Tråd: NASCARS anerkendelser For 2012 på mærket, For det meste

Clint Bowyer tiltrådte Michael Waltrip Racing for 2012-sæsonen, og mens de gode resultater var usikre, han vandt tre gange " og sluttede headset andenpladsen jeg påpege, det bedste år af synd karriere.

NASCAR har udarbejdet listen over de top performances af 2012 Sprint Cup sæson, og jeg må indrømme, jeg er enig med de fleste af dem. Nå, gør, på næsten alle af dem.
Jeg tror ikke, kan nogen argumentere med sit valg til Comeback Driver af Året.
I 2011, Clint Bowyer tjente blot en sejr og gik glip af " Jagten " i sin sidste sæson med Richard Childress Racing. Havde tilstrækkelig sponsorering blevet fundet, Bowyer kunne godt have opholdt sig med RCR.
I stedet sluttede han sig til Michael Waltrip Racing. 'dette var har mange antaget, et tilbageskridt. Efter alt, MWR er endvidere registrere resultater af ikke kunne matche RCR ' s.
Selv Bowyer spekuleret over, hvad han går ind til. Han indrømmede, ved han ikke tror på hans forening med MWR ville producere øjeblikkelig succes.
Mænd Bowyer vundet tre gange " jeg 2012, alle headset forskellige baner - vejen er naturligvis headset Sonoma, den korte spor i Richmond, og de mellemliggende, 1.5 km-layout headset Charlotte.
Han gjorde " Jagten " nemt og som den 10-playoff race” sår ned, Bowyer ' s stadige forestillinger hjalp ham til at springe over en hindring Jimmie Johnson for at tage på andenpladsen i den samlede stilling.
Det var nemt Bowyer karriere bedste sæson, og det kom med et hold, der tidligere ikke har meget af da værelses. Comebacks ikke meget bedre end det.
Lad os også overveje på Bowyer ' s holdkammerat, Martin Truex Jr., også Chase, likvidation 11^th i det sidste punkt standings.
Ja, Truex Jr ikke vinde et løb. Alligevel er han færdig syv gange " blandt top fem - bare et kort af sine sidste fire sæsoner kombineret - og 19 blandt top 10, så mange som de sidste to år tilsammen.
Men i 2011 han havde kun tre top-fem finish og 12 blandt top 10. Han sluttede 18^th jeg punkt standings.
Hvis du spørger mig, jeg tror, Truex Jr var en temmelig anstændigt comeback sæson af sin egen.

Martin Truex Jr., også kørte for MWR, at jeg i 2012, og han har også selvklæbende et godt år, efterbehandling 11 peger jeg på at hjælpe med at give sit hold sit bedste-nogensinde samlede præstation.

Jeg tror, at det Bowyer og Truex Jr gjorde jeg 2012 kommer til at sætte MWR jeg et helt andet lys i 2013.
-- NASCAR ' s valg for Gennembrud Driver af Året var en simpel og indlysende, mand.
Selv om mange af os ikke se det komme, Brad Keselowski steg jeg graderne støt - ja, måske for en sæson, før han drevet synd vej til stjernestatus jeg 2012.
Han tog nogle øjenbryn i 2009, da han vandt headset Talladega kørsel til maverick-team-ejer James Finch.
I 2010 sit første år med Roger Penske Racing, Keselowski gjorde, som de fleste nybegyndere har gjort, at jeg fortiden med en rekord, der er fremhævet med kun at slutte blandt top 10.
Unødvendigt ved at sige, ingen øjenbryn blev hævet.
Det ændrede sig i 2011. Bosatte sig med i sit hold, Keselowski vandt tre løb, sluttede headset da 10 gange " blandt toppen og fem 14 blandt top 10. Han sluttede headset da fast femte jeg punkt standings.
Så når 2012-sæsonen begyndte Keselowski, rent faktisk var en person af interesse.
Mænd, som jeg har sagt før, jeg tror ikke headsettet, på mange betragtede ham som en vm-udfordrer. Mens han var helt sikkert et medlem af da gud Penske teamet, det var ikke kampen, for eksempel, af koncerner, Hendrick Motorsport eller Roush Fenway Racing.
Desuden var han kun sidder jeg tredje år af konkurrence headset NASCAR ' s højeste niveau.
Mænd Keselowski brølede jeg forgrunden hurtigt. Som en contender, ved han ikke bare ville gå væk. Han vandt fem gange " jeg 2012, mænd blot vigtigt på han ikke falme i " Jagten".
Til af hans sejre og otte af hans 13 top-fem finish kom i henhold til " Jagten", en stribe af stabile forestillinger, der tillod ham ved at drage fuld brava af udfordrer Johnson ' s ulykker i løbet af de sidste til løb.
Keselowski er værste er færdig i " Jagten " blev 15^th headsettet Homestead - præcis, hvor han havde brug for til prostitueret på at sikre et mesterskab.
Keselowski slutter Dale Earnhardt og Jeff Gordon som kun drivere til på vinde en titel efter kun tre års konkurrence.
Og jeg ville ikke blive overrasket, ikke en smule, hvis Keselowski vinder så mange “Driver of the Year” awards, som der er derude.

-- Blandt andre ting, NASCAR, der er opført synd bedste jeg Holde 2012. Her er, hvor jeg er uenig jeg noget.
Den sanktion organ udvalgt Hendrick Motorsport som synd top organisation, og lad adgang til den ære, der normalt går til championship-holdet.
Mænd NASCAR sagde, at det kunne simpelthen ikke ignorere Hendrick ' s historie-at gøre år. Det vandt synd 200^th race og erobrede sejr jeg til af NASCAR ' s mest prestigefyldte løb, den Sydlige 500 og Teglværk 400.
Hendrick fortjent en sæson high10 sejre. Johnson førte en med fem, Jeff Gordon havde til, Kasey Kahne til og Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Alle fire chauffører gjorde " Jagten".
S imponerende. Jeg er ikke ved at argumentere for det.
Men jeg vil foreslå, at det hold, der overvandt Hendrick; den ene, der fik de mest ære af at tjene et mesterskab, kunne have kant.
Nej, Penske ikke vinde da 200^th race mænd Keselowski havde vundet fem gange", så mange, som Johnson og Denny Hamlin.
Penske er blevet en del af NASCAR siden 1972 og konkurrerede headset fuld tid jeg mere end at årtier. Selv om han kom tæt headset da bande, eller til, når Rusten Wallace var hans chauffør, han har aldrig vundet et mesterskab - 'dette headset trods af stor succes jeg mange andre tidligere for konkurrence.
Han har endelig fundet den hellige i norske Gral jeg 2012.
Måske det ' alene er ikke nok til at gøre hans team, den bedste jeg 2012, mænd, så overvej'dette:
Hendrick Motorsport har tjent 10 mesterskaber. Johnson har vundet fem af dem - i en række, ikke mindre - i de sidste syv år.
Heck, Hendrick er forventet til på vinde titler. Hvorfor ikke? I løbet af de sidste ti år af en sæson, har ikke bestået i, som var Hendrick ikke betragtes som en titel-udfordrer.
Det har altid selvklæbende det udstyr, ledelse, penge, personale-og talent til at gøre det. Jeg tror ikke, kan nogen være uenig i det.
Så når sådan et kraftcenter bliver slået ud, ikke så meget af skæbnen mænd af en indsats af et mindre team, så er jeg nødt til at tænke victor skyldes den rette anerkendelse.
Helt sikkert Hendrick har fået synd andel af det, jeg især synd championship år.
Jeg tror ikke på der bør være forskellige for Penske.
Min pointe: jeg tror, at “David” slå “Goliat opdagelse” skyldes den samme anerkendelse for 2012.

Attachment 3549Clint Bowyer joined Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2012 season and while good results were uncertain, he won three times and finished second in points, the best year of his career.

NASCAR has compiled its list of the top performances of the 2012 Sprint Cup season and I have to admit I agree with most of them. Well, make that nearly all of them.
I don’t think anyone can argue with its choice for Comeback Driver of the Year.
In 2011, Clint Bowyer earned just one win and missed the Chase in his final season with Richard Childress Racing. Had adequate sponsorship been found, Bowyer might well have stayed with RCR.
Instead he joined Michael Waltrip Racing. This was, many assumed, a backward step. After all, MWR’s record of achievement could not match RCR’s.
Even Bowyer wondered what he was getting into. He admitted he didn’t think his union with MWR would produce immediate success.
However, Bowyer won three times in 2012, all on different tracks – the road course at Sonoma, the short track at Richmond and the intermediate, 1.5-mile layout at Charlotte.
He made the Chase easily and as the 10-race “playoff” wound down, Bowyer’s steady performances helped him leapfrog over a stumbling Jimmie Johnson to take second place in the final standings.
It was easily Bowyer’s career best season and it came with a team that previously didn’t have much of a pedigree. Comebacks don’t get much better than that.
Let’s also consider that Bowyer’s teammate, Martin Truex Jr., also made the Chase, winding up 11^th in the final point standings.
Yes, Truex Jr. did not win a race. Yet he finished seven times among the top five – just one short of his last four seasons combined – and 19 among the top 10, as many as the last two years combined.
But in 2011 he had only three top-five finishes and 12 among the top 10. He finished 18^th in the point standings.
If you ask me, I think Truex Jr. had a pretty decent comeback season of his own.

Attachment 3550Martin Truex Jr. also raced for MWR in 2012 and he too enjoyed a good year, finishing 11th in points to help give his team its best-ever overall performance.

I think what Bowyer and Truex Jr. did in 2012 is going to put MWR in an entirely different light in 2013.
—- NASCAR’s choice for Breakthrough Driver of the Year was a simple, and obvious, one.
Although many of us didn’t see it coming, Brad Keselowski rose in the ranks steadily – well, perhaps for one season – before he powered his way to stardom in 2012.
He raised some eyebrows in 2009 when he won at Talladega driving for maverick team owner James Finch.
In 2010, his first year with Roger Penske Racing, Keselowski did as most newcomers have done in the past with a record highlighted by only two finishes among the top 10.
Needless to say, no eyebrows were raised.
That changed in 2011. Settled in with his team, Keselowski won three races, finished 10 times among the top five and 14 among the top 10. He finished a solid fifth in the point standings.
So when the 2012 season began Keselowski was indeed a person of interest.
But, as I’ve said before, I don’t believe many considered him a championship contender. While he was certainly a member of a good Penske team, it wasn’t the match, for example, of the juggernauts Hendrick Motorsports or Roush Fenway Racing.
In addition he was in only his third full year of competition at NASCAR’s highest level.
But Keselowski roared into prominence quickly. As a contender, he simply would not go away. He won five times in 2012, but more important, he did not fade in the Chase.
Two of his wins and eight of his 13 top-five finishes came during the Chase, a string of steady performances that allowed him to take full advantage of challenger Johnson’s misfortunes over the final two races.
Keselowski’s worst finish in the Chase was a 15^th at Homestead – exactly where he needed to finish to assure a championship.
Keselowski joins Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to win a title after only three years of competition.
And I would not be surprised, not a bit, if Keselowski wins as many “Driver of the Year” awards as there are out there.

—- Among other things, NASCAR listed its Top Team for 2012. Here’s where I disagree somewhat.
The sanctioning body selected Hendrick Motorsports as its top organization and readily admitted the honor usually goes to the championship team.
However, NASCAR said it simply could not ignore Hendrick’s history-making year. It won its 200^th race and captured victory in two of NASCAR’s most prestigious races, the Southern 500 and the Brickyard 400.
Hendrick earned a season high10 victories. Johnson led the way with five; Jeff Gordon had two, Kasey Kahne two and Dale Earnhardt Jr. one.
All four drivers made the Chase.
Impressive. I’m not about to argue about that.
But I would suggest that the team that overcame Hendrick; the one that earned the most glory by earning a championship, might have the edge.
No, Penske did not win a 200^th race but Keselowski did win five times, as many as Johnson and Denny Hamlin.
Penske has been a part of NASCAR since 1972 and competed on a full-time basis for more than two decades. Although he came close a time or two when Rusty Wallace was his driver, he never won a championship – this despite tremendous success in many other forms of competition.
He finally found the Holy Grail in 2012.
Maybe that alone is not enough to make his team the best in 2012, but then, consider this:
Hendrick Motorsports has earned 10 championships. Johnson has won five of them – in a row, no less – in the last seven years.
Heck, Hendrick is expected to win titles. Why not? Over the last decade a season hasn’t passed in which Hendrick was not considered a title contender.
It has always had the equipment, leadership, money, personnel and talent to do so. I don’t think anyone can disagree with that.
So when such a powerhouse gets knocked off, not so much by fate but by the efforts of a lesser team, then I have to think the victor is due the proper recognition.
Certainly Hendrick has gotten its share of it, especially in its championship years.
I don’t think that should be different for Penske.
My point: I think that the “David” that beat “Goliath” is due the same recognition for 2012.