Gordon in awe, “That’s impressive, especially with his left knee.”

Suddenly Hamlin wasn’t being written off, he was being written as the next NSCS champion. As for his team, they also shined. In May they won the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge, firmly establishing themselves as a team to contend with – Johnson and his team found that out a few times later in the year during the Chase.

The 11 team not only continued winning, Hamlin would end the year with a series and career high eight wins, but he put himself in better situations on the racetrack. When trouble found the No. 11, Hamlin didn’t get over excited on the radio. He could have and in years past he said he probably would of. At New Hampshire in the first race of the Chase he rallied back from being spun by Carl Edwards. And in Talladega he again rallied back from going a lap down.

Maturity and patience.

The most important change: equipment wasn’t being torn up. Driver errors, such as wrecking himself at California in 2009, became a thing of the past. Patience became the name of the game, knowing when he should push the car or when he needed to take what he could get.

Hamlin even grew into his place in the sport, becoming more outspoken. A driver of the people, some called him.

Mid-year he was fine by NASCAR for comments he was making about the sport, both publicly and on his Twitter page. Twitter in fact, was another major part of his year, as he shared his journey through the season with fans. He posted pictures of traveling home with winner’s trophies or attending basketball games.

He was open and honest, just want the fans wanted: an anti-Johnson.

After longing for a driver who wasn’t vanilla or robotic, someone who could be entertaining and engaging, Hamlin stood up. What you saw was what you got. Hamlin was himself and he didn’t apologize for it, the complete package.

Not all fans were sold; there were those that called him arrogant and cocky. Far from it said Hamlin. It was just when he came to the racetrack he knew both his cars and team were going to be great and he expected to win.

It’s the same attitude that drivers such as Johnson have had the last five years. Or even Tony Stewart, who won his second title in 2005.

It’s a champion-like attitude.

In the end, Hamlin didn’t leave Homestead in 2010 with the championship. Second place in the final point standings is nothing to be ashamed of. Not after a year that was far from smooth.

He grew as a driver and an individual. He won and then he lost. He got hurt and then came back better than ever and ready to write the next chapter in his career. The lessons of 2010 should guide Hamlin into the future as he attempts to again unseat Johnson.

In a way, Johnson winning the title when he couldn’t sits well with Hamlin. Next year is another chance for him to be the guy that stops the No. 48 juggernaut. The promise he made a year ago is still alive and well and there’s no reason to believe his team won’t pick up in 2011 where they left off in 2010.

Johnson may have taken home the title, again, but it was the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing who grabbed all the headlines.

This was the year of Denny Hamlin.

This is a question that will be bothering RCR Racing this offseason, Are they ready to try it again? I am referring to RCR trying to run a four car operation again after a botched attempt in the 2009 season. The driver filling the fourth seat will be Paul Menard and he will be driving the #27 Menards Chevrolet next season. RCR was one of the heavy favorites coming into the 09 season because points wise Jeff Burton did well enough to finish 5th in the standings and Harvick did enough to finish 6th. Unfortunately, I don’t think Mr. Childress planned this one out too well. At this point there was a down economy and less money and fans were flowing at the race track and we still have this problem. Clint Bowyer was moved from the 07 car to a brand new team and the #33 General Mills Chevrolet and taking his old car was Casey Mears, who had just left Hendrick Motorsports after a tumultuous season.

[media-credit name=”Tammrae Benscoter” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]According to points, Kevin Harvick is coming off his first championship and his teammates Bowyer and Burton came in 9th and 11th respectively. This is a chance for Paul Menard to prove the critics wrong that he is a force to be reckoned with. Most critics just credit his father for him being a race car driver. Enough with the father nonsense. His father is not racing the car! Obviously Paul knows something about turning a wheel. We need to give the kid a chance. Do you think he had great equipment down at Richard Petty Motorsports? Absolutely not. Take a look at RPM now. They have gone from a 4 car operation to a 2 car operation, leaving just Marcos Ambrose and AJ Allmendinger and the future of that organization is up in the air. Menard finished 23rd in points for the year with Allmendinger in 19th, Sadler in 27th, and Kasey Kahne was 20th despite leaving the team early for Red Bull Racing.

Menard has plenty more talent in my opinion than Casey Mears will ever have. Yes, his uncle won the Indianapolis 500, but that doesn’t help you succeed in NASCAR. Menard has 1 career NASCAR win and it came at a Nationwide in Milwaukee over four seasons ago. We will have to wait and see how Menard fares in 2011, but my prediction is that he will do better with Richard than he did with Petty. Is RCR financially ready to try this again? Remember that RCR didn’t dump Casey Mears after the 09 season because of performance, but of lack of funding and the lack of funding affected their performance on and off the race track. Mears had four Top 10 finishes and 0 Top 5’s.

Always follow the money. Despite his championship season, Harvick lost his primary sponsor Shell after four seasons and had to switch to Budweiser for the next year. The current instability of the economy always seems to show up during silly season. Now, who is going to be the lone duck at RCR? Childress knows from experience what happens when things go wrong with a big team.

The lone duck is going to be Jeff Burton in the #31 car. When they last tried this, Clint Bowyer looked really strong at the start of the season and even was second in points to Jeff Gordon at one point in the season. The lone duck that year was Casey Mears. Childress focused a lot of his time on the operations of Burton, Bowyer, and Harvick. Like I mentioned earlier, Bowyer moved to the brand new team after 2008. Childress neglected Mears and unfortunately had to leave after one season. It was pretty obvious that Mears was going to be leaving after Childress swapped crews.

Now, why is Jeff Burton going to be the lone duck? Lets break it down. Harvick is the #1 driver following his championship year. Clint Bowyer would follow him in second. Childress doesn’t want to neglect the new driver Menard because they know that he is definitely a better investment long term than Jeff Burton and he is a smart enough man to know that neglecting their newest driver would ultimately lead to decreased morale amongst the entire organization, not just Menard. Team members don’t want to hear the bad news. I see this as a good move for RCR and it will work this time as long as they focus on all members, but I expect Menard to have a better season than Jeff Burton.

Finally, this is my prediction. Harvick finishes highest in standings of all RCR drivers in 2011. Paul Menard will have a breakout year and come home 2nd, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton will take the other honors.

It’s that time of the year again. The NASCAR themed media will be rewinding the clock to present us the highlights of the recently concluded 2010 season. This year’s trip down memory lane will be unusually long because all three of NASCAR’s national touring series were loaded with memorable moments.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]Certainly one of them, guaranteed the make the top ten listing, will be Kyle Busch’s one finger salute to a NASCAR official while parked on pit road at the Texas Motor Speedway. This single digit act cost the controversial driver $25,000 in fines and a probation period.

A perfect example of public reaction to the “Rowdy” one’s single digit came from “Sweetie” the in house girl friend, aka the card carrying T shirt wearing member of the Junior Nation. During the championship weekend, at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch won both the NASCAR Camping World and Nationwide Series races. Following the Nationwide Series win, a member of the ESPN broadcast team announced “Kyle Busch is now two for two at Homestead.” Sweetie, with the middle fingers from each hand fully extended, said ” yeah, and I bet he’s counting the wins like this: one-two.”

That cute moment from our living room pretty much exemplifies the current public perception of this driver. That’s a shame, because Kyle Busch had an amazing year and compiled some staggering statistics in the process.

Beginning with NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series, Busch began the season launching his self owned Toyota Truck team. He entered 16 races which led to eight wins, 13 top five finishes, 14 top tens and collected $616,110 in prize money.

Kyle Busch Motorsports also won the coveted series owner’s championship in its debut season a feat that is considered quite remarkable. This is especially true in light of the fact that the team lost its primary sponsor three weeks before the season started. In January Miccosukee Indian Gaming had a change in corporate leadership and with that came a change in their marketing strategy. The Busch team spent the 2010 season piece mealing sponsorship programs virtually one race at a time.

The team was also creating a successful season residing in temporary headquarters while waiting for their new race shop to be completed. The new home of Kyle Busch Motorsports officially opened on October 15th, in Mooresville-North Carolina. The new shop is considered to be a state of the art facility and quite possibly the first ever race shop in the motorsports industry that completely complies with the environmentally “green” philosophy.

If Busch’s truck series stats were impressive then his stats in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series were simply awesome. In 2010 Busch has 29 series starts, 13 wins, 22 top fives, 25 top tens and won $1,364.510 in prize money. He also led a series high 2,229 laps this year.

There were other accolades from the 2010 Nationwide Series season as well. In 2008 Busch tied the legendary Sam Ard for most wins in a season with ten. His record shattering 13 wins this year is a mark that may never be matched. He also reached a new series record of 9,466 laps led which more that surpasses the previous record, 8.082 laps, established by Mark Martin. All of these numbers led to his team, Joe Gibbs Racing, winning their third consecutive and record tying, owner’s championship. Busch finished third in the Nationwide Series’ driver’s standings despite only entering 29 of the 35 events.

The driver’s final stats for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season saw Busch collect three wins, 10 top fives and 18 top tens. He finished eighth in the final driver’s points and won $6,732,738 in prize money.

Just to prove how incredible Kyle Busch’s season really was, let’s do some math. His 2010 stats, from all three of NASCAR’s national touring series, totals to: 81 starts, 24 wins, 45 top fives, 57 top tens and a whopping $8,713,358 in earnings.

Sadly, when the best of 2010 is compiled, it’s Busch’s moment in time at the Texas Motor Speedway that’s going to get the most attention. A single digit, from this driver’s left hand, is going to completely diminish a season filled with amazing numbers.

It takes a lot to make Junior Nation happy.

Those would be the thousands if not millions of Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans around the world that have sat through two years of disappointment from the driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

In reality, what would make them happy isn’t that much. After all they’re just like every other NASCAR fan: they want their driver to win.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]On Tuesday, Junior Nation became very happy and it didn’t come from anything that happened on the racetrack. Team owner Rick Hendrick announced that Earnhardt Jr., along with teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, would all be getting new crew chiefs. As soon as Earnhardt Jr.’s name was mentioned, all the focus immediately went to him because of his performance the last two years and by passed the changes on the 5 and 24 cars.

Just two days after the 2010 season ended and nearly two months before the 2011 season starts, members of Junior Nation are saying they already feel like winners.

Lance McGrew moves on and will no longer have to endure the numerous unflattering names that were bestowed upon him. In comes Steve Letarte who for the last five years had been atop the pit box of Jeff Gordon. The two nearly won the championship in 2007.

Included in the crew chief move is the change in scenery for Earnhardt Jr. as he will now be receiving all of Gordon’s old cars. Hendrick made it clear in his Wednesday teleconference that everything was staying intact with the three teams except who the drivers were.

That means Martin receives Earnhardt Jr.’s old team and Gordon receives Martin’s old team. For Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon, they will also be switching shops, as Earnhardt Jr.’s cars will now be prepared in the same building as five-time champions Jimmie Johnsons.

What wasn’t to be excited about?

Knowing that Chad Knaus will never leave Jimmie Johnson, to Junior Nation it’s as if they are getting the next best thing. Letarte has worked side-by-side with Knaus in the same building and many have said what is now the former 24/48 shop has always stood above the 5/88 shop.

The move brought so much discussion on social networking sites such as Twitter, that ‘Hendrick’ as in Hendrick Motorsports or Rick Hendrick became a trending topic. Meaning that it was being used in status updates so much it was recognized by the site as something that had many peoples attention and a large number of people were talking about.

Junior Nation was certainly paying attention and they were talking. So was Letarte, who even formally introduced himself to Junior Nation in a video message that was posted on Earnhardt Jr.’s Web site on Wednesday.

Said Letarte, “Hey, I’m the new face in town. I’m Steve Letarte, the new crew chief of Dale Jr. and the AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet. I hope you’re as excited to have me as I am excited to be included in the whole Junior Nation.”

No worries for Letarte, he’s already been welcomed with open arms and hailed a hero. All four HMS cars are being predicted to win races and contend for the Chase and Letarte will lead the charge for the No. 88 team in their big turnaround.

Was it mentioned that the season is two months away?

With finishes of 25th and 21st the last two season, and winless sine June of 2008, this was a spark that Junior Nation needed to even have the desire to watch in 2011. Things needed to change and after months of calling for them, Hendrick gave Junior Nation what they wanted and now the countdown begins.

A few immediate reactions were much like Corey Rutten’s, who said he was for the move and is excited about the years to come. Upon reading up on Letarte and how he’s looking to immediately establish a relationship with Earnhardt Jr., it has made Rutten like him already.

Lacy Keyser has already started calling Letarte, “Steve LeAwesome.” She echoed the sentiments of many other Junior Nation members that were pleased to hear Letarte say that he has faith in Earnhardt Jr.’s abilities. Publicly backing their driver and speaking about the possibilities of a successful season are what they needed to hear, to feel as though someone from the team also believes that their driver can get the job done.

Others have stated that Letarte will be an authority figure that Earnhardt Jr. needs to keep him calm on the radio. Gordon is a driver that also gets very animated during a race, giving Letarte plenty of practice. Former crew chiefs Tony Eury Jr. and McGrew just didn’t stack up in that department.

Tony Eury Sr., who was crew chief from 2000-2004 when at Dale Earnhardt Inc., may have been the only guy that could put Earnhardt Jr. in his place. At least, Junior Nation believes so and has been calling for his return ever since but Eury Sr. doesn’t want to be a cup crew chief ever again.

So here’s Letarte, ready for the challenge and all that Junior Nation has to offer.

Of course, there are some that are still skeptical. A few, including Dave Marshall, who says a new crew chief isn’t going to help. To him, Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t know how to properly communicate with his crew chiefs.

The negativity however, is going to have to wait until next year. This is Junior Nation’s moment and they love every minute of it.

The offseason isn’t even a week old and the season-ending stories haven’t even been published yet. The ones about how much Johnson is celeberating his fifth title and what he plans to do during the offseason. They don’t care about how Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin plan to take down Johnson next year and stop his quest for a sixth straight title. Or even about the many other sponsor and team changes around the garage for other organizations.

When those pieces are published however, they’ll continue to be pushed to the backburner as the continues to be around what the future holds for all four HMS teams. Will they be as successful as many are already predicting and expecting?

One thing will be for certain when the season arrives in Daytona Beach for Speedweeks, Junior Nation will announce their presence to be alive and well. And they’ll let everyone know that they’ll be stronger than ever and have a new reason to be the passionate fans that NASCAR knows them for.

The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season will go down as the most competitive in its 62-year history of NASCAR.

[media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]The average lead changes and leaders per race numbers were all broken this season. There was an average of 25.4 lead changes per race, which broke the previous record of 24.9 back in 1981 and the more recent 11 leaders back in 2006.

Another record that was broken is the amount of drivers who led a race this year. 55 different drivers led at least one lap. The previous total was 51, in both 2005 and 2007.

There were 1,299 green flag passes for the lead, which blew the previous total out of the water from 2006 with just 994. The total amount of green flag passes topped 116,327, which broke the record set last year with 110,626.

Talladega– Spring race set record with 88 lead changes among 29 drivers. That is 67% of the field! The fall race was great too, but didn’t exceed the numbers from April.

Daytona– 21 lead changes at the Daytona 500 set the record for that track.

Infineon– 12 lead changes in the race at Infineon set the record there.

Phoenix– 13 different leaders tied the record.

Texas– 33 lead changes during the last race set the track record

And finally some humor,

Marcos Ambrose became the first driver in NASCAR history to lose a race because he stalled the car during a caution flag playing with the ignition switches.