On Sunday afternoon the NASCAR Sprint Cup series kicks off the final 17 races of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
During this stretch they will head out west, go to the windy city, back to Detroit, also to the Pocono’s, make a little history in Richmond and end up back on the beaches of Florida in November.
The Chase which is setting up to be one of the best ever with all but one driver currently in the top 10 (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) with at least one win. Before we move forward this Sunday lets look back at the first 19 races that have been anything but boring.
At Daytona International Speedway it was Trevor Bayne who not only scored the upset but also charmed us with his genuine attitude and showed us that with a little faith anything can happen.
In Phoenix it was more a wreck fest than an upset. The most dominant car of the weekend Carl Edwards wrecked early along with many potential contenders.
Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch who both sustained damage from Edwards wreck both would battle for the win. In the end it was boy wonder err…I mean the original four time...or well Gordon who took home career win number 83.
In Las Vegas, Tony Stewart should have won but a pit call cost him and Edwards wound up taking home the win.
At Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch swept the entire weekend, again proving once again that he can drive anything with four wheels.
At Fontana, Kevin Harvick lived up to the nickname “where did he come from” passing Jimmie Johnson on the final lap for the win.
Harvick would do that again two more times this season at Martinsville Speedway passing Earnhardt and at Charlotte in May after Earnhardt runs out of fuel.
At Texas Motor Speedway, Matt Kenseth owned the field and won his first race of the season but the next week at Talladega it was three, four, five wide for the checkered flag.
Johnson would win it but by .002 seconds over Clint Bowyer in one of the closest finishes in the sports history.
Feuds and fumes heated up the summer months. Busch and Harvick’s Darlington antics overshadowed Regan Smiths first career win.
Both were put on probation but that hasn’t stopped Harvick from letting Busch know he has not forgotten.
Kenseth once again dominated another race this season at Dover which would earn him win number two on the season.
At Pocono, Harvick toyed with Busch early on in the race till NASCAR told both drivers to avoid each other.
Gordon would collect win number two this season holding of Kurt Busch at Pocono.
At Michigan it was Denny Hamlin who won the race but his season has been anything but easy. Mechanical failures and bad luck has taken the wind out of multiple good runs for them.
At Sonoma the roles would be reversed as Busch would hold off Gordon for his first win of the season.
Stewart made news for all the wrong reasons after he dumped Brian Vickers for what he called a ridiculous amount of blocking. Vickers returned the favor and took Stewart out later in the race.
Stewart's wreck cost him much more in the points than it would Vickers.
With the new points system and wildcard places guys are more willing to stretch it for a win and Brad Keselowski took it literally.
He won at Kansas Speedway on fuel as he was able to save just enough to get across the checkered. His win could get him into the Chase if he can only work his way into the top 20.
At DIS in July it was David Ragan who avoided all the wrecking and survived the two car tandems for his first career win. The win catapulted him into Chase contention and if they Chase started Sunday he would be in.
Kentucky Speedway got its first race ever in the NSCS but it was the traffic nightmares before, during and after the weekend’s events that overshadowed Busch’s third win of the season.
The apology that wasn’t upset fans more than the lack of quality racing on the track. NASCAR though apologized and promises to make it better.
That leads up to Loudon, New Hampshire last weekend. It was Stewart and his driver Ryan Newman who made some history of their own.
They earned Stewart Haas Racing’s first one-two finish ever with Newman’s win. Gordon suffered through battery issues, Johnson spun to a fifth place finish and Busch fell flat after a dominating Kentucky race.
The first 19 races of this season we have seen 13 different winners there was 13 different winners in all of 2010.
The final spots in the Chase still up for grabs and this season the competition is as close as it has ever been.
The next 17 races of the season will be one word: unpredictable.
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