One of the biggest questions in NASCAR racing these days is the financial solvency and outright future of Richard Petty Motorsports, (RPM). At this juncture it’s actually not certain if the team will see the green flag at Daytona when the 2011 season gets underway next February.

The strange saga of RPM majority team owner George Gillett’s finances has encompassed three years of twists and turns that has involved a National Hockey League team, a British football team, a company that managed ski resorts and even business dealings with a Saudi Arabian prince. To fully understand the journey that may lead to RPM’s complete extinction one has to look at the time line issues that created the problems to begin with.

MARCH 2007. Sports mogul George Gillett Jr, owner of the National Hockey League team the Montreal Canadiens as well as a professional soccer team in Liverpool-England, is reported to be looking at investing in a NASCAR Sprint Cup team. The reports state that he’s was holding conversations with a variety of team owners including Evernham Motorsports. Two weeks later team owner Ray Evernham confirms that he has been talking with Gillett.

AUGUST 2007. Following several months of negotiations Gillett purchases a reported eighty percent of the team. The sale was handled by the Booth Creek Management Corporation based on a bank loan supplied by Wachovia Securities. The new team name is now Gillett Evernham Motorsports, (GEM). Ray Evernham remains as CEO and substantial partner.

SEPTEMBER 2007. Rumors are rampant that GEM and Petty Enterprises have been holding meeting regarding a possible merger that would create a four car Dodge team. However, those talks eventually stall and are completely discontinued by the following November.

SEPTEMBER 2008. GEM enters into negotiations for a purchase/merger with Robby Gordon Motorsports, (RGM). Surprisingly the effort stalls when GEM announces that it has filed a lawsuit against Gordon citing an alleged breach of the tentative agreement that would have sold RGM to Gillett for a reported $23.5 million. Two weeks later the two organizations announce they have resolved their issues and Gillett drops the lawsuit as well as any merger plans.

This action is followed by rumors that claim Gillett is also seeking an asset purchase and merger with both Bill Davis Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing, presented by Felix Sabates. These reports are flatly denied by both Davis and Ganassi.

OCTOBER 2008. Ray Evernham announces plans to sell the major portion of his twenty percent ownership of GEM to Gillett but does remain tied to the team as a small minority owner.

DECEMBER 2008. Reports surface that proposed merger talks between Gillett and Petty Enterprises are now back on.

GEM lays off 65 employees from their NASCAR Nationwide Series teams. This is followed by an announcement that says the company will be shutting down their Nationwide operations.

JANUARY 2009. The merger between GEM and Petty Enterprises becomes official. The new collaborations fields four Dodge teams under the new name of Richard Petty Motorsports, (RPM). This name change is reported to be a deal breaker from King Richard Petty.

MARCH 2009. Rampant rumors regarding George Gillett Jr’s financial status becomes prevalent. Those rumors state that the problem is associated with cash flow relative to business problems with his professional soccer team in Liverpool-England. An angry Gillett vehemently denies that the situation may force him to sell his National Hockey League team: the Montreal Canadiens.

JUNE 2009. The state of the national economy, and its huge impact on American automakers, takes its toll on Chrysler who is forced to officially file bankruptcy. That action, in turn, impacts the cash flow of RPM because Chrysler cannot meet financial obligations to the race team. RPM lays off nine employees from its Sprint Cup operation and reduces the salary of many others.

Despite strong denials from earlier in the year, Gillett does indeed sell the Montreal Canadiens considered to be one of the major cornerstones of his business empire.

Rumors surface saying RPM is talking to Toyota about a manufacturer change for their race teams.

JULY 2009. RPM officials issues a denial regarding rumors of downsizing their Sprint Cup operation to three teams. However, they do inform driver Reed Sorenson that he is now free to talk to other team owners.

AUGUST 2009. Lee White, Director of Toyota Racing Development, confirms that he’s been negotiating with RPM regarding a manufacturer change for the team but says he doesn’t expect it’s going to happen.

SEPTEMBER 2009. A letter of intent is announced regarding the proposed merger between RPM and Robert Yates Racing. The structure of deal calls for RPM to switch to Fords with drivers Kasey Kahne, Elliot Sadler, A J Allmendinger and Paul Menard in the seats. Reed Sorenson is officially informed that he will not be returning to the #43 ride. RPM relocates their operation to the Yates facility in Concord-North Carolina and signs on with previous Yates vendors. Roush Fenway Racing will provide the Ford Fusion race cars while Roush Yates Engines will provide the power plants and gear assemblies. That move prompts RPM to lay off 40 employees from their engine department which is officially shut down.

During this same time a report surfaces stating that drivers Reed Sorenson and A J Allmendinger waived their RPM paychecks for a period of time in order to keep their teams on the race tracks.

In one of his most interesting business moves to date, George Gillett Jr announces an exclusive collaboration with Prince Faisal bin Abdullah al-Saud, a member of the Saudi Royal Family. The deal calls for the creation of a NASCAR style racing circuit along with Richard Petty Racing Schools in the Saudi Kingdom as well as other possible locations in the middle east. The Liverpool soccer club is reported to also be involved with the establishment of Liverpool branded football academies in the middle east. This deal is reported to be worth approximately $560 million. This business arrangement actually had nothing to do with RPM despite the volume of rumors that said the Prince would become the new team owner. Rumors that said RPM had been sold were quickly denied by Foster Gillett, the son of the team’s majority owner.

NOVEMBER 2009. Heading into the final season of his RPM contract, Kasey Kahne announces that he’s now a free agent and will be looking at other race teams for the 2011 season.

JANUARY 2010. Following months of intense negotiations, the merger between RPM and Yates Racing is now complete and officially announced.

APRIL 2010. The state of Gillett’s financial status hits a high public profile with the revelation that the loan from the Wachovia Bank, reported to be between $70 to $90 million used to purchase the race team to begin with has been in a state of default since February. The financial damage is reported to be caused by the country’s economic collapse and in particular its impact on the nation’s automakers and their inability to maintain financial obligations to race teams. In a rare public comment on his personal financial matters, Gillett explains that the default is technical in nature and should not be misconstrued to mean that he missed any payments. He goes on to say that he failed to meet one of the covenants attached to the loan further stating that sometimes these covenants require a money borrower to maintain a certain level of cash flow. However, an anonymous source, reported to be close to the deal, states that the problem was indeed related to a lack of payment. In all fairness, it needs to be pointed out that this anonymous source was never revealed and this information was never confirmed by any executive from a financial institution. However, in the days that followed this revelation there was an announcement saying a deal was put in motion to restructure the company debt.

In the middle of these financial rumors comes a confirmed report from driver Kasey Kahne who says he will be leaving RPM at the end of the 2010 season and has signed a multi year contract with Hendrick Motorsports. This is followed by vast confusion because Kahne’s new ride with Hendrick will not be available until the start of the 2012 season. Following months of speculation the matter gets resolved by Hendrick sending Kahne to Red Bull Motorsports for 2011.

AUGUST 2010. RPM suffers another financial setback when primary sponsor Budweiser announces they will not be renewing their contract when it expires at the end of the 2010 season. The beer company later announces plans to sign with driver Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress Racing.

RPM announces its plans for the 2011 season and says they will trim their operation down to a pair of Ford Fusions. Marcus Ambrose will replace Kahne in the #9 Ford with sponsorship from Stanley Tools. A J Allmendinger will remain in the #43 Ford. RPM announces that they are very close to signing a deal with Best Buy Stores, and their Insignia Electronics brand, to sponsor the Allmendinger ride. Driver Paul Menard announces that he’ll be leaving RPM to join Richard Childress Racing. After saying earlier that he doesn’t expect to return to RPM next year, driver Elliot Sadler signs a deal to drive a Nationwide Series car for Kevin Harvick Inc.

OCTOBER 2010. In another round of financial maneuvers, Gillett fires the Board Of Directors of his British soccer team. The move is an effort to stop a corporate take over of the soccer team by New England Sports Ventures, (NESV). an organization owned by John Henry. This is the same John Henry who owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox franchise as well as fifty percent of the Roush Fenway Racing NASCAR teams.

During the Charlotte race, Kasey Kahne crashes due to a reported brake failure. It’s the third such brake failure within a short amount of time and a furious Kahne says he can’t wait to get away from RPM. In the aftermath RPM announces the early release of Kahne and places driver Aric Almirola in the seat to finish out the season. This move allows Kahne to get a head start on plans to join Red Bull Racing next year.

The early release of Kahne sparks rumors that states RPM owes him a substantial amount of back salary reported to be somewhere in the area of $1.25 million. Kahne later confirms that he’s been paid in full and says the earlier than expected parting of the ways made sense for both sides. Later RPM informs employees, who were planning to join Kahne next year at Red Bull Racing, that their services are no longer needed and they are let go immediately.

RPM’s next financial headache arrives when Roush Fenway Racing repossesses the cars that were scheduled to race at Talladega alleging non payment of an outstanding bill. An anonymous source claims that the outstanding bill, owed to Roush Fenway and Roush Yates Engines, is somewhere between $9 and $12 million. However RPM arranges a partial payment, to the vendor’s satisfaction, and the race cars are returned to the shop the following day.

Richard Petty declines to comment on rumors that states he’s attempting to put together an investment team in order to buy majority interest of RPM from Gillett. This is followed by a report that states the Wachovia Bank, holder of Gillett’s defaulted loan note, is alleged to be in favor of a Petty takeover and is willing to give him some extra time to see if he can find investors. This is despite another rumor that states a second, unidentified, party is reported to be interested in purchasing the RPM assets.

Much to his dismay, Gillett learns that his Liverpool soccer team has been sold for $475 million a figure reported to be far less than expected and no where near the actual value of the team. This action was reported to be launched by a bank in Scotland who held the defaulted note originally initiated by Gillett and his partner. The devalued soccer team reportedly places a huge strain on Gillett’s liquid assets and creates more doubt regarding the solvency and future of RPM. There are also reports that says both Gillett and Petty have aggressively stepped up efforts to find investors for the beleaguered team.

Gillett, through his company Booth Creek Resort Properties LLC, sells stock in companies that operates the Northstar At Tahoe Ski Resort in an effort to raise additional capital. The sale of this stock is reported to be $63 million. But one day later radio talk show host Dave Moody, from Sirius Radio’s NASCAR Channel, releases a story that says public records indicates that Gillett’s Booth Creek company only managed the ski resort. The records also indicated that Gillett, along with his wife, only owns four percent of Booth Creek. The report also said that the net proceeds from the sale of these stocks were no where near the figure originally reported.

NOVEMBER 2010. Despite initial reports to the contrary, Budweiser agrees to stay with RPM, and honor their contract, until the end of the current racing season. Following Kasey Kahne’s early release from the team, Budweiser alleged breach of contract saying they signed on with Kahne and not a substitute driver. At first it was believed that Budweiser was not going to honor the contract, and the funding that came with it, for the final five weeks of the season which was the last thing RPM needed at this point in time. However, secure in the knowledge that Kahne was more than willing to honor his remaining sponsor commitments, Budweiser relented and announced they would honor their contract to its fullest.

Once again RPM endures another embarrassing episode regarding money owed to Roush Fenway Racing and Roush Yates Engines. This latest episode occurred after the November 8th Sprint Cup race at the Texas Motor Speedway. The plan was to have the haulers from the four RPM teams to meet a Roush Fenway hauler in the speedway parking lot to accept delivery of the cars needed for the Phoenix race the following Sunday. However Roush Fenway instructed their driver not unload the race cars until he received  telephone instructions. The problem was once again overdue invoices. The funding for the Phoenix cars was supposed to be delivered on the Monday morning following the Texas race so the new cars could be loaded into the RPM haulers and sent on their way to Arizona. The five haulers sat in the Texas Motor Speedway parking lot until the following Wednesday afternoon before the transaction was completed. The result was a mad dash to complete the 18 hour drive to the Phoenix International Raceway where the cars had to be unloaded in the garage area by early Friday morning.

It appears that RPM will be ready for next Sunday’s season ending race at the Homestead Miami Speedway in Florida. During the Phoenix race last weekend Mike Shiplett, crew chief for RPM’s #43 Ford, told Fox Sports that the Homestead Cars are ready and the engines were scheduled to be delivered to the RPM shop last Saturday. It was anticipated that the final prep work would be completed by Tuesday with a Wednesday departure of the team trucks to Florida.

The large and looming questions that remains are: will RPM be present at Daytona next February when the green flag falls on the 2011 season? Can Richard Petty line up the investors needed to buy out team majority owner George Gillett Jr? Can Gillette acquire enough funding, and financial solvency to save the race team he purchased back in 2007?

Last October Richard Petty said “I’ve been here, (NASCAR), since 1949 and I’m going to be here ’till they run me off.” There is a large contingent of people who hope that’s true. The world of NASCAR without the name Petty, and the #43, attached to it simply would not seem right.

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]“A champion is as a champion does in all things. The way he walks. The way he talks. The way he presents himself. The way he treats those that can not advance his cause. Every champion knows that the only true defeat is a victory without honor.” – R.C. Liggett

Today we saw a very distinct and defining view of the three championship contenders. They are three very different competitors and very different personalities. But which one will truly represent our sport with the class and dignity of a true champion?

Until the race concludes in Homestead next week, Jimmie Johnson is the series champion. He is a four time series champion. He has represented our sport with class and graciousness for four years. There are many who say his time is up. Let someone else win. However, Jimmie Johnson is not willing to just step aside.

Jimmie has handled the pressure with the same grace that he has handled wearing super man’s cape. He has gone out and raced his way back into contention. Granted his crew has faded late in the year and has seemed to struggle throughout the year.

Through the challenges of mind games from Mike Ford and Denny Hamlin, challenges on the track, and struggles in the pits, Johnson has kept his cool. Today was no different. He managed his fuel mileage with coaching from Chad Knaus and made it work. His composure kept him in the championship run. Had he panicked or refused to listen to Chad, he would have been out of the running. The true display of trust and confidence came when on the next to the last lap, Chad said, “Let the 29 go if you have to but stay smooth.” With the 29 closing fast in his mirror, Jimmie Johnson did just that. It was that consistent smooth rhythm that kept him ahead of the 29 and within striking distance of the 11 come Miami.

The points leader is Denny Hamlin. He leads both Johnson and Harvick by a total of 46 points. In 1991, Rusty Wallace was quoted as saying there is a difference between cocky and confident. Anyone can talk the talk but the man that gets the job done, well that is confidence.”

Denny Hamlin has backed up all of his predictions as though he were reading from a script. He and crew chief have played head games with the best. Everything from choosing the pit stall in front of the champions, to talking trash in the media. Up until today, it appeared that maybe it was working.

But fuel mileage threw a monkey wrench into Hamlin’s cake walk. Hamlin stated that his fuel mileage had been excellent all year and he didn’t understand why it was so bad today. He didn’t know whether his crew chief was being conservative or whether he really couldn’t make it. This translates to It wasn’t my fault it was the crews fault that we didn’t have enough to make it.

Hamlin’s frustration was illustrated by his in car camera when he threw his gloves. Hit the instrument panel, slammed the steering wheel and threw a bottle of water at a crew member who had handed him the bottle of cold water when he got out of the car. When he did his post race TV interview with Dr. Jerry Punch he didn’t even look at him. He didn’t look at the camera. And basically he pouted through the interview.

His behavior, based on our definition that we started with, would say that Denny is not quite ready to be a champion of our sport. “A true champion knows that the only true defeat is a victory without honor.” Denny didn’t win. He had the strongest and best car. But circumstances did not play out in his favor. But he lost with honor. He did not lose with dignity.

Kevin Harvick and his Gil Martin lead Shell Chevrolet over came a huge obstacle. A pit road mistake found Harvick returning to pit road to place a missing lug nut. Harvick, who is famous for his temper and berating his crew over mistakes, kept silent. He would state later that he said nothing because his crew had been so good the last few races and things happen.

It was that missing lug nut that kept Harvick in the running. By returning to pit road and then stopping for 2 tires Harvick had 10 laps more fuel than his competitors. He came up through the field methodically. He kept the fenders on the car. He kept the car pointed towards the start finish line and he kept his foot on the floor. Again, as with Johnson smooth and steady wins the war. Although he didn’t catch and pass the 48, he did cement himself into the final race for the championship next week.

Harvick’s temper is legendary. His aggressiveness is well documented on and off the track. As is his sense of humor and his relationship with the fans. Harvick is quick study. He is a great driver and he has a great sense of what it means to lead the sport and he has an experienced car owner to help him climb those ropes and learn the road of a champion.

Jimmie Johnson summed up the race in Miami best when he called it a “one race winner takes all shootout.” But this is no ordinary winner takes all race. This is the Sprint Cup Championship. This is a half a million bucks to win the race and then somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 million dollars to win the championship plus the champion’s purse share next year. This winner takes all defines the term. And if history holds true and the personalities we have seen to date from the three contenders stay true to form, it fits Harvick’s style the best.

Aggressive, hard charging, not afraid to bend the sheet metal, and gutsy enough to keep charging with a less than perfect car describe Kevin Harvick’s driving style and season to a T. But will he win?

Jimmie Johnson has not won 4 championships being a quitter. He knows the odds. He has faced them in the past though not recently. And he has one of the very best in the business sitting on that pit box every week. They say it’s easier to find a job when you have a job and Jimmie Johnson has a job. He is the Sprint Cup Champion taking it away from him may not be nearly as easy as the points might make it look.

Winning this championship will take not only bravado. It will take skill. It will take patience. It will take calculation. And most of all it will take a cool head. Those are all traits that we have not seen as of yet from Denny Hamlin. Although he has a 3 point lead going into Miami that is like having a stop stick to stop a train. That train I believe is Jimmie Johnson.

Next week is not here yet and while it may be anyone’s game, experience and grace under pressure will most likely ultimately prevail. The head games have started, Denny Hamlin and Mike Ford started them, but I believe that Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus will finish them at the head table in Vegas.

~~~~****~~~~~

Congratulations to Carl Edwards on his sweep of the weekend at Phoenix in the Nationwide Series and the Cup series. Hard fought and well deserved wins. Welcome back to Victory Lane Carl. You were missed. It was a very very thing classy to share your victory celebration with the fans. Congratulations to Todd Bodine on clinching the Camping World Truck Series Championship. Congratulations to Clint Bowyer on his Camping World Truck Series win.

That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

He’s the antithesis of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in every way and his fans are well aware and don’t care. Because that’s what they like about him and when the time comes they can be just as large in numbers and can get their point across.

Kyle Busch and his fans have perfected the art of being outspoken. Last weekend in Texas it was hard to tell which of the two were tossing out more harsh words.

It all started on Saturday when Carl Edwards beat Busch in the Nationwide Series race on a late restart that appeared to have jumped the restart. In a post race interview Busch started blasted Edwards and NASCAR and threw out a few words that started with the letter ‘F.’

The following day it became much, much worse.

His No.18 M&M’s Toyota could have been a contender for the race win, even after spinning on lap 159 since he had kept it off the wall and didn’t have any damage. But NASCAR deemed Busch to be speeding on pit road to avoid going a lap down. He was called back to pit road to serve a one lap penalty.

That didn’t sit well with the driver and he began to let NASCAR know exactly how he felt about them. That included more four letter words, plenty of ‘F’ bombs and even a one fingered salute. In response, NASCAR called Busch back down pit road to this time serve a two lap penalty for what they deemed ‘unsportsmanlike behavior’ a term commonly used in football.

Upon hearing that their driver might be facing further penalties their frustration surfaced. To them Busch was just showing his emotion, something that he’s very good at and NASCAR can’t fine a driver for being emotional.

Others didn’t agree that he should have been penalized in the race and since he was, there was no need to further penalize him. The most common defense for Busch was that NASCAR had opened the door when they initiated the ‘Boys have at it’ policy before the year began.

The policy doesn’t cover NASCAR officials and Busch stepped over the line.

On the Tuesday following the race, penalty day, Busch was handed a fine from NASCAR for his behavior. He paid the $25,000 and apologized and acknowledged his probation until the end of December.

Busch may have moved on but his fans certainly haven’t.

Following the penalty they took to the social networking site Twitter to send NASCAR their thoughts. Most of them, as you can imagine weren’t pretty. Then there were others who decided to take a different route.

Black sheep.

That’s what his fans were feeling like and how they interpreted the situation and as such they have changed their Twitter aviator to a black sheep. A black sheep is someone that’s regarded as a disgrace to a certain group and to his fans NASCAR put Busch in that position.

One such fan, Hank Kershell, who goes by @HankKershell on Twitter, from Arlington, TX, nearly exploded as much as Busch did. Kershell is now boycotting the last two races of the Sprint Cup Series season but will continue to support the driver that he’s been a fan of since 2004.

“Back when it was just me, his mom and dad and Grandma,” he said with a laugh. “Well, just about.”

For Kershell he doesn’t like when Busch tries to reign in his emotion, even though it can land him in trouble like it did at Texas. When that emotion is reigned in, he says, it’ll start to diminish how much Busch wins. As long as Busch gives it 100% every time, no matter where he ends up, it’ll still be exciting to watch.

Texas though, “Kyle had an emotional meltdown during the race and I was OK with the fine,” he said. “I would have had a problem with further points penalties.”

The black sheep comes from what Kershell says is penalizing a driver that does a lot for the sport and gets little in return.

“I finally got tired of everyone always trying to treat Kyle like a little child when no one is bring in more new fans to the sport,” he said. “Although I agree with the penalty, their [NASCAR] statement afterwards was pretty condescending as well. No one watching really cares if some official gets flipped off – especially since the official never saw it. Kyle gets flipped off more than anyone in America; many fans are far more childish with less class than Kyle. And there are little kids around them when they do it.”

Many other NASCAR fans around the globe may not meet his passion or conviction by traveling this past, but the sport does have some of the best fans in the world. For now though, Kershell isn’t alone in his black sheep support.

Brandie Merrill, @Kbm18 on Twitter, from Logantown, Pa has been a Busch fan since his rookie season, and she too has changed her aviator to a black sheep. What drew her to Busch was the fact that all he wants to do is win races but also acknowledges that sometimes his actions aren’t appropriate.

“We are all human and we all make mistakes,” said Merrill. “And we all get through them and go on and that’s what I love about Kyle – he’s human and he doesn’t try to be someone that’s he’s not.

“He was already hot under the collar from the last restart on Saturday in the Nationwide Series race when Carl Edwards jumped the restart and NASCAR didn’t do anything about it … I wouldn’t blame him one bit, I say he had all the right to be mad like he was.”

The official being flipped off came from the fact that he was an easy target, says Merrill, since he had to stand in front of the car. That didn’t put Busch in the right though, she said. The additional fine was a different story.

“Maybe NASCAR shouldn’t have made it that high but they did,” said Merrill.

The reason for Merrill’s black sheep was a little different than Kershell’s.

“I changed my aviator to the black sheep in support of Kyle because of the weekend that NASCAR hanged him. I had always thought of Kyle, not only by all the haters, but NASCAR at times as the black sheep,” she said.

NASCAR doesn’t want Busch to keep winning and breaking the records that he is her theory.

“I have a couple of followers that are on the same mission as I am by displaying the black sheep,” said Merrill. “They said that they will change it when Kyle wins his next Cup race. As for me, I haven’t decided yet, I’ll support it as long as I think I should.”

The frustration is still evident in Busch fans even a week after the incident. Their Twitter pages continue to light up and the army of black sheep continues to grow. Appears that sometimes it takes more than a bag of M&M’s to deal with the aftermath of a bad day at the races.

[media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]Before today’s Kobalt Tools 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race, I had just about made up my mind that Denny Hamlin was going to win the Sprint Cup championship. They had momentum and the psychological edge. About Lap 250, I still believed that. Hamlin was leading, as he had all day, and only Carl Edwards seemed to have anything for him. When Edwards passed Hamlin at Lap 266, I thought Hamlin was going to finish first or second and gain lots of points and then came that dreaded problem at flat tracks—gas mileage.

We all struggle with gas mileage whatever we drive. Some of us live with SUV’s and pickup trucks that get minimal mileage. Some of us drive hybrids or small cars that get better, but you can bet we all watch it. And it’s only a few tracks where it’s a problem. Phoenix was one of those tracks today. Usually you can bet on a late caution so the drivers and crews can get fuel and tires for a final run, but not today. With only five cautions in the whole race, that wasn’t going to happen, so people gambled. Among the drivers who gambled were winner Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, and others. Johnson, who was second in the championship struggle, was short on gas, but Harvick, the guy in third place, had the good fortune of having a lug nut missing on his car. The pit stop to correct that allowed him to get enough fuel to comfortably finish the race. Not so for a dominant Denny Hamlin.

Just when it looked like Hamlin was going to gain needed points on both Johnson and Hamlin, no caution flag was in sight. Though Hamlin led 190 of the 312 laps, he finished 12th and lost 18 valuable points to Johnson. Johnson took a tremendous gamble, but credit crew chief Chad Knaus for rolling the dice. What could have been a disaster turned into a win in the points battle. I do not expect anything less next week at Homestead. I guess when you’ve won that many in a row, you can gamble. And when you know that you are that good, why not take the chance.

This is why I believe that Johnson will win his fifth championship at Ford Championship weekend in Homestead. When you have four trophies, why not gamble for five? You’ve been there so you don’t sweat the small stuff. Hamlin’s crew will sulk on what happened this week and make mistakes just like they did today. What would have happened if Hamlin, with a very fast car, had pitted at Lap 235? We’ll never know, but you can bet it’s eating at Hamlin, the Gibbs racing team, and crew chief Mike Ford right now. How much of hangover on this lost opportunity will carry over into next week? I’ll bet it will be on their minds for a long time. Strange things happen in this sport, but my money’s on the No. 48, and that’s a shame. It doesn’t do NASCAR any good to have the same song every year. It should be an exciting weekend.

Of course you have to admire what Carl Edwards did this weekend. He won the pole for the Sprint Cup race, qualified second for the Nationwide race, race circles around everyone in Sprint Cup practice, and won the Sprint Cup race. If there ever was a sign that the boys at Roush-Fenway had finally figured things out, this weekend was it. Whatever the problem was is probably solved. And next week they head for Homestead where the Roush Fords have dominated for years. Seeing Jack Roush, who cheated death twice in the last few years, celebrating, was a wonderful sight, but that doesn’t help Denny, Jimmie and Kevin. They are in a fight for a championship while the Fords are only looking for a win. And that’s a large part of the problem with today’s format.

I’m not saying that Hamlin, Harvick, and Johnson were trying to win on Sunday. They were, but so much emphasis is placed on the championship that it was hardly mentioned throughout the race broadcast that there was a race outside of the championship struggle. The whole emphasis was on the three drivers who had a chance to win a championship that who would have thought that Greg Biffle pulled off another top five finish or that Ryan Newman, who had won at Phoenix earlier in the year, was second. In fact, we didn’t get that information until Jimmie and Chad were interviewed. As I’ve said many times, in my youth, it was more about who won on Sunday than who won the championship. I guess it’s the lust of the ownership of the series to make NASCAR more like the stick and ball sports where the championship (they think) is all that matters. With this “closest Chase in history” propaganda we’re going to hear all week, we’ll get the same kind of broadcast next week where guys like Biffle and Newman will do great things, but only be afterthoughts. David Pearson won his last championship in 1969 and no one remembers that, but can remember his magic in the No. 21 for a lot of years. Now, so much emphasis is placed on the championship that no one will remember that Carl Edwards broke a 70-race losing streak Sunday. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is who is the champion, something that has been artificially created to compete with sports that cannot be competed with. It boggles my mind.

So, my money’s on Johnson. Hamlin’s team will make mistakes and Harvick will be his steady self. Knaus will pull a rabbit out of his hat and win the almighty championship by a point. When 2011 comes around, many will try to dethrone the magical No. 48 team, but will fail as usual, but until folks realize that it’s the winner who should get the spoils, it won’t make any difference. I’m glad great drivers like Biffle, Bowyer, Stewart, McMurray, and Edwards won races during these last ten events. It’s as if they didn’t even show up in the media’s eyes. I guess there’s always next year. Where we will repeat the same mistake again as ratings fall and attendance goes in the dumpster. And we will wonder why.

During the previous NASCAR weekend at the Phoenix International Raceway we watched Sunoco Race Fuels create a new level of drama in the Chase standings. We watched a driver redeem himself by sweeping the Phoenix victory lane and then swinging a very large hammer. We also shared a very emotional moment with “The Onion.” With those thoughts in mind let’s begin with:

HOORAH for the state of the Chase. The Sprint Cup Series left Phoenix with the closest championship numbers in the Chase history heading into the final race of the year. Denny Hamlin’s points lead was shortened to 15 points over Jimmie Johnson while Kevin Harvick also picked up points on Hamlin and is 46 points from the top.

WAZZUP with Hamlin’s fuel mileage issues? Saying that he wasn’t told he needed to conserve fuel, Hamlin had to come down pit road, with 14 laps remaining, for fuel and two tires. He exited pit road in 19th one lap down. It could have been much worse. Race leader, and eventual winner, Carl Edwards was in fuel mileage status and that allowed Hamlin to make quick work of passing him to get his lap back. He also managed to pick up an additional seven positions to minimize the points damage.

WAZZUP with the in car camera shots of Hamlin punching his steering wheel and dash board after the race. He had every reason to be disappointed, and even angry, with a 12th place finish. He was a dominant factor all during the race and his 190 laps led allowed him to pick an extra ten bonus points. But the last thing he needed was a right hand injury when he’s so close to winning his first NASCAR championship.

*****************************

HOORAH to crew chief Chad Knaus for calmly guiding his driver through the process of saving fuel. It led to a fifth place finish and the points gain on Hamlin’s lead. Knaus told Jimmie Johnson to turn off his in car fans, stay off the brake pedal and run the lap times that he told him to. The pay off turned out to be huge in light of Hamlin’s fuel issues.

This week’s HOORAH for making chicken salad out of chicken do do belongs to Chase contender Kevin Harvick. Harvick pitted on lap 224 only to return to pit road a lap later for a penalty because a lug nut on the left rear tire was missing. He fell from fifth to 18th on the leader board. A caution flag came out on lap 235 and, with virtually nothing to lose, crew chief Gil Martin called Harvick in for gas and tires. It loomed large at the end of the race where Harvick’s sixth place finish also allowed him to gain points on Hamlin’s lead.

*****************************

HOORAH to Carl Edwards for a Phoenix weekend that was simply astounding. The Roush Fenway Racing Ford driver did a double back flip after winning both the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup events. He also became only the third driver, in the history of NASCAR at the PIR, to sweep the weekend.

Saturday’s win in the Wypall 200 was a dominant performance by Edwards. He led 153 of the 200 laps for his second, consecutive, series win and his fourth win of the season. His margin of victory, over runner up Kevin Harvick, was a whopping 5.2 seconds.

Edwards led 93 laps of Sunday’s Sprint Cup race and won the Kobalt Tools 500 to complete the Phoenix sweep. After his second traditional back flip of the weekend, Edwards ran up into the grandstands much to the surprise and delight of the fans. He had every reason in the world to be happy. Edwards’ win snapped a 70 race win less streak that stretched back to nearly two years. Swinging that giant Kobalt Tools hammer in victory lane had to feel like sweet redemption for Edwards.

*****************************

WAZZUP with the fuel mileage issues with Juan Pablo Montoya’s Chevrolet? In the waning laps of the Sprint Cup race Montoya was riding second poised for a possible win if race leader Carl Edwards had to pit for a splash of fuel. He was told over the radio that he was good on gas and even had enough for at least an additional lap past the scheduled distance. Imagine every one’s surprise when the car ran out of fuel on the white flag lap. A sure fire second place finished spiraled downward to a disappointing 16th place finish.

*****************************

WAZZUP with the pit road troubles with driver Kasey Kahne and his Red Bull Racing Toyota team? On the first round of pit stops Kahne missed his pit stall and had to take an extra lap around the track in order to return to pit road.

That was nothing compared to what happened during the next pit stop. With pit road service complete the car came off of the jack, Kahne sped out of his pit stall only to discover that the handle of the gas can was stuck on the car’s spoiler. That leads to a HOORAH to Sunoco Race Fuels whose company logo got a lot of television during that slow lap around the track so Kahne could come back to pit road to have the gas can removed.

******************************

HOORAH to Todd “The Onion” Bodine for wrapping up his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship last Friday night in Phoenix. Bodine and company won the title a week before the season officially ends. Another HOORAH goes out to team owners the Germain Brothers who funded this Toyota operation out of their pockets when a race sponsor was always available.

HOORAH to Sprint Cup driver Clint Bowyer who, driving the #2 truck for Kevin Harvick Inc, made his first series start since 2007 and won Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150.

WAZZUP with more harsh racing luck for Ron Hornaday Jr. His Kevin Harvick Inc Chevrolet Truck was collected by Austin Dillon and the four time series champion was sent crashing into the wall. This incident marked Hornaday’s sixth crash related DNF this year. You can bet he can’t wait until this season ends next week.

****************************

The final WAZZUP of the week goes to Jamie McMurray and that accidental car wash he tried to do on Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet during Sunday’s Cup race. The two cars were racing together when all of a sudden an errant water bottle came flying out of McMurray’s driver’s window. The bottle landed of top of the Johnson car and sprayed water all over his windshield. It turned out to be a case of no harm no foul but it’s the last thing a driver, in the midst of trying to win five consecutive championships, wants to see in the middle of a race.

The final HOORAH of the week goes to Stewart Haas Racing for the special paint job on Ryan Newman’s #39 Chevrolet. In honor of the recently observed Veterans Day, Newman’s U.S. Army sponsored car was decorated with the pictures of over 500 veterans. The total affect was stunning and it was a highly unique way of thanking the men and women of our Armed Forces for their service.

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams arrived for work Sunday morning at Phoenix International Raceway, for the Kobalt Tools 500, they were greeted by something familiar from home on the east coast.  The garage opened this morning at 7AM local time as the sun was barely visible and the thermometer was hovering at the 40 degree mark.  But by the time the green flag dropped at 2:18 PM we were all reminded that we are here in the desert with a bright sun and 70 degrees.  This was ideal weather for the fans and the teams alike, except of course for the #71 team and driver Brendan Gaughan.  On the second lap, Gaughan had a right front tire go down sending him into the outside wall with heavy damage.  The TRG crew worked on the #71 car, but the front end damage was too severe for them to fix. The car was loaded up and readied to limp back home.

The angels were not looking over Brad Keselowski either as he cut down a right front tire on lap 58 sending the #12 Dodge into the outside wall resulting in heavy damage.  After being treated and released from the infield care center, Brad headed to the garage to watch his crew working feverishly to rebuild the right front of his car.

On lap 101 with Denny Hamlin leading the race, the third caution of the day came out for debris.  Seems that an errant water bottle splashed all over Jimmie Johnson’s windshield.  As the field pitted  the top 5 were Edwards, Hamlin, Kurt Busch, and Tony Stewart.  It was speculated that Jamie McMurray was the guilty water bottle thrower, but he did get that needed lucky dog to put him back on the lead lap. Hamlin wasted no time retaking the lead from Edwards after the restart.

By lap 200 the #12 team had given up the battle and loaded up the car for the long ride home.  The result for Brad Keselowski will be a 42nd place finish, heading into the final race. On the track, Denny Hamlin continued to pace the field under green until the caution flew one more time on lap 222 as Robby Gordon spun in turn three.  In the ensuing pit stops, Kyle Busch and his crew outperformed the 11 crew and took over the lead. Harvick was forced to return to pit road for a missing lug nut which resulted in restarting 18th.

On the restart, Hamlin rocketed past Kyle to retake the lead.  On lap 223 it was Hamlin, Edwards, Busch, Johnson and Newman rounding out the top five.  The green flag run was short lived as Travis Kvapil spun out on the front stretch on lap 235.  On lap 266 Carl Edwards squeezes past Hamlin to retake the lead, and two laps later Edwards has an 8/10th second lead over Hamlin. Montoya passes Jimmie Johnson for fourth and Ryan Newman joins in passing JJ for 5th place.   By lap 278 Harvick had worked his way up to 12th and was threatening.

With 22 laps to go, Hamlin was looking for a caution, constantly telling his spotter there was debris.  Obviously NASCAR and many of the other teams saw no debris, in addition Johnson was too short of fuel to make it.  Meanwhile Gil Martin had told was  Harvick he had just enough gas to finish the 312 laps.  On lap 296 Chad Knaus was telling JJ to start conserving fuel.  Jimmie asked how much and Chad told him that he would tell him how fast to drive.

On lap 300 Hamlin could wait no more and was forced to pit, barely able to return to the lead lap.  Meanwhile Edwards continued his charge up front while Johnson was slowing and holding onto 5th place.  Harvick moved up to 7th and Chad ordered JJ to cut all the fans and not use the brakes at all.  With 5 laps to go Johnson was told to do whatever to keep Harvick behind him, as Johnson slipped to 6th with Harvick right behind him.

On the final lap, Montoya runs out of gas as Edwards wins the Kobalt Tools 500, with Ryan Newman 2nd , Logano 3rd with Johnson and Harvick finishing top 5.  Denny Hamlin finished 12th while Montoya managed to finish on the lead lap in 16th place.

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to their final race at Homestead, Denny Hamlin leads the Championship points 15 points ahead of Johnson, with Harvick 3rd, 46 points behind Johnson.

Unofficial Race Results : Kobalt Tools 500

Kobalt Tools 500

November 14, 2010 – Race 35 of 36

In the “Valley of the Sun” the track was slick and the desire, especially among the three Chase contenders, was even thicker.   Here are the surprising and not surprising moments from the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway:

Surprising:  After leading the most laps, dominating the majority of the race, and securing those precious championship bonus points for doing so, Denny Hamlin maintained his points lead but failed to bring home the race win.  Hamlin ended up being short on fuel and had to pit with just a few laps to go, valiantly fighting his way back to a 12^th place finish.  A dejected Hamlin, now ahead of Jimmie Johnson by just 15 points, could only say after the race, “It’s pretty disappointing.  It’s tough to not be happy having the points lead.”

Not Surprising:  Carl Edwards, who was dominant throughout the weekend at Phoenix, including a Nationwide win, back flipped his way into Victory Lane, taking the checkered flag and slamming the door on his almost two year winless streak.  Edwards, who celebrated the win by creating a victory mosh pit in the midst of the crowd, also pulled off his first double.  Edwards summed it up succinctly saying, “We had a fast car, we got good gas mileage, and whew, we won.  Man, this is unreal.”

Surprising:  It was most surprising that a mistake on pit road actually benefitted Chase contender Kevin Harvick.  Although Harvick had to come back down pit road late in the race to address a missing lug nut, he and his crew topped off on fuel, which served them well and led to a sixth place finish.  Harvick, now 46 points behind points leader Denny Hamlin, pronounced himself “just lucky” while his crew chief Gil Martin made it abundantly clear there would be no crew changes on his team, in spite of the pit road miscue.

Not Surprising:  Speaking of crew swaps, the one that was made permanent between Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, worked beautifully and, to no one’s surprise, garnered Johnson a fifth place finish.  Gordon’s former crew did a phenomenal job on Johnson’s car, while Gordon, with Johnson’s former crew, finished 11^th.  Johnson also did a fine job himself behind the wheel, feathering the throttle to make it to the checkered flag with just enough gas to spare.  “Today showed that it’s not over until the last lap,” said the four-time champion.

Surprising:   After a most eventful race, it was most surprising to see Jamie McMurray bring his No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet to the checkered flag for a top ten finish.  About 100 laps into the race, McMurray hit the wall hard, severely damaging the back of his car, including major damage to his spoiler.  In desperation, McMurray threw his water bottle out of his car, which exploded all over Jimmie Johnson’s windshield, bringing out the third caution of the day.  While McMurray was the ‘lucky dog’, he was penalized and held one lap by the NASCAR officials for intentionally bringing out the caution.  All of the drama did benefit McMurray, especially in a fuel mileage race and he finished in the tenth position.

Not Surprising:  With 500 faces of veterans gracing his race car, it was not surprising that Ryan Newman had the motivation and determination to do them all proud.  Newman was able to bring home his No. 39 US Army Veteran’s Day Tribute Chevrolet in the runner up position, proving that he too was ‘Army Strong.”  He also managed to finish the entire race in spite of being on baby watch, with his wife Krissie scheduled to deliver their baby girl at any time now.

Surprising:   Joey Logano had a surprisingly solid day, starting tenth and finishing 3^rd in his No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.  This was the youngster’s third straight top-5 finish, a record which Logano fully intends to continue to build on for next year.

Not Surprising:   Mark Martin, who has one of the best performance records at Phoenix International Raceway, had a solid day, finishing in the top ten.  Although he had to battle his way through the field, qualifying 28^th, Martin was the highest Hendrick finisher next to his teammate Jimmie Johnson, bringing home the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in the eighth spot.

Surprising:  While Kasey Kahne is undoubtedly still getting used to his new Red Bull Racing team, it was surprising just how discombobulated he and his crew seemed to be.  In one of the early rounds of pit stops, Kahne completely missed his pit stall and had to circle back around, costing him dearly as far as track position.  In one of the more bizarre moments of the race, Kahne’s crew left one of the Sunoco fuel cans on the back of his car.  When Kahne pulled out of his pit stall, the can hooked the spoiler pulling it upright and making for a most unusual sight as Kahne drove around the race track.  Kahne eventually finished in the 30^th position.

Not Surprising:  Although unfortunate, it was not surprising how miserable Kahne’s Red Bull teammate Scott Speed was throughout the race.  With his future uncertain, Speed was absolutely irate with his crew as he battled an ill-handling race car throughout the day.  Speed finished 35^th, several laps down, soldiering on to the end of a very disappointing season and an even more unsettling future.

With the championship still up for grabs, the Cup Series will head south to Homestead for the last race of the 2010 season and the crowning of the Sprint Cup Champion.  The Ford 500 will run at 1:00 PM ET at Homestead-Miami Speedway in celebration of Ford Championship weekend.