2011 a NASCAR season to remember
NASCAR fans and critics, alike, have complained for years that the points system used to determine the yearly champion just doesn’t reward race wins enough. The points system may, indeed, greatly award consistency. After all, Carl Edwards didn’t win a single race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. But, while the points system does reward consistency, the championship battle this year came down to the wire—a.k.a. the last lap of the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday.
Be it or be it not a product of the points system, after Edwards led the most laps in the Ford 400 last weekend and didn’t look to be going away, Stewart was forced to win the race to claim his third Cup. Of course, as all race fans know by now, he did just that.
When Stewart took the checkered flag, he didn’t win the championship by racking up more points than Edwards over the course of the season. Instead, the two championship contenders raced to a tie. In addition to a race win putting Stewart equal to Edwards, points-wise, it was wins that also broke the tie and made Stewart the sole possessor of the 2011 championship trophy. Stewart won five races in 2011 to Edwards’ one trip to victory lane.
Maybe the NASCAR points system, over time, does more to reward consistency under most circumstances, but this time around, wins did come into play, a couple of times over.
In addition to wins taking an even higher importance, fans were treated to a championship battle that really did go down to the wire. Sure, three drivers—not two—headed into last year’s season finale with a realistic shot of hoisting the Sprint Cup at the end of the day, but it still wasn’t as tight as this year’s two-man battle between Stewart and Edwards.
These two drivers racked up a mirroring number of points nine races through the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, with Edwards’ three point lead coming from the three bonus points Edwards started the Chase with from his one race win in the “regular season.”
Then, with Stewart claiming three more points than Edwards in the final race of the year, the two title contenders ended the season with identical point totals. It doesn’t get much closer than that. As a matter of fact, it was the first time in Sprint Cup Series history that the top-two drivers ended a season with a points tie.
Looking back, even if it is a short look back, considering the season ended just days ago, the championship hunt was one to be remembered, not just because of its nail-biting closeness, but also because of the underdog stories it developed.
The first championship-related underdog story came courtesy of Brad Keselowski. This driver was outside the top-20 in points, despite having a single win, back in August when he sustained injuries in a testing crash. The injured Keselowski then went on the hot streak of hall hot streak to win two more races and post a few more top-five finishes to vault himself up to 11th in points and a wild card slot into the Chase.
Then we return to Stewart. Stewart had a subpar regular season—by Stewart standards. Yes, it was good enough to get into the Chase, but in the final weeks leading up to the Chase, Stewart, himself, said that he didn’t deserve to get in and if he did get in, he’d just be taking up space.
Boy, was he wrong. With five wins in 10-races, Stewart went from Chaser but not a serious title threat to 2011 Sprint Cup Series champion.
Not to sound sappy, but 2011 shaped up to be a great, memorable season. Now that it’s over, have a happy Thanksgiving and a merry Christmas. Daytona will be here before you know it!
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