In the next to the last race on the one miler in the Valley of the Sun, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 25th annual Advocare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
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.
Keselowski took charge of the point standings with a win at Phoenix, while Jimmie Johnson crashed hard into the wall late. With one race remaining, Keselowski leads Johnson by 22 points.
Johnson passed Brad Keselowski with two laps to go at Texas and pulled away to win at Texas, his second consecutive win in the Chase. Johnson extended his lead in the point standings, and now holds a seven point edge on Keselowski.
Johnson started on the pole at Martinsville and captured a huge win, his sixth at the .526-mile track. Johnson passed Brad Keselowski with about 20 laps to go, and held off Kyle Busch down the stretch. He now leads the points standings with a two-point edge over Brad Keselowski.
On a repaved track that even team owner Jack Roush pronounced surprisingly fast and treacherous and with a record number of cautions to boot, here is what else was surprising and not surprising in the 12th annual Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Keselowski finished 8th at Kansas, better than all but Clint Bowyer among Chase contenders. Keselwoski leads Jimmie Johnson by seven, and has a 15-point edge over Denny Hamlin.
Researchers studying earmarks for the current farm bill were shocked to discover that NASCAR has been receiving subsidies from the Federal Government since 2007, not to help the beleaguered racing organization stay afloat in the worldwide recession, and protect the jobs of as many people as possible, no, these subsidies, which were hidden deep under ‘crop rotation and preservation’ sub-paragraphs, are paying America’s most prominent race series…to keep fans out of the seats.
In a race now known as one without an Earnhardt and without a North Carolina born driver, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Keselowski ran out of fuel while leading on lap 59 at Charlotte, and that miscalculation may have cost him the win. After a late stop for gas, Keseklowski emerged 16th and finished 11th. He now leads Jimmie Johnson in the point standings by seven.
