The fifth part of the "Best of 2011" includes the last twelve months, from once almost exclusively with V8 sound, because there is an exclusive review of the NASCAR Sprint Cup. But first I wish all readers and colleagues a happy new year 2012 in racing blog.
Best race
Because in the Sprint Cup NASCAR to wait a year still 36 races to the die-hard fans, the choice is not so easy. Therefore, and because a top 5 placement can usually be celebrated as a victory, I opted for a list of the best five races:
A prominent placement gets mad but the exciting season finale in Homestead, where Tony Stewart had two times from the end of the field go forward to win the race and the championship. The victory was sorely needed, because Carl Edwards was in the final rounds of the number 2 position lying a lot of pressure from behind and at the end of ZERO points separated the two competitors, which brought the tie-breaker in the form of 5-1 wins this season for Stewart used. The complete race is on YouTube:
The other 4:
- Atlanta to the final battle between Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson
- Watkins Glen, where Marcos Ambrose was able to finally get his first Cup victory and the usual round of courses, including a lot of action laid the afternoon of the race due to rain certain.
- Daytona 500 (Trevor Bayne surprise winner) and Coca-Cola 600 (with Harvick in front of a dry overflowed Dale Earnhardt Jr.) must share a seat this year.
- This is this year, there a place in the top 5 in the Nationwide Series who delivered at Road America a truly brilliant and exciting circuit race, which was initially Jacques Villeneuve at the kamikaze driving and later exhibited after the race lacks a clear winner.
The complete race is on YouTube:
Best Finish
The trophy for the best finish goes again to Talladega, but this time in the spring races. Although this time was at least directly determine a winner, but the distance of Jimmie Johnson Clint Bowyer was only two thousandths of a second, so the two pilots, the closest finish in NASCAR history between Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven at Darlington equalized 2003rd Thank madness, wherever there came from Jimmie Johnson on the last meters, he must in any case with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Best driver
This year was actually someone else win the championship as Jimmie Johnson and has thus earned in addition to the Cup trophy and the title honestly. With five victories in ten races Chase Tony Stewart appears at this point the worthy successor of the standing master, for he is after 36 races at the top who should be elected in the normal case, the best rider of the year.
Best team
On behalf of his crew chief Tony Stewart team can take this award receive, because Stewart-Haas Racing managed by a very moderate Regular-season (only three and eleven Top5s Top10s) an insane turnaround. As mentioned, the troupe won ten Chase races and won all five also in the other five still a top 5 and three Top 10 results. This one actually has all of the best teams responded to the weakening performance at the track, because other teams were clearly not as good this year.
Especially Hendrick Motorsports (5 wins) and Richard Childress Racing (6 wins) built from solid, while Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing downright terrific went down. By Joe Gibbs Racing (5 wins) and Penske Racing (5 wins) you did not consistently top performance, but with Brad Keselowski already put down an impressive performance for his broken ankle. Counting now be added the five successes from Roush-Fenway Racing, which I think was 2011, the only competitive team chase, the unusually narrow distribution shows this year. Since we can only hope that this can continue in the sense of tension in the new season.
Overtaking of the Year
As the NASCAR with overtaking fortunately not calculated as tight as other well known racing series, I like to pick in this year representing a sequence for this award out: Tony Stewart overtook the season finale at Homestead, almost twice the entire field including some Three-and Four Wide-actions. On the way to the title in the last race of the year on a total of 118 maneuvers were alone in Smoke - truly spectacular!
Friends of the Year
The title fight in 2011 was always very fair, so this trophy goes to the "competitors" Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards. Both drivers are well known, and no child of sadness can ever dish out properly. Nice that Cousin Carl and Smoke have already this season well in advance agreed to lead the battle with spring gloves.
Enemies / duel of the year
After last year I have two pairs (vs. Brad Keselowski. Carl Edwards / vs. Jeff Burton. Jeff Gordon) was nominated for this award recognizes everything from this time Kyle Busch. 2011, he fought alone vs. Reason, race director, Ron Hornaday and Kevin Harvick and thus lost most of his Cup cockpit. At this point there are two scenes from Kyle Busch's personal best of:
Scene of the Year
At this point I have to, despite the above and still below (The man is talking!) Kyle Busch escapades exceptional service to our colleagues of the IndyCar Series, the 2011 has clearly provided the scene of the year ...
Of course ... but only because Kyle Busch is holding back this year with cautious stinky fingers!
Although I am already wondering just what such a finger or two DIRECTLY toward the NASCAR Cup race director to director John Darby would cause / n I can think of now as the beautiful words of "actions detrimental to the sport" where the punishment would be, of course, completely at the discretion of the dictatorship to Brian France and Mike Helton. Will Power would probably be locked until the end of the season and also a sponsor of the Verizon suit could have been racing in the NASCAR separated by mutual consent rather than by the Australians at the Indy cars.
Cost of the year
This season is the cost of the year at the Phoenix International Raceway, which was for 12 million U.S. dollars resurfaced and reconfigured easily. This was the fresh track surface for a whopping eight million $ to have less than that of Daytona in 2010, while Phoenix is also less than half as long as the famous Super Speedway. All in all, this cost item, but worth it and provided us with an exciting chase last race with the first Red Bull victory as a conclusion.
Best moment of the year
As the most beautiful moment of the year I felt the victory of Trevor Bayne at Daytona (linked above Final) 500. For the rookie pilots that was certainly a great thing and a good opportunity to stay in the future on everyone's lips. Maybe he gets a part-time even after his season with the Wood Brothers will soon have better opportunities for his career after his first victory in only their second Cup race (and then also the largest) to push on.
Surprise of the Year
The inaugural winner was definitely the biggest surprise because, unlike in previous years, showed the power density in the Cup field for 2011 is compressed fairly, so that riders like Trevor Bayne (Daytona 500), Regan Smith (Darlington), David Ragan (Daytona 2), Paul Menard (Indianapolis) and Marcos Ambrose (Watkins Glen) (finally) came to honor winners.
In addition, one needs to enumerate the success of Kasey Kahne in the penultimate race of Red Bull Racing in Phoenix. Although Kahne was already a few times in 2011 passed close to the Victory Lane, but after the announcement of the exit had no one expected victory efficient performance. For why burn more money if you want to go anyway?
Another surprise was probably that Brad Keselowski - like Denny Hamlin 2010 already - right after his injury could already be competitive again and immediately import some victories.
Disappointment of the Year
The Race Buddy gets me the prize for the biggest disappointment of the year: It should finally be (in time for the Chase) for a nice live stream, which is profitable even during the TNT Summer Series already in the on-board passenger ride by Juan Pablo Montoya at Sonoma had. Unfortunately, it was because of the Sprint commercials after the first Chase race a geoblocking, where I had the good spots to avoid.
Meanwhile, NASCAR's trying to happiness, to buy back the Internet rights to the end of 2012 by Ted Turner, so that we get from 2013, hopefully a decent solution for all international fans offered.
However, the price of human disappointment have 2011 in any case the Bush brothers!
Langweiligstes race
As with the best races I "honorable" here are five season races with the Golden Raspberry in tension. Because it's about boredom, I list these five races only to:
- Texas 1
- Dover 1
- Pocono 1
- Michigan 1 & 2
And Phoenix 1 was somehow not as great as had exceptional offer to Fontana this year during the second half of the race an exciting three-way battle between Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch.
Race Control Moment of the Year
Every year the NASCAR officials received this award in 2011 for its interaction with - of course - Kyle Busch, which he was also called in this article, then most, although doubtful. 2010, I wrote:
When NASCAR officials to intervene once, then damn consistent and with a heavy hand. The best story this was provided by Kyle Busch in 2010 with his middle finger against a NASCAR-makers, who held him for a speeding in the pitlane, so should Bush lose his re-saved in this round. For this action there was the same aufgebrummt two laps down.
For a current version please "2010" by "2011", "middle finger" with "revenge foul", "a NASCAR executives [...] should" with "Ron Hornaday," and "two laps" with "a lock on the replace entire weekend of rest. "
Saying of the Year
I find it somewhat difficult for me to remember all the quotes of the year, but one of the best lines was probably this one:
"It's important for people to understand the nature of what we've done," [Bud] Denker said. "It's a mutual separation. Kurt [Busch] came to the conclusion and we have as well that it's time to move on. Kurt has been a terrific driver for us. He's a friend. "
You might want to add even a few sayings in the comments.
Fortune Cookie of the Year
According to Jack Roush in 2010 fell last year, Rick Hendrick in the air traffic problems, but fortunately came at the emergency landing them with a few broken bones. In the 2011 NASCAR All accidents were halfway off lightly, because if I remember correctly, only suffered an ankle fracture Brad Keselowski in a rather violent departures at Road Atlanta, where he was on the road for a test circuit. In other racing series this year, some drivers were unfortunately far less fortunate ...
Wishes for 2012
My wishes for the New Year therefore remain exactly the same as in the past season, but with the additional request that they may meet in 2012 also:
For the new year I hope, in view of these lucky people a safe season [2012] for all motor sport series in the world.
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