CUP: Homestead-Miami Speedway
Jess
RESULTS
Winner: Carl Edwards
20. David (-1 lap)
38. Michael (-3 laps)
41. Dale Jr. (OUT - Wheel bearing)
Wow, kind of a disappointing end to the season for our heroes.
David led the first lap after starting on the pole (and fought Matt Kenseth - who I knew was going to be tough - tooth and nail for that honor! 
) and although he faded back a tad he was still competitively inside the top 5 for much of the race. He even had to overcome not just the pressure of running so close to the front, but a spring on the throttle falling off! That must have been such a distraction, but David is so adaptable and he made do with what he had. Being in the top 10 just about the entire event impressed me twofold since he was dealing with this problem. However, crappy luck struck once more as the final laps turned into another fuel mileage race and David had to pit, relegating him back to 20th. 
Dale Jr. ran pretty well after a rather depressing start where he struggled to crack the top-25. Tony Jr. must have made a great adjustment, for he was soon charging to the front! He quietly remained there for the remainder of the race until he began to realize something was going wrong with a handful of laps to go. He pitted and then came back in quickly after. It turned out that the wheel bearing had broken and the #88 went to the garage. During his interview, I found it curious he made a bit of a speech thanking everyone at Hendrick until I realized that his DNF meant he would finish last in the Chase, therefore keeping him from the stage in New York.
But at least David and Dale didn't have a day like Michael. Apparently Michael chose to use David's setup and the whole thing blew up in his face (as it has before - I don't quite understand why Michael thinks just because David runs well with a certain setup, he will too). He was horrible from start to finish.
Not a good way to end the season but hopefully Bootie will bring in some fresh air to that team. To top it off, Marcos Ambrose made a mistake and crashed, dropping him out of the top 35. It may not make a difference if teams inside the top 35 shut down and Marcos is bumped up, but it was still disappointing.
While I'm at it, I'll mentioned a few other things about my other favorites:
- Man am I glad that Kurt Busch's year is over. I don't think I've ever seen him more miserable! It seemed like whatever could go wrong did go wrong. Kurt is a champion and one of the best drivers out there - I hope next season Penske can get back to winning form, or I doubt Kurt will return.
- With DEI and Ganassi recently merging, it will be interesting to see what happens with Martin Truex Jr. and his guys. Juan Pablo Montoya is a strong personality so I'm anxious to find how he and Martin will get along.
- Brian Vickers didn't have a very good finish, maybe because he wasn't even with his team, since he switched with Scott Speed. I can't say the whole car swap made me feel very good; although Brian publicly appeared to want to help, it bothers me that Speed has taken such a priority with Red Bull all of a sudden (funny that TRB wasn't so quick to help AJ Allmendinger
). At first I loved the way TRB did things but now I'm not so sure.
- Casey Mears' last ride with HMS ended well and I'm looking forward to next season with Richard Childress!
Congratulations Jimmie Johnson on his third Cup Championship!!
FINAL POINT STANDINGS
Champion: Jimmie Johnson (congrats!)
12. Dale Jr.
22. David
29. Michael
Winner: Carl Edwards
20. David (-1 lap)
38. Michael (-3 laps)
41. Dale Jr. (OUT - Wheel bearing)
Wow, kind of a disappointing end to the season for our heroes.
David led the first lap after starting on the pole (and fought Matt Kenseth - who I knew was going to be tough - tooth and nail for that honor! ) and although he faded back a tad he was still competitively inside the top 5 for much of the race. He even had to overcome not just the pressure of running so close to the front, but a spring on the throttle falling off! That must have been such a distraction, but David is so adaptable and he made do with what he had. Being in the top 10 just about the entire event impressed me twofold since he was dealing with this problem. However, crappy luck struck once more as the final laps turned into another fuel mileage race and David had to pit, relegating him back to 20th. Dale Jr. ran pretty well after a rather depressing start where he struggled to crack the top-25. Tony Jr. must have made a great adjustment, for he was soon charging to the front! He quietly remained there for the remainder of the race until he began to realize something was going wrong with a handful of laps to go. He pitted and then came back in quickly after. It turned out that the wheel bearing had broken and the #88 went to the garage. During his interview, I found it curious he made a bit of a speech thanking everyone at Hendrick until I realized that his DNF meant he would finish last in the Chase, therefore keeping him from the stage in New York.
But at least David and Dale didn't have a day like Michael. Apparently Michael chose to use David's setup and the whole thing blew up in his face (as it has before - I don't quite understand why Michael thinks just because David runs well with a certain setup, he will too). He was horrible from start to finish.
Not a good way to end the season but hopefully Bootie will bring in some fresh air to that team. To top it off, Marcos Ambrose made a mistake and crashed, dropping him out of the top 35. It may not make a difference if teams inside the top 35 shut down and Marcos is bumped up, but it was still disappointing.While I'm at it, I'll mentioned a few other things about my other favorites:
- Man am I glad that Kurt Busch's year is over. I don't think I've ever seen him more miserable! It seemed like whatever could go wrong did go wrong. Kurt is a champion and one of the best drivers out there - I hope next season Penske can get back to winning form, or I doubt Kurt will return.
- With DEI and Ganassi recently merging, it will be interesting to see what happens with Martin Truex Jr. and his guys. Juan Pablo Montoya is a strong personality so I'm anxious to find how he and Martin will get along.
- Brian Vickers didn't have a very good finish, maybe because he wasn't even with his team, since he switched with Scott Speed. I can't say the whole car swap made me feel very good; although Brian publicly appeared to want to help, it bothers me that Speed has taken such a priority with Red Bull all of a sudden (funny that TRB wasn't so quick to help AJ Allmendinger
). At first I loved the way TRB did things but now I'm not so sure.- Casey Mears' last ride with HMS ended well and I'm looking forward to next season with Richard Childress!
Congratulations Jimmie Johnson on his third Cup Championship!!
FINAL POINT STANDINGS
Champion: Jimmie Johnson (congrats!)
12. Dale Jr.
22. David
29. Michael
