The question has been asked…”Who’s the man?” Here is the answer…Jimmie Johnson!!! Five time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion and quite probably the best driver ever in modern day NASCAR. This is a team sport, so crew chief Chad Knaus and the entire #48 team and Hendricks Motor Sports team has made history. Not since Dale Earnhardt won his seventh championship as a team been so untouchable. Jimmie Johnson struggled this year and was even behind in the points going into Homestead Miami for the final race of the 2010 season. Many factors weighed in on the win, Denny Hamilins spin into the grass and bending the front splitter or Kevin Harvick not being about to lead laps for the extra bonus points. When it was all said and done the #48 team did what they needed to do and now are crowned 5 Time Nascar Sprint Cup Champions!!! Jimmie Johnson has made history, it’s in the record books and he will always from here forward be know as one of the Best ever! Congratulations Team #48, you are the Best of the Best. Oh, and the five million dollar check wasn’t too bad either.
The Ford 400 and Homestead Miami Speedway were white knuckles racing all day and the championship came down to the final laps. Your final race of the season was won by Carl Edwards who in is own right was having a great season best at the end of the season. Second place was Jimmie Johnson with Kevin Harvick on his bumper finishing third. Aric Almirola finished 4
th and A.J. Allmendinger finished 5
th. This was a fast race with many lead changes, but in the end Carl was the class of the field. Perhaps Roush-Fenway has a motor program ready to compete in the 2011 season…time will tell.
The Ford 300 gave Kyle Busch his 13
th victory of the season as he ran away from Kevin Harvick with just 23 laps to go. Harvick
finished 2
nd, 2010 Series Champion Brad Keselowski finished 3
rd, Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished 4
th and Trevor Bayne was 5
th. Danica Patrick started the race in 5
th and even lead 4 laps under caution, but on a restart was shuffled back into the field only to finish the day with her career best of 19
th after only 13 starts.
Kyle Busch wins the Ford 200 Camping World Truck Series race in true form and winning the owners championship too. Ron Hornaday finished 2
nd, Johnny Sauter was 3
rd, 2010 Truck Series Champion Todd Bodine was 4
th and Aric Almirola wrapped up the top 5
th.
The 2010 racing season was the best in many years. NASCAR said to go out there and race your race and they did just that. I can’t remember a season so full of excitement, beating and banging, tempers flaring, fights, wrecks, paybacks, close calls on the win and a 5 Time Champion. Yep, 2010 was any awesome season. We have a few months till Daytona, so we will reflect on this past season on the WING Racing Show. 2011 is just around the corner and there are so many questions to be asked…What will become of Richard Petty Motorsports, Can Brad Keselowski live up to the image of Rusty Wallace and Kurt Busch and the driver of the #2 Miller Light Dodge, will Kevin Harvick find victory lane in the #29 Budweiser Cheverolet and will Jimmie Johnson make more history and win his 6th NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship? Stay tuned to the WING Racing show and Eric the Great and I will keep you up to date on all the news and stories that make NASCAR the greatest sport on earth.
Brian “BC” Casey
