NASCAR Scene: A look back at 2007's memorable moments
The 2007 NASCAR season is in the history books. All that's left is to hand out the checks and the NASCAR Nextel Cup trophy at the series' banquet Friday, Nov. 30, in New York City.
Here's a look back at some of the season's most memorable moments, and a few of my annual "awards" to go along with them:
- We are the champions - The way the Chase for the Nextel Cup played out going into Sunday's final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were going to win either their second or fifth Cup championships. Johnson's late-season momentum and 10 victories pushed him past Jeff Gordon despite his record 30 Top 10 finishes.
- Merger mania - If you owned a race team and didn't merge with someone in 2007, you were in the minority. Teams making corporate moves included Michael Waltrip Racing, Roush Fenway Racing and Gillett Evernham Motorsports. In addition, Dale Earnhardt Inc. took over Ginn Racing and Robert Yates Racing will become Yates Racing with strong ties to Roush.
- Fabulous finishes - Just when you thought you'd seen the best finish possible in the Daytona 500 - Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin drag racing to the checkered flag as the field wrecked behind them - Jamie McMurray edged Kyle Busch by .005 in an even closer finish in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona.
- There's a first time for everything - Juan Pablo Montoya and Casey Mears won their first career Cup races, as did Chase qualifiers Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer. Montoya, a road-racing ace, was not necessarily a surprise winner at Infineon Raceway. His real challenge is winning on an oval.
- Let there be light - The fans at Kansas Speedway and many other tracks - remember the long-delayed Michigan race - suffered through the rain, while Atlanta would do anything to get some. The rain delays set up a wild finish at Kansas, allowing Greg Biffle to roll (slowly) across the finish line in near darkness to become the only non-Chasers to win a race during the 2007 Chase.
- The Dale Earnhardt Jr. Lottery Prize - First, Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he was leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. Then, after months of being courted by practically every Nextel Cup team, he chose Hendrick Motorsports. In 2008, NASCAR's most popular driver will be teammates of two-time champion Johnson and four-time champion Jeff Gordon. We may miss the red No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet, but looking on the bright side, it's shopping season and there's plenty of new No. 88 gear to be had.
- Odd man out - Kyle Busch was essentially dumped by Hendrick when Earnhardt Jr. became available. How he fares at Joe Gibbs Racing, which is switching to Toyota in 2008, as well as how he gets along with new teammates Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart, is worth watching. Remember Gibbs had to smooth the rough waters between Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart after their Pepsi 400 crash. Adding a third volatile personality to the mix should provide entertainment, if not close competition as each driver tries to win Toyota's first Cup race.
- Jumping on the bandwagon - The success of Montoya led to an influx of open-wheel drivers into NASCAR. For many, their first forays into stock cars came with mixed results. Time will tell how Dario Franchitti, Jacques Villeneuve, Patrick Carpentier and Sam Hornish Jr. fare in NASCAR.
- "Dance" fever - Hopefully, the NASCAR newcomers will do as well as their open-wheel counterpart Helio Castroneves, who has qualified for the finals of "Dancing with the Stars." Which NASCAR driver would be the best dancer? Unfortunately, no Cup drivers would probably take the challenge because the show overlaps the race season, and it wouldn't be fair if Junior were on the show - his fans would burn up the phone lines no matter how well he danced. The other stars wouldn't have a chance.
- Keep your enemies close and your teammates closer - Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart squabbled at Daytona, while Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth's sour relationship at Roush Fenway Racing was revealed when Edwards confronted Kenseth at Martinsville. Unlike Gibbs, Jack Roush lets his drivers settle their differences. Time will tell if these differences have been patched up or not.
- Ultimate vacation plan - It seemed as if half the crew chiefs in Nextel Cup were suspended for various violations this year. Chad Knaus, Steve Letarte, Tony Eury Jr. and Robbie Reiser were among those given extended "vacations" by NASCAR. Junior even commented on his radio during the race that he had spotted cousin Eury Jr. at New Hampshire. NASCAR then put the kibosh on suspended crew chiefs coming to the track.
- And the winners are -Kevin Harvick was the official winner of NASCAR's first foray into Canada, a Busch Series road course race in Montreal. A crazy sequence of caution flags led Robby Gordon to also celebrate as if he was the winner, but he was black-flagged by NASCAR. Montreal native Carpentier also engaged in a series of burnouts, though his joy was for a second-place finish in his NASCAR debut before a packed crowd.
- Happy trails to you - Ricky Rudd called it a career, Robert Yates stepped down as a car owner, and the "old" car has been replaced by the Car of Tomorrow. Nextel and Kyle Busch also departed as Sprint and Nationwide become the title sponsors of NASCAR's top two series.
- Thanks for the memories - NASCAR lost two important people - Bill France Jr., patriarch of the family that helped found and run NASCAR, and Benny Parsons, a champion as a driver and a terrific TV personality.
