From the very moment Richard Childress Racing announced that driver Austin Dillon was moving up to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and would be in the #3 Chevrolet the response was immediate among the NASCAR media and the fans of the sport.
The 2013 season of NASCAR will be remembered as one of the most tumultuous in recent memory. The year would not be complete without a few snapshots to commemorate the highs and lows.
Johnson clinched his sixth Sprint Cup championship, and first in two years, with a ninth at Homestead. He finished the season 19 points ahead of Matt Kenseth.
Johnson started on the pole and finished third in the AdvoCare 500, well ahead of Matt Kenseth, who struggled and finished 23rd. Johnson has a 28-point lead heading into Homestead, and needs only a finish of 23rd or better to clinch the Cup.
We were wrong about Martinsville, which should be renamed Johnsonville the way Jimmie lays it down there. While Jeff Gordon tied Five Time in wins at the paper clip, claiming his 8th at the track and the 88th of his Cup career.
Kenseth survived to finish 20th at Talladega, seven spots behind Jimmie Johnson. Kenseth’s four point lead became a four point deficit to Jimmie Johnson in the standings.
As the green flag falls Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway there are only six races left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Not only will the Bank of America 500 be a vital race to the thirteen drivers in contention for the championship, but it will be a monumental race in the NASCAR careers of Kyle Larson and Brain Scott, who will be making their NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debuts.
