With NASCAR's awards banquet on Friday, Dec. 5 (stop by for the live blog!), here's a look at 10 from '08 -- 10 of the NASCAR season's best moments.
As it turned out after the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, two critical problems -- one a driving mistake at Talladega and the other an electrical problem at Lowe's -- kept a momentum-filled Carl Edwards and his No. 99 from stealing the championship from Jimmie Johnson.
But that didn't mean the driver from Columbia, Mo., didn't put up an incredible fight to secure his first title.
Sure, there were two late-season wins at Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead that took an incredible strategy of stretching fuel mileage to find victory lane, but one his near-wins made what was one of the NASCAR season's best moments.
Edwards was trailing that pesky Jimmie Johnson in the final laps of the Chase for the Sprint Cup's third race at Kansas Speedway in what looked like it was going to be another easy win for the No. 48. Edwards would close marginally for some laps, but the distance he trailed appeared to be too large for an upset victory.
That assumption, though, was thrown out the window in the final turn of the final lap.
Cameras have had staying power in the world because they are able to do something humans can't. Simply, cameras can stop action in ways we don't see. Here's some of the best shots from a fast-paced weekend at Kansas Speedway as FanHouse brings you another edition of "Scenes From":
Guys... A Little Help Here? Smoke was in supply and vision was in high demand for Kyle Busch during Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Kansas after he was involved in a wreck. Unfortunately, it was just the start of his bad weekend.
How'd your favorite Chase for the Sprint Cup driver fare last weekend at Kansas Speedway? Is he still a viable contender, or have we found some true pretenders? Take a looksie to find out where FanHouse ranks your Chaser:
Round 3: Chase Winners
Jimmie Johnson (Finished 1st) - Johnson nearly got caught up in watching Carl Edwards make his crazy dive-bomb move on the final lap, but stayed cool and power back by him. His consistency will be tough to beat. Carl Edwards (Finished 2nd) - Sometimes, its possible to play video games too much, though Edwards proved that he isn't afraid to try anything for a win.
Greg Biffle (Finished 3rd) - Sure, he may have passed a very ill guy for third place at the finish line, but those five points could loom large come Homestead.
Jeff Gordon (Finished 4th) - I'm throwing Gordo into a Chase winner this week because his gutsy performance showed that the No. 24 team could be a dark horse championship contender if he can return to form at Talladega, Charlotte, and Martinsville.
Gordon started 13th on Sunday and for the first time in a long time in 2008, he actually was a steady figure in the Top-10 and didn't fade over the course of the race, instead moving up steadily as the race wore on. Simply, it was a close resemblance of the No. 24 team of the 2007 season that was clicking on all eight cylinders.
In post-race interviews, Gordon cited a couple of factors for the decent performance:
"That's the thing about a great team. When one team member is down other guys rally and pick up the pace and that's what they did with me today. I'm very thankful for that. We had some pit practice this week not to mention the test in Charlotte. I think all of it paid off even though I'm sick it all paid off. Great top-five effort."
As for the pit practice comment, Gordon actually showed up this week with the pit crew last week -- likely at the Hendrick shop -- for practice as a whole, instead of having someone fill in as a driver.
If you haven't seen or heard much from NASCAR's four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon as the race weekend gets going at Kansas Speedway, there's a pretty good reason for that.
Gordon, who doesn't look too peppy in the photo from Friday in Kansas to the right, is feeling quite under the weather, according the The Charlotte Observer'sDavid Poole.
"Jeff Gordon qualified 13th fastest on Friday. He also practiced his car, but that was about the only thing the four-time champion did. He was under the weather and canceled all of his media sessions to conserve his energy for driving."
In practice this afternoon, Gordon turned just 11 laps during the one and a half-hour session, and in between me falling in out of a nap during qualifying Friday afternoon, I'm pretty sure ESPN didn't talk to him during their coverage.
Without a doubt, Gordon's team is going to put remember that winning practice doesn't win a championship, and will make sure Gordon is ready to go for Sunday's Camping World 400.
Juan Pablo Montoya: "Hey, did you see that lap, man? Yep, first Sprint Cup pole! Uh-huh! Wait, what did you say? They disqualified me? What the #%^&?!?!"
While the above quote is not actually attributable to JPM, you can bet he wasn't happy to be starting 42nd on Sunday at Kansas Speedway after posting Friday's qualifying session fastest time.
It's amazing the stories, controversies and otherwise good discussion fodder that us lucky NASCAR fans get over the course of the Sprint Cup series' 36-race season.
And at the same time, all of that information from all four, or maybe five, corners of the web and television we soak in each week leaves us forgetting about the stories that seemed so important when they happened. Lucky for you, FanHouse is happy to bring "Takin' a Look Back" to a web browser near you.
NASCAR was Wrong Sunday at Kansas - Last year's race had an interesting finish as winner Greg Biffle appeared to run out of gas before the checkered flag under caution and fell significantly enough off the pace car's speed that Clint Bowyer passed him.
A year later, I'm still on Bowyer's side -- he should have been the race winner.
Chasers Glad to Not Be in Kansas Anymore - After the 2007 edition, Kansas seemed to join the likes of Martinsville or Talladega as wild cards in the Chase after 8 of the 12 Chase drivers suffered extensive problems throughout the course of the rain-delayed and finally rain-shortened event.
As part of their proposal, Kansas Speedway announced International Speedway Corporation ("ISC") will petition NASCAR for a second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series date for the track if Kansas Speedway and The Cordish Company are awarded the casino management contract for Wyandotte County (Kan.).
While the "petition" to NASCAR hasn't gone through yet, I'm willing to bet that the casino is a sure-bet to come to the area. (Ha, get it?)
And once that casino goes through, ISC's move to ask NASCAR for a second race date that comes at the expense of one the other race dates in the company's portfolio will go through faster than a stack of chips next to a degenerate gambler.
Of course, it makes things a little easier when ISC and NASCAR are owned by the same people.
NASCAR was flat out wrong Sunday night at Kansas Speedway. Watch the video, and then I'll tell you why.
They were wrong to award Greg Biffle his first win of the season because the "field was frozen at the point of yellow".
They were wrong to make such a blatant call without first reviewing any evidence. And most importantly, they were wrong in trying to cover up the move so quickly with answers that sounded more like excuses.
I've tossed and turned over this issue since the drop of the checkered flag and my NASCAR.com leaderboard service showed Clint Bowyer as the winner. Somehow, though, the images filtering through the screen and the words flying into my ears didn't render the same thing.
The fact is, though, Clint Bowyer won the LifeLock 400 and Greg Biffle finished fourth. The case is open and shut -- Greg Biffle did not remain at "cautious pace" during the final yellow and therefore should not be credited with doing so.
He did not maintain pace with the pace car as the rule states and everyone from Kansas to the Emerald City knows his reason for pulling low -- to maintain gas for burnouts -- was complete and utter bull.
As it turned out after the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, two critical problems -- one a driving mistake at Talladega and the other an electrical problem at Lowe's -- kept a momentum-filled Carl Edwards and his No. 99 from stealing the championship from Jimmie Johnson.
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