Category Archives: NASCAR

NASCAR

Sports Oddities #4: Brett Bodine

This series of articles focuses on a bizzaro or oddball statistical anomaly that played in professional sports. I probably will run out of players to do this with eventually though. This is the 4th edition of Sports Oddities!

Brett Bodine was a journeyman NASCAR Winston Cup driver who was solidly in the middle of the pack week in and week out. He had finished in the Top 5 three times out of seventy-eight races in his career thus far. Then came the First Union 400 at North Wilkesboro in the spring of 1990.

Dale Earnhardt led late and Bodine, who was having a solid day and had a shot to earn a fourth career top five finish and even sneak into the Top 10 in the Winston Cup points standings. He pitted a little earlier than the leaders and since North Wilkesboro is a small race track, he ended up being lapped. A caution would come out a short time later and the pace car incorrectly picked up the wrong car as the leader. That was Bodine. Suddenly, Bodine had the lead spot and fresher tires than everyone else and was able to win his first (and it turns out only) career NASCAR Winston Cup race over Darrell Waltrip.

How could such a scoring error happen? In 1990 NASCAR didn’t have their electronic scoring loops like they do today. Hilariously, Bodine claimed he was the leader all along. Waltrip complained to NASCAR Chairman Bill France, who told him that “you’ll win tons more races but leave Bodine alone, this is his first one”. Crazy that something like that would stand.

Brett Bodine’s final career stat line: 480 starts, 61 top 10s, 16 top 5s.

And one win.

NASCAR

NASCAR Killed Its Regular Season

NASCAR has made its regular season mean nothing.

It’s unfortunate too. Before the elimination format I was perfectly fine with the Chase. Sure, the traditional points standings, the system used from the 1970s through 2003, probably determined the correct Sprint Cup Champion in regards to consistency and skill. But at least the Chase had a reasonable cut off, either the top 10 drivers or the top 10 and two other wildcards. Those wildcards kept the regular season exciting as drivers went for wins. And while the Chase would take away that consistency required to win the title as opposed to years prior, it still felt like the best driver was taking it each year (well, except for 2004 I guess and maybe 2011). And some of those wildcard races really felt like they mattered. Anyone remember when Jeff Gordon missed in 2005? Or when Tony Stewart missed in 2006? Adding the wildcard made it feel like there were real stakes every week at least.

But now with the Top 16 drivers getting in, NASCAR’s regular season means absolutely nothing. The biggest drama in 2014 was what? Aric Amirola’s silly Daytona Night victory or A.J. Allmendinger’s Road Course win to clinch a berth? Neither man was going to be a title threat. 2015 had the lucky story of whether or not Kyle Busch would get in because he missed the first quarter of the season with an injury. He got in with ease and ended up winning the title. Kyle got there because it’s all about the wins now to get in now (but ironically, not when it’s time to actually race for the title). Otherwise, why should I care about any of these races? Carl Edwards won Bristol today to clinch his Chase spot. Not like it mattered, even if he didn’t win all season he was getting in either way. Other winners so far this year? Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski. All guys who most likely would have been in the Top 16 anyway. I remember my favorite driver winning the 2014 Daytona 500, then realizing that I didn’t need to really care about the next 25 races for him since he was in the playoffs already. Right now if I’m a Jimmie Johnson or Kyle Busch fan, why do I need to follow anything in NASCAR until the playoffs begin? There just isn’t a reason to.

Kyle Busch made a mockery of the regular season last year, and in a way so did Ryan Newman the year before. Now I understand that regular seasons in sports really don’t matter that much anyway, but with NASCAR each of their races is supposed to be an event (unlike the NFL, where there are 15 games going at once each weekend). Each race is supposed to be important and at this point it’s just not. When Kyle Busch won the title, he showed just how much the regular season meant despite missing 11 of the 26 regular season races, he killed NASCAR’s regular season for good. It simply doesn’t matter.

Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, NASCAR

Top 25 Greatest Teams That Failed To Win The Championship

#25: 1988 New York Mets

mets88

Notable Statistics
Record: 100-60 (1st in NL)
Won NL East
Led NL in HRs, RBI, Slugging, OPS, ERA
Notable Players: David Cone, Dwight Gooden, Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry
Manager: Davey Johnson
Finish: Lost in NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 7.

Only two years removed from their ’86 World Series, the Mets were at it again, dominating the National League for the season. The Mets led the NLCS 1-0 and 2-1, but the Dodgers came back to lead 3-2. Future Met and NL Cy Young Award Winner Orel Hershiser blanked the Mets in Game 7 and the Dodgers went on to win the World Series.

#24: 1998 #6 Team, Roush Racing (Mark Martin)

markmartin98

Notable Statistics
Finished 2nd in the Winston Cup Points Standings
1998 Statistics: 7 Wins (2nd), 22 Top 5s (2nd), 26 Top 10s (2nd)
Average Finish: 8.6 (2nd)
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig

Mark Martin’s most impressive single season came at the same time that Jeff Gordon was setting modern day NASCAR records. Year in and year out Martin has finished in the top 5 of the points standings but each year he would just fall short for one reason or another. Usually, Martin would score two or three wins a season and fill out the rest of the year with a steady dose of Top 10s. In 1998 Martin would win seven times, and if Gordon wasn’t out putting up the most ridiculous season in NASCAR history at that time (13 Wins, 5.7 average finish), who knows how many other victories Martin could have gotten.

Consider this. In 1998 Martin averaged 150.4 points a race. That would have beaten Jeff Gordon’s 1997 Championship average (147.2), Terry Labonte’s 1996 Championship average (150.2), Gordon’s 1995 Championship Average (148.8). Dale Earnhardt’s 1994 average (151.4) beats Martin’s ’98, but Earnhardt also won that title by about 400 points. Hell, Martin’s point total in 33 races is actually greater than 2nd place Earnhardt in 2000 (34 races) and Tony Stewart’s 2nd place total in 2001 (36 races). Martin would have flat out WON the Championship in the 36 race 2002 with his 33 race total in ’98.

#23: 1995 Cleveland Indians

indians95

Notable Statistics
Record: 100-44 (1st in AL)
Won AL Central
Led NL in HRs, RBI, Slugging, OPS, ERA
Notable Players: Orel Hershiser, Charles Nagy, Jim Thome, Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, Kenny Lofton, Omar Vizquel
Manager: Mike Hargrove
Finish: Lost World Series to the Atlanta Braves in 6.

A monster offensive team with a monster record. Prorate that 100-44 record to 162 games and you get about 112 wins. You had five guys on this team hit at least 25 home runs that season (again, a shortened season). You had good pitching. The Indians had 10 more wins in the regular season than anyone else in baseball. This Indians team should have tore through the post-season and ended Cleveland’s long lasting drought.

Cleveland ripped through the Red Sox and Mariners in the post-season, but ran into the great pitching staff of the Atlanta Braves. Highlighted with a World Series winning 1 hitter by Tom Glavine and Mark Wohlers, the Braves upset the Indians and continued to do quite well in the National League throughout the rest of the decade.

#22: 2005 Indianapolis Colts

colts05

Notable Statistics
Record: 14-2 (1st in NFL)
Won AFC South
NFL Ranks: 2nd in Points, 2nd in Points Allowed
Won First 13 Games in the Regular Season
Notable Players: Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James, Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, Bob Sanders, Dwight Freeney
Head Coach: Tony Dungy
Finish: Lost in the Divisional Round to the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-18

An epic upset forgotten by the Colts winning the title the very next season. There was a lot of undefeated talk for the Colts during the 2005 season and it looked like, with New England not being as good as they had been in the last couple of seasons, that this was their year. Elite passing, elite running and a good defense seemed like it would be enough.

The Steelers had other plans, pressuring Peyton Manning all throughout the game, sacking him five times and rushing him everywhere. Peyton failed to complete a pass in the first quarter, and the Steelers ran up an early 14-0 lead. The Colts wouldn’t score a TD until the 4th quarter, but the Steelers would barely hang on 21-18 (this included one of the worst referee overturn challenges in the history of the league, when Troy Polamalu intercepted Manning cleanly and it was ruled incomplete). In fact, we may not be talking about the Colts losing here had Ben Roethlisberger not made the tackle of his life when Jerome Bettis fumbled as the Steelers were looking to ice the game and Mike Vanderjagt made the game tying FG. The Steelers would become the first #6 seed to get to the Super Bowl a week later.

#21: 2000-2001 New Jersey Devils

devils01

Notable Statistics
Record: 48-19-12-3, 111 Points (2nd in NHL)
Won Atlantic Division
NHL Ranks: Goals 1st, Goals Against 5th
Notable Players: Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermeyer, Scott Stevens, Patrik Elias, Alexander Mogilny, Petr Sykora
Head Coach: Larry Robinson
Finish: Lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Colorado Avalanche in 7.

It’s not even that it was an upset victory for Colorado. The Avalanche had a huge 118 point season and seemed destined for the Cup. That doesn’t change just how good the Devils were. The Devils were already the defending Stanley Cup Champions and brought back most of the team from the season before. Martin Brodeur had proven he could win tough, low scoring playoff hockey games with his stellar performance from the season before. Colorado proved to be too talented and too deep for New Jersey though.

#20: 2011 Green Bay Packers

packers11

Notable Statistics
Record: 15-1 (1st in NFL)
Won NFC North
NFL Ranks: 1st in Points, 19th in Points Allowed
Won First 13 Games in the Regular Season
Notable Players: Aaron Rodgers (MVP), Ryan Grant, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews Jr.
Head Coach: Mike McCarthy
Finish: Lost in the Divisional Round to the New York Giants 37-20

In the pass happy post 2007 NFL, Aaron Rodgers put together the greatest QB season in NFL history as the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers ripped through the league with ease. It wasn’t like they were just ranked 1st in points, they scored 35 a game and no one could hang with them. When you have a QB having the best QB season in NFL history at that point, a lot of things that could be considered weaknesses get swept under the rug. The Packers had one weakness, their defense was average at best.
The Giants tore that defense apart. The Giants D caused some turnovers and never let Green Bay get into rhythm. The Giants would find ways to come up with points on each drive of theirs. The big moment? When The Giants looked comfortable taking a 13-10 lead at halftime and Ahmad Bradshaw broke a big run. With six seconds left, Eli Manning took a hot at the end zone and suddenly it was 20-10 Giants. Green Bay never recovered.

#19: 2010-2011 Vancouver Canucks

canucks11

Notable Statistics
Record: 59-19-9, 117 Points (1st in NHL)
Won Northwest Division
NHL Ranks: Goals 1st, Goals Against 1st
Notable Players: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler, Roberto Luongo
Head Coach: Alain Vigneault
Finish: Lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Boston Bruins in 7.

It’s quite difficult to beat a team that scores the most goals and allows the least, but that’s what Boston managed to do in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. The Canucks almost lost in the Quarterfinals, luckily winning Game 7 in overtime against the Blackhawks.

Still, the Canucks were stacked, featuring the Sedin twins and 41 goal scorer Ryan Kesler. They just got outplayed in the Stanley Cups Finals.

#18: 2001-2002 Sacramento Kings

kings02

Notable Statistics
Record: 61-21 (1st in NBA)
Won Pacific Division
NFL Ranks: 3rd in Offensive Rating, 6th in Defensive Rating
Notable Players: Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Vlade Divac, Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson
Head Coach: Rick Adelman
Finish: Lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in 7.

First of all, we have to consider all the referee shenanigans that cost Sacramento Game 6. It’s one of worst officiated games in league history.

Getting past that, the 2002 Kings had everything it seemed. A star player in Webber. A crunch time guy in Bibby. A dead eye shooter in Stojakovic. The 2002 Kings were so close. Robert Horry hit a dagger in Game 4 that saved the Lakers from a 3-1 deficit. Were the Lakers beating the Kings in three straight? Not likely. Game 7 went to overtime as well. The Kings were so close to knocking off the Shaq-Kobe Lakers and just couldn’t get it done. It’s a shame, because the Nets were waiting in the NBA Finals and stood no chance of beating that Kings team (the Lakers swept them with ease). The Kings spent the next couple of years losing Game 7s to Dallas and Minnesota. They never had a greater chance than they did in 2002, referees or not.

#17: 1994 Montreal Expos

expos94

Notable Statistics
Record: 74-40 (1st in NL)
Led NL in ERA
Notable Players: Pedro Martinez, Moises Alou, Larry Walker, Ken Hill
Manager: Felipe Alou
Finish: Baseball Went on Strike

A really tough break for Montreal as some cite the strike as a big reason Montreal moved to Washington years later. The Expos were on pace for a 105 win season led by some really good pitching led by Ken Hill and Pedro Martinez. Moises Alou was on pace for a great season as well. Montreal would lose most of their players in Free Agency.

#16: 2010 New England Patriots

patriots10

Notable Statistics
Record: 14-2 (1st in NFL)
Won AFC East
NFL Ranks: 1st in Points, 8th in Points Allowed
Notable Players: Tom Brady (MVP), Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Jarod Mayo, Devin McCourty, Vince Wilfork
Head Coach: Bill Belichick
Finish: Lost in the Divisional Round to the New York Jets 28-21

This was supposed to be the year the New England Patriots got back on track. Ever since their upset loss in Super Bowl XLII the Patriots were in a bit of a funk (for them). Tom Brady got hurt in Week 1 the very next season and while New England went 11-5 they managed to miss the playoffs. The following year they got beat up by Baltimore in the opening round. But Brady was fully healthy in 2010 and showed it, throwing for 36 Touchdowns against merely 4 Interceptions. With the double TE combo of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski causing trouble for the rest of the league, as well as Wes Welker being Brady’s security blanket, it would be difficult to see how the Patriots weren’t going to win this year.

Bring on the New York Jets. The Jets were led by Rex Ryan and were the cause of one of the Pats two losses during the regular season. Still, it looked like the Jets stood no chance as they were destroyed by New England during Week 13 on Monday Night Football 45-3. But all of that didn’t matter. Ryan’s defense swarmed Brady all game and the Jets had a big 2nd quarter and went into halftime up 14-3. And just like that, New England’s return to dominance was stopped in its tracks.

#15: 2015 #4 Team, Stewart-Haas Racing (Kevin Harvick)

Kevin Harvick drives on track during a NASCAR Sprint Cup auto race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C., Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Notable Statistics
Finished 2nd in the Sprint Cup Chase
2015 Statistics: 3 Wins (5th), 23 Top 5s (1st), 28 Top 10s (1st)
Average Finish: 8.7 (1st)
15 Top 2 Finishes
Crew Chief: Rodney Childers

One of the best examples of the new eliminator Chase for the Cup format crowning the wrong driver. Kyle Busch, who had an impressive season after missing the first 11 races, was nowhere near as dominant as Harvick was in 2015. Harvick showed his 2014 wasn’t a fluke by reeling off Top 2 after Top 2. Even though he had a good Chase and even finished 2nd at Homestead, Kyle Busch won the season finale and the title. It doesn’t seem right.

#14: 1996 Denver Broncos

broncos96

Notable Statistics
Record: 13-3 (1st in NFL)
Won AFC West
NFL Ranks: 4th in Points, 7th in Points Allowed
Notable Players: John Elway, Terrell Davis, Shannon Sharpe, Steve Atwater, Bill Romanowski, Alfred Williams
Head Coach: Mike Shanahan
Finish: Lost in the Divisional Round to the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-27

How do we know this Denver Broncos team was great? They brought back basically the same players and won the next two Super Bowls.

So what the heck happened here? Jacksonville, who was only in their 2nd year of existence, put together a 9-7 record and had barely survived the Bills the week before. Denver was a two touchdown favorite here. The first half was played evenly, with Jacksonville surprising everyone by leading 13-12 at the half. Mark Brunell then played what was probably the greatest half of his life. Everytime Denver got close, Brunell would throw a big TD pass and make the lead a double digit one. It’s incredible to hear just how silent Mile High Stadium became. At the ned of the game Mike Shanahan was asked if Elway was coming back next year. Luckily for Denver, he did and they didn’t blow it up.

#13: 2013 Denver Broncos

broncos13

Notable Statistics
Record: 13-3 (1st in NFL)
Won AFC West
NFL Ranks: 1nd in Points, 22nd in Points Allowed
Notable Players: Peyton Manning (MVP), DeMaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Julius Thomas
Head Coach: John Fox
Finish: Lost in the Super Bowl to the Seattle Seahawks 43-8

This is Peyton Manning’s record setting year where he trashed all the records with 5,477 yards and 55 TDs. Denver’s defense wasn’t as strong as it would be, but offensively it probably wouldn’t have mattered. They scored a crazy 606 points thoughout the regular season. Only three times did they score under 30 points in the regular season, and two of those were 27 and 28 point outings.

Unfortunately the Seattle Seahawks defense was waiting for them and Denver got smashed in the Super Bowl. Everything that could have went wrong for Denver did. I don’t think that takes away from just how dominant Denver was the rest of the season. Even in the post season they handled San Diego and New England with relative ease.

#12: 2007 #24 Team, Hendrick Motorsports (Jeff Gordon)

gordon07

Notable Statistics
Finished 2nd in the Nextel Cup Chase
2015 Statistics: 6 Wins (2nd), 21 Top 5s (1st), 30 Top 10s (1st)
Average Finish: 7.3 (1st)
Crew Chief: Steve Letarte

In 2007 we got the Jeff Gordon of old. Gordon dominated the NASCAR season that invoked memories of his late 90s dominance. Gordon has approximately a 300 point advantage before the Chase reset everything, and then Jimmie Johnson proceeded to win six of ten Chase races to steal the title from Gordon. Despite Johnson’s run, Gordon kept it competitive. Jeff Gordon would never be this dominant again. This was his best chance at a 5th Cup.

#11: 1990 Buffalo Bills

bill90

Notable Statistics
Record: 13-3 (2nd in NFL)
Won AFC East
NFL Ranks: 1st in Points, 6th in Points Allowed
Notable Players: Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith (Defensive Player of the Year), Andre Reed
Head Coach: Marv Levy
Finish: Lost in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants 20-19

The first of the four falls of Buffalo might have been the best. Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas made up a great one-two punch that would lead the Bills to four straight Super Bowl berths, and Bruce Smith was the premier Defensive Player of his era. Unfortunately for the Bills the New York Giants had a great gameplan that shut down the Bills offense. Despite this, Buffalo still had a chance to win it…but Scott Norwood famously missed “wide right”.

To get an idea how good this Bills team was, they took out Marino and the Dolphins in the Divisional Round but dropping 44, then kick the crap out of the Raiders 51-3 in the AFC Title game. The 1990 Bills were really good.

#10: 1997 Green Bay Packers

24 Aug 1998: Defensive tackle Santana Dotson #71 of the Green Bay Packers faces quarterback John Elway #7 of the Denver Broncos during the pre-season game at the Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Packers 34-31. Mandatory Cre

Notable Statistics
Record: 13-3 (1st in NFL)
Won NFC Central
NFL Ranks: 2nd in Points, 5th in Points Allowed
Notable Players: Brett Favre (MVP), Dorsey Levens, Antonio Freeman, Robert Brooks, Mark Chmura, Reggie White, LeRoy Butler
Head Coach: Mike Holmgren
Finish: Lost in the Super Bowl to the Denver Broncos 31-24

The Packers had avoided Denver in the Super Bowl prior as Denver had been upset by Jacksonville in the Divisional round. This time Denver had to come out of the Wildcard round to get to the big game and they did. Waiting for them were the defending Super Bowl Champions and three time MVP Brett Favre. The Packers just completed dispatching one of the powerhouse NFC teams of the last 15+ years in the 49ers. Denver was a big underdog here.

Green Bay couldn’t stop Terrell Davis. Hell, almost no one could. Davis destroyed the Packers for 157 rushing yards. While the Packers were in the game the whole way, Denver just did enough to keep their one score lead and win. If the 1997 Packers had one Achilles’ Heel it was that they at times struggled to contain the rush. And that’s how Denver won. The mid-90s championship level Packer teams came to a close as they didn’t get out of the Wildcard Round in 1998.

#9: 1995-1996 Detroit Red Wings

redwings96

Notable Statistics
Record: 62-13-7, 131 Points (1st in NHL, 2nd All-Time)
Won Central Division
NHL Ranks: Goals 3rd, Goals Against 1st
Notable Players: Sergei Federov, Steve Yzerman, Paul Coffey, Chris Osgood, Mke Vernon
Head Coach: Scotty Bowman
Finish: Lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Colorado Avalanche in 6.

On this list strictly because 131 points in a hockey season is a hell of a lot of points. Both the Red Wings and Avalanche were stacked at this point so despite the big point differential it wasn’t that crazy that Colorado could beat them.

Like the ’96 Broncos, the Red Wings would win the next two Championships, showing that this is a great team. They’d be a title contender in the NHL pretty much for the next 20 years too.

#8: 2006-2007 Dallas Mavericks

mavericks07

Notable Statistics
Record: 67-15 (1st in NBA)
Won Southwest Division
NFL Ranks: 2nd in Offensive Rating, 5th in Defensive Rating
Notable Players: Dirk Nowitzki (MVP), Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Devin Harris
Head Coach: Avery Johnson
Finish: Lost in the First Round to the Golden State Warriors in 6.

There was proof that this Dallas Mavericks team was good: they were close to winning the NBA Title the previous year but only lost the Finals because Wade and perhaps the referees. Still, from an advanced metrics standpoint Nowitzki was unstoppable in 2007. It seemed that at worst, Dallas would have a tough series against Phoenix or San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals to get back to the Finals. But Dallas had every reason to be confident as they had beaten both of those teams in 2006.

What happened was absolutely shocking. The #8th seeded Warriors did whatever they wanted to Dallas and Nowitzki was shut down. Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson hit ridiculous shot after ridiculous shot. Don Nelson, the previous coach of the Mavericks, seemed to have the secrets for stopping Nowitzki. I have little doubt Dallas would have at least lost a tough series to San Antonio or Phoenix had they gotten by Golden State, and really Dallas might have just won the title there. Crazy match-up led to a crazy upset.

#7: 2011 Philadelphia Phillies

phillies11

Notable Statistics
Record: 102-60 (1st in NL)
Won NL East
Led NL in ERA
Notable Players: Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt
Manager: Charlie Manuel
Finish: Lost Divisional Series to St. Louis Cardinals in 5.

While the 2010 Phillies could have been on here, the 2011 version gets the nod because of the Four Aces. Halladay, Hamels, Lee and Oswalt? That’s one of the best pitching staffs in baseball history. While Oswalt wasn’t great, fifth starter Vance Worley was and the Phillies led the NL by ERA by a substantial margin. Plus, it isn’t like they were weak hitting the ball as they had Ryan Howard and Chase Utley on the hitting side as well.

Unfortunately the Cardinals surprised them in the opening round, which included a masterful three hitter from Dan Carpenter in the deciding Game 5.

#6: 1998 Minnesota Vikings

vikings98

Notable Statistics
Record: 15-1 (1st in NFL)
Won NFC Central
NFL Ranks: 1nd in Points, 6th in Points Allowed
Notable Players: Randall Cunningham, Randy Moss, John Randle, Cris Carter, Robert Smith, Ed McDaniel, Gary Anderson, Robert Smith
Head Coach: Dennis Green
Finish: Lost in the NFC Championship Game to the Atlanta Falcons 30-27

Minnesota had a fearsome defensive line (Randle, McDaniel), a quarterback that dipped into the fountain of youth and returned to a near MVP form he once had in the early 90s (Cunningham), a 1,100 yard back (Smith), a perfect (or near-perfect, we will get to that) field goal kicker (Anderson), a rookie WR who only fell in the draft due to attitude concerns…only he’s turned out to arguably be the most dynamic WR ever (Moss). How could this team lose? They were 3 points away from a perfect regular season.

The Atlanta Falcons were no joke though, being 14-2 themselves and finishing off the Steve Young era in San Francisco. Chris Chandler played the game of his life. And still, Minnesota had Atlanta beat. Minnesota was up 7 and a Gary Anderson FG would put Atlanta away. Anderson missed. With John Randle injured on the sidelines Atlanta tied the game at 27 then won in overtime. Even as a 10 year old kid I remember being shocked at that outcome. I recommend the Missing Rings documentary about them.

#5: 2008-2009 Boston Celtics

celtics09

Notable Statistics
Record: 62-20 (3rd in NBA)
Won Atlantic Division
NFL Ranks: 2nd in Offensive Rating, 6th in Defensive Rating
Notable Players: Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce
Head Coach: Doc Rivers
Finish: Lost in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals to the Orlando Magic in 6.

At first it seems like the 08-09 Cavs should be on here, but truthfully I don’t find that to be a great team. I find that to be a great player carrying a pretty bad team to insane heights.

What’s forgotten about the Celtics is that Kevin Garnett was injured and missed the entire playoffs. Garnett was still one of the most important defensive players of his generation as his presence alone allowed Boston to play at an elite level. Boston started the season 27-2, which in itself was insane. They slowed down throughout the rest of the year and it seemed age was catching up a little bit. But then Garnett had to sit out the playoffs. Boston still beat a Chicago team that seemed determined to do every single thing they could to win. They took Orlando to seven games despite big trouble trying to guard Dwight Howard inside without Garnett to help. Rajon Rondo went from the Big 3 + Rondo to arguably the best player for the Celtics. If Garnett’s there, Boston probably goes to the Finals again (sorry Cleveland). Remember, the starting five of Perkins-Garnett-Pierce-Allen-Rondo never lost a playoff series where all five played each game, and they proved that by making the Finals in 2010 (Perkins got hurt and didn’t play Game 7 of the Finals), beating both Cleveland and Orlando.

#4: 1990 San Francisco 49ers

49ers90

Notable Statistics
Record: 14-2 (1st in NFL)
Won NFC West
NFL Ranks: 8th in Points, 2nd in Points Allowed
Notable Players: Joe Montana (MVP), Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Charles Haley
Head Coach: George Seifert
Finish: Lost in the NFC Championship Game to the Giants 15-13

Everyone talks about the 1990 Bills losing in the Super Bowl (which is even on this list), but the 1990 49ers were a 14-2 juggernaut looking for their third straight Super Bowl. Led by MVP Joe Montana, it looked like nothing was going to stop the Niners from getting it done. The Giants hit five field goals and slowed Montana and the Niners enough to pull it off in Candlestick Park. Give Parcells and Belichick a lot of credit, holding Montana to 13 and Kelly to 19 was no small task.

We were that close to having a team win three straight Super Bowls.

#3: 2001 Seattle Mariners

mariners01

Notable Statistics
Record: 116-46 (1st in AL)
Won AL West
Led AL In BA, Hits, ERA
Notable Players: Brett Boone, Ichiro Suzuki (MVP, ROTY), John Olerud, Freddy Garcia, Edgar Martinez
Manager: Lou Pinella
Finish: Lost ALCS to the New York Yankees in 5.

The record itself was staggering. The Yankees though did a great job of shutting Ichiro down (4 for 18) and the Mariners couldn’t get by the more experience Yankee team. Perhaps it’s unlucky for Seattle that they ran into the Yankee dynasty, but 116 wins is a number that’s tough to overlook. They ended up with eight All-Stars that year. It’s kind of incredible that they lost.

#2: 2012-2013 San Antonio Spurs

during Game Five of the 2013 NBA Finals at the AT&T Center on June 16, 2013 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.

Notable Statistics
Record: 58-24 (3rd in NBA)
Won Southwest Division
NFL Ranks: 7th in Offensive Rating, 3rd in Defensive Rating
Notable Players: Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard
Head Coach: Gregg Popovich
Finish: Lost in the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat in 7.

Don’t let the record fool you, this is the best NBA team to not win the title. After steamrolling through the NBA playoffs (only a still young Steph Curry led Warriors team won any games) in a tough Western Conference with a record of 12-2, the Spurs went up against the PEAK of LeBron James.

You know how hard it is to beat one of the seven greatest basketball players of all time at his peak? LeBron had an incredible season that by advanced metrics even surpassed Michael Jordan’s best season. The Heat during the year had a shot at beating the Lakers’ 33 game win streak. There was no question LeBron James was the best basketball player in the world. He had two elite level players with him too: Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. The Heat were the defending NBA Champions.

The Spurs probably came the closest to winning the NBA Title than any team ever without actually winning it. Game 6 the Spurs had a five point lead with 28 seconds to go. LeBron knocked down a three to bring it to two. The Spurs made one free throw, which led to Ray Allen hitting one of greatest shots in NBA history, a three from the corner to tie it up. Miami prevailed in overtime. From there it took a masterful performance from LeBron, a 37-12-4, to win the title from the Spurs. THAT’s what it took to beat these guys. The next year LeBron regressed slightly, Wade wasn’t the same and Kawhi Leonard improved and the Spurs easily won the title.

#1: 2007 New England Patriots

patriots07

Notable Statistics
Record: 16-0 (1st in NFL)
Only 16-0 Regular Season in NFL History
Won AFC East
NFL Ranks: 1st in Points, 4th in Points Allowed
Notable Players: Tom Brady (MVP), Randy Moss, Mike Vrabel, Vince Wilfork, Asante Samuel
Head Coach: Bill Belichick
Finish: Lost in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants 17-14

The final tally on the New England Patriots 2007 season will forever read 18-1. Somehow Eli Manning escaped a for sure sack. Somehow David Tyree caught the ball on his helmet. Somehow The Patriots, with Brady throwing for 50 TDs that season, 23 of them to arguably to the greatest receiver of all time in his prime, had only managed 14 points. Somehow, somehow, somehow, the Giants upset the Patriots.

With all the spygate stuff out there the Patriots had been looking for blood all season. They routinely ran up the score and no one could really stop them. Only twice did they have scares: Baltimore nearly upset them and the Giants played them tough Week 17. In fact, it was that Giants game that allegedly gave them the confidence and momentum that got them through the playoffs as well. New England was so close to perfection, and instead ended up as the greatest team to not win the title.

NASCAR

The 2015 NASCAR Chase For Cup Finale…and a Good Bye to Jeff Gordon

And then there were four. Four drivers, each with a tremendous storyline attached to them that makes the 2015 NASCAR season finale enthralling. Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick each have a legitimate chance at the Championship. Let’s look at these four Championship contenders and how they got here.

           Martin Truex Jr.: Truex is easily the least accomplished of the four. With only three career victories to his name, the idea of Truex being a Championship contender is surprising. Hell, no one really had him even in the Chase much less in the Final Four. Furniture Row racing was a low budget team that came to the forefront when Kurt Busch had nearly worn out his welcome with NASCAR. Busch was able to give Furniture Row a good season which got them on the map. Busch bolted, and an at the time disgraced Truex joined. Truex of course was involved in the Clint Bowyer-Jeff Gordon-Ryan Newman Chase dilemma where Bowyer purposely spun out to give Truex a spot (which was overturned). Truex had a bad year in 2014, finishing 24th in points. He shockingly started with 14 top 10s out of 15 races this year and won at Pocono. He got to the Chase with pure consistency: 13th, 8th, 11th in Round 1, 3rd, 15th and 7th in Round 2 and 6th, 8th, 14th in Round 3. Fortunately for Truex, he’s done quite well at Homestead in his career, with 3 Top 5s, 7 Top 10s (8 Top 11s) in 10 starts there. If things go wrong for the other contenders a solid 5th can win the title. I don’t think he will, but expect him to finish as a runner-up in the standings. If you like underdogs, Truex is your pick.

             Kyle Busch: What a wild ride for Kyle Busch. He started the season with a broken leg, came back 12 races later and had to manage to both get a top 30 points finish and win a race. He won 4 races and got in the top 30 with races to spare. Unlike in the past, Busch did well enough in the Chase to have a shot at the end. 9th, 37th and 2nd in Round 1. 20th, 5th and 11th in Round 2. Finally, a strong 5th, 4th and 4th in Round 3. Kyle’s never really run well at Homestead, he has one top 5 in 10 starts (a 4th in 2012). But, I think this is Kyle’s time. Expect Kyle to be in the hunt as he’s starting third. He should be up front almost all day and might even take the whole race down. There has been a lot of inconsistent frustration with Kyle, but he’s put it all together this time. He’s my pick to win the Championship.

            Kevin Harvick: Seemingly the favorite for sure. Harvick of course won Phoenix and then this race last year to win the title. Harvick’s been great all year; 27 Top 10s is a pretty great number, but I can’t help but feel that his Chase that been a bit disappointing. He had to win at Dover to get into Round 2 (42nd, 21st and 1st), he outright caused a wreck at Talladega that if it has been three seconds later he’d miss the next round (as Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have probably won and took Harvick’s spot) with a 2nd, 16th and 15th. He did have a strong last round with an 8th, 3rd and 2nd. Still, I like Kyle’s momentum better for whatever reason. Harvick has been consistently great at Homestead throughout his career. A win, five Top 3s, 6 Top 5s, 12 Top 10s in 14 starts. So maybe I’m crazy for not picking him. Anyway, if you like the start of a potentially new dynasty, Harvick is your guy.

            Jeff Gordon: Like him or hate him, it is absolutely incredible that the great Jeff Gordon’s last race allows him to race for a Championship. It hasn’t been Gordon’s greatest season (far from it really), but he’s pulled the rich man’s Ryan Newman from last year with a 14th, 7th and 12th, followed by an 8th, 10th and 3rd. He outright won Martinsville and followed that with a 9th and a 6th. So he’s running well. I think we’re getting an 8th place which probably doesn’t win the title though. Gordon does have some Homestead credentials though. He won here in 2012, has 7 Top 5s, and 12 Top 10s in 16 starts. He’s the sentimental favorite, and a Championship win to cap off an amazing career where he’s arguably a top 3 NASCAR driver of all time (I could see arguments for 1st honestly) would be incredible.

I think Kyle Busch finishes 2nd, Truex 4th,  Harvick 5th and Gordon 8th . Before the Chase I picked Harvick to win this race, but I don’t quite feel it. I think Jimmie Johnson makes a statement with a win here.

One more thing. All NASCAR fans, whether they loved or hated Jeff Gordon, has to thank and respect him for what he did. He did in the late 90s with Tiger Woods did for golf, what Magic, Bird and Jordan did for the NBA. NASCAR became a huge deal because of Jeff Gordon. Gordon’s late 90s run was up there with the most impressive dynasties in any professional sport (Gordon from 1994 through 2001: 58 victories, four Championships (’95, ’97, ’98, ’01), a runner up (’96), three Brickyard 400s (’94, ’98, ’01) and Two Daytona 500s (’97, ’99). He ended up with a staggering 93 victories, added the 2005 Daytona 500, 2004 and 2014 Brickyard 400s. And maybe, just maybe he adds the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup. I know I’ll be rooting for him. Thank you Jeff Gordon.

NASCAR

Predicting the 2015 Chase for the Cup

First let’s look at our sixteen Chase drivers.

1. Jimmie Johnson (4 W, 11 T5, 17 T10): It is impossible to ever count out Jimmie Johnson in any Chase scenario and to me, he’s probably the second favorite this year. Jimmie has 25 career Chase wins in the 11 years the Chase has been run. That’s more than double 2nd place (Tony Stewart, 11). Jimmie won at Texas, Dover and Kansas this year and all three are Chase races.

2. Kyle Busch (4 W, 6 T5, 9 T10): Kyle put up those statistics in merely 15 starts, so you can argue he’s in fact been the best driver on the circuit this year. Here’s why I’m not counting Kyle as a Championship contender just yet: He’s historically been a disappointment come Chase time. He has one victory in the Chase and that happened early in his career when he wasn’t a Chase participant. He’s had huge regular seasons before and came up way short (like in 2008). Prove it to me Kyle.

3. Matt Kenseth (4 W, 10 T5, 16 T10): The class of the Gibbs cars that on paper look to be dominating this season. Kenseth got hot late this season and is obviously a contender…but unlike Johnson all of his victories came at tracks that aren’t in the Chase. I wouldn’t count him out though.

4. Joey Logano (3 W, 16 T5, 20 T10): Sliced Bread just keeps getting better, posting a ridiculous a great 8.6 average finish this season. Logano is right up there with Johnson for me in terms of being the second favorite. He almost won this thing last year and won at New Hampshire and Kansas. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the final four again.

5. Kevin Harvick (2 W, 18 T5, 22 T10): Easily the favorite. Has twelve top 2 finishes this season, which is insane. Harvick’s season so far has reflected the poor man’s version of Jeff Gordon’s 1998 season. He had three wins in the Chase alone last year, including the last two races. Make no mistake, he’s the driver to beat.

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2 W, 12 T5, 17 T10): A real dark horse to win it all this year. He has Talladega where he’s the favorite to win and is a cut off race. He won the Martinsville race after he was eliminated last year. He’s won at Texas and Phoenix in his career. I can’t say he’s a true contender though and he’s been historically subpar at Homestead though.

7. Kurt Busch (2 W, 8 T5, 14 T10): Probably a favorite to land somewhere in the 5th through 8th range. He’s had hot streaks in the late races before, but that was a long time ago.

8. Carl Edwards (2 W, 3 T5, 9 T10): Picked up a fuel mileage win at Charlotte that no one really took seriously, but then proved critics wrong with his win at Darlington. Nonetheless, he’ll need to be more consistent to have a shot at Homestead. I don’t see it.

9. Brad Keselowski (1 W, 6 T5, 18 T10): Keselowski seems like the guy who knows what he has to do in order to advance in this thing…I was probably the only fan who thought the way he drove last year was the right way to do it. He’s been more consistent this year, and perhaps maybe that’s his plan to get to the end? We’ll see.

10. Martin Truex Jr. (1 W, 7 T5, 17 T10): Kudos to Truex for having what seems to be the best season of his career. He peaked way too early with his top 10 streak and has fallen apart since then. My pick for the driver to have a Ryan Newman in 2014 type run.

11. Denny Hamlin (1 W, 9 T5, 13 T10): Another darkhorse to win it all. Hamlin’s had strong Chase runs before and was in the final four last year. As for his torn ACL, I recall him winning a few years ago with a broken leg or something, no? Always a threat at Martinsville (won there in the Spring), to which if he’s alive and wins there he’ll be in the final 4 again.

12. Jamie McMurray (2 T5, 7 T10): Finally! McMurray makes his first Chase. And while I’m counting him out as his resume is a good reason we need to slightly limit the Chase, McMurray does have an outside chance of doing something here. He absolutely can win Talladega (won there in 2009 and 2013). So we’ll see.

13. Jeff Gordon (3 T5, 13 T10): The sentimental favorite, and of course you can’t count out someone like Jeff Gordon, but it will be an uphill climb for him. Nonetheless he’s a threat to win everywhere and with solid finishes he could find himself at the end.

14. Ryan Newman (4 T5, 12 T10): Ultimately his big point penalty didn’t mean anything. I guess he could “Newman” the Chase again. He finished 2nd at Homestead last year so if he somehow gets there he has a legit shot to win it all.

15. Paul Menard (2 T5, 4 T10): Let’s be clear, if Menard wins the format needs to be revamped again.

16. Clint Bowyer ( 2 T5, 11 T10): Has the talent to make something happen in the Chase. Definitely a Talladega threat. Not sure how much his team has left though.

This is how I see the Chase breaking down.

Harvick makes a point and wins Chicagoland, Logano takes New Hampshire and Kurt Busch proves he’s a contender and wins Dover. He lose Menard, McMurray, Bowyer and Edwards. Jeff Gordon shows he’s not done and wins Charlotte, Kansas goes to Johnson and McMurray wins Talladega, although it’s too late for him. We lose Newman, Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Keselowski, who never got it going. Dale Jr. repeats at Martinsville, Johnson wins at Texas and Harvick takes Phoenix. Gordon, Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Truex Jr. go out. This leaves Dale Jr., Johnson, Logano and Harvick. Harvick outright wins again, taking home a 2nd straight title while Logano finishes in the top 5 (and 2nd in the standings), Johnson ends up about 10th and Dale Jr. ends up in the 20s.

It probably won’t shake out this way…but that’s how I’m calling it! Let’s hope we get an entertaining Chase!

NASCAR

This Day In Sports 4-29: Rusty Wallace wins on Dale Earnhardt’s Birthday (2001)

The 2001 Daytona 500 still goes down as the darkest race in NASCAR’s history. With the death of Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR had been changed forever.

Everyone remembers Dale Jr.’s emotional victory at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. What’s less remembered is Rusty Wallace‘s 54th career victory at Fontana on what would have been Earnhardt’s 50th birthday.

Bitter rivals on the track and great friends off it, Earnhardt and Wallace battled throughout the late 80s and early 90s, competing for Winston Cups. Earnhardt ultimately won that battle, but Wallace more than held his own.

Rusty paid tribute to Earnhardt on his birthday with a polish victory lap while waving the famed #3.

NASCAR

This Day in Sports 4-6: Jeff Burton Wins His First Sprint (Winston) Cup Race at Texas (1997)

Once he got the chance, Jeff Burton showed he could be a top driver in NASCAR’s top series as a part of Roush Racing. This was the first of his 21 career wins. The 1997 season was the first of four top five in the points seasons for Burton as well.

As a bonus, this was the inaugural race at Texas Motor Speedway as well. Burton’s victory proved that Texas was a Roush stronghold, as they would win five of the first ten races here (Burton in ’97, Mark Martin in ’98, Matt Kenseth in ’02, Greg Biffle, ’05, Carl Edwards in ’05).

Anyway, here is the race in it’s entirety!

 

NASCAR

2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Preview: 10 Questions

nascar 2015 logo

On the eve of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship opener: the Daytona 500, fans still wonder about the direction the sport is headed. Last year’s Chase for the Cup Championship, while exiting, took a lot of the authenticy and even legitimacy of the Sprint Cup Championship. We are now far removed from the days where a driver had to be good for 36 straight weeks in order to win a title. We’re even now past the idea of a driver putting together a hot ten weeks, similar to most major league playoff systems, and winning a championship. Now you just have to make it to the end by any means necessary and you can be champion if you outlast three other drivers in one race. I may sound pretty negative on this, but I don’t think the most recent way to decide the Sprint Cup Champion is a bad thing. In fact, the only issue I really have with it is the fact that the title is decided by one race at the end. Three would suffice for me. I understand why it’s like that though, ever since 2011 NASCAR looked to replicate the Tony Stewart vs. Carl Edwards battle for the title. That was the year Stewart barely made the Chase, won five of the ten Chase races and won a points tie with Edwards because of his five wins against Edwards one. Despite Stewart’s lackluster regular season, I was perfectly fine with this. Stewart was good when it mattered over a decent sample size. I would also change the non-winners getting in. I wouldn’t allow any non-winners unless they were the regular season points champion. Win a race if you want to be the champion.

 I don’t know if NASCAR liked the Kevin Harvick vs. Ryan Newman battle from last year…but I bet they are happy Harvick won. Newman of course had merely four top 5s and 0 wins but snuck into the final based off of not making any mistakes and rarely finishing worse than 20th. He finished 2nd at Homestead and could have won the title if Harvick had any issue. It would have the worst champion in the history of the Sprint Cup title as well. Would have been rectified with my win or you’re not in rule.

Anyway, let’s ask 10 pressing questions about the 2015 NASCAR season.

Who’s winning the title?

Could be anyone under this format really. I think Jeff Gordon is a sentimental favorite due to his retirement announcement. But he’s a legit title contender as well and might have gotten there if he didn’t screw up after Brad Keselowski messed up his tire at Texas making a “crazy move”. It’s forgotten that Gordon actually ruined his own chances at winning the title last year by not getting out of pit road in time after the incident with Keselowski which cost him a lap. Gordon ultimately lost to Ryan Newman by one point…a point he surely could have made up at the end of Texas.

RDT predicts these two will be in the hunt for the title
RDT predicts these two will be in the hunt for the title

Anyway, I like keeping Harvick in the final four. I remember laughing when I saw Harvick being listed as the favorite by numerous betting sites before the Chase. Harvick responded with three wins (including the last two races to win the title), six top 5s and nine top 15s. I would not rule out Harvick. I also will include Jimmie Johnson. Johnson had the first “bad” season for him (11th in the standings despite 4 wins, and 20 top 10s…which amazingly tied a career low for him). Yeah, JJ has dominated the Chase races for practically a decade now. It’s still smart money to think he’ll be in the end. I’m not going to pick Gordon. He didn’t get in despite a great season last year. For the other two spots I’ll go with Brad Keselowski, who’s aggressiveness can lead to wins late, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. You may scoff at my adding Junior, but he’s at the top of his game and even won the Martinsville race after he was eliminated. A four win season last year proves he’s ready to go. He might just win the Daytona 500 this year. Also consider when calculating the 2013 Championship with 2014 rules, Dale Jr. actually wins the title in that format (with no wins at that).

I would ultimately pick Johnson to bring home title #7.

What about Tony Stewart?

Tony Stewart is a very interesting dark horse for the Championship considering he’s been known for his hot streaks at the end of the season (see 2011). Stewart didn’t race a full 2013 due to injury, and then the Kevin Ward tragedy ruined any chance Stewart was going to make a late season surge. Has he put that behind him? His he 100% healthy? Can he still handle being a car owner and an elite level NASCAR driver? I don’t know, but if you can get really good odds, I wouldn’t count Tony Stewart out.

What will happen with Kurt and Kyle Busch?

I think we may finally be at the point of Kurt Busch’s top level NASCAR career being over. He’s only been employed due to his talent (which won a title in 2004). But I mean it was questionable that he was going to be picked up by anyone during his previous incidents…and now we are throwing domestic violence on top of that. Domestic violence is unfortunately a hot topic as top tier athletes in other sports (Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice) have had notably incidents and didn’t play their respective seasons. I think at minimum we’ll see Kurt Busch at that level.

Kyle’s situation is a shame but we still need more information. He was injured in the Xfinity series opener at Daytona today and will miss the 500. But if he can get back on track and win one race he can still get in the Chase, which isn’t far-fetched at all (Denny Hamlin did this last year and made the final four). I think it’s a good sign that Kyle is scaling back his non-Sprint Cup obligations. He’s one of the most talented drivers in the sport and just needs to focus. He’s only 29 and can still be the future of Sprint Cup if he sets his mind to it.

Who is someone not named Kyle Larson or Tony Stewart who makes the Chase this year that didn’t last year?

Stewart isn’t a fair answer and Larson would be the obvious answer, so let’s ignore those two. I think Jamie McMurray has the best chance. Both Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. both haven’t gotten past the 2013 Richmond incident, in Bowyer’s case losing support and in Truex’s case losing his whole ride and I don’t like either here. Austin Dillon has a chance so we’ll see. I pick McMurray because he is one of the best superspeedway guys and could easily win a Daytona or Talladega to get in.

Which driver takes a big step back this season?

For sure it’s Ryan Newman. Before last season Newman never even finished in the top 5 in the standings. Zero wins, five top 5s and 16 top 10s is fringe top 10 in the standings stats…and most of the time even worse. I don’t know if he’ll drop out completely though if he keeps up the avoidance of bad finishes.

Is this the year of Danica?

No…but don’t be surprise if she finally strings something decent together. I say she contends for a top 20 standings spot. Unless she keeps getting into arguments with guys like Hamlin.

Danica needs to get into thew news by winning and not arguing
Danica needs to get into the news by winning and not arguing

Will NASCAR keep qualifying like this?

Probably. Old qualifying was an absolute bore to watch and at least this provides excitement. They had to change some of the rules at Daytona though and I assume they’ll apply at Talladega too after the embarrassing situation that cost Ricky Stenhouse Jr. a starting spot last year.

Will Roush Racing make a comeback?

Roush Racing is no longer one of the elite teams in NASCAR and a big reason why Carl Edwards bolted for the crazily stacked Gibbs (I might want to re-do my top 4). Greg Biffle will always be a threat to win a race or two. Hopefully Stenhouse improves from a massively disappointing 2014 season. Trevor Bayne shoots for Rookie of the Year honors this season and of course won the Daytona 500 in one of the biggest upsets in NASCAR history in 2011. Does that mean he’ll win another one? Well…probably not. Best bet is on Biffle having a good season for Roush to be relevant here.

Gibbs is stacked…so why don’t you have any of them in your final four?

One of the big things about NASCAR is that roster wise, this is the probably the most competitive the Sprint Cup Series has ever been. It’s been like this for quite a while now (a big reason why Jimmie Johnson’s six titles in eight years is probably way more impressive than anything Dale Earnhardt or Richard Petty has done). Gibbs has 03 champ Matt Kenseth, Edwards (runner up in ’08 and ’11), Hamlin (runner up in ’10) and Kyle Busch (29 career wins, 4th in 2013). I haven’t even mentioned some top guys from other teams like Joey Logano (made the final four last year). Any of these guys could win the championship in addition to Stewart, Gordon and the four I mentioned in question #1. That’s 11 guys right there. It’s crazy.

Joe Gibbs Racing is stacked this season
Joe Gibbs Racing is stacked this season

Defining story of the season?

I think we’ll see Jeff Gordon put together one hell of a season for his swan song. It’s amazing that Gordon won four Cups in his first nine years then was never that good again. Sure he could have won in 2004, 2007 and last year, but he didn’t. It’s easy to forget just how dominant Gordon was in the 90s. From the 1995 season (his first title season) through the 2001 season (his last) he won 56 races. That’s more than legends such as Rusty Wallace throughout their whole career. He won 33 times in 1996, 1997 and 1998, a three season span. His dominance was insane. He won the first Brickyard, multiple Daytona 500s and was always a very good driver at his worst. He’s a big reason NASCAR reached the popularity levels it did in the 90s and early 2000s. I don’t think he’ll get to 100 (although I wouldn’t completely rule out an 8 win season from him), but three wins, and ending up in the 5th-8th spot of the championship wouldn’t be out of the question. And if Kasey Kahne falls apart this season…don’t be surprised to see Hendrick begging Gordon for one last run in 2016.