SEC West 1-2-3 in BCS Standings; Tony Stewart beats Carl Edwards, wins Sprint Cup Championship by Virtue of Tiebreaker

"Upset Saturday" allowed several teams on the outside looking in to move closer to a shot at playing for the BCS Championship Game. The new standings are as follows:

RK	TEAM	RECORD
1	LSU	11-0
2	Alabama	10-1
3	Arkansas	10-1
4	Oklahoma State	10-1
5	Virginia Tech	10-1
6	Stanford	10-1
7	Boise State	9-1
8	Houston	11-0
9	Oklahoma	8-2
10	Oregon	9-2
11	Kansas State	9-2
12	South Carolina	9-2
13	Georgia	9-2
14	Michigan State	9-2
15	Michigan	9-2
16	Wisconsin	9-2
17	Clemson	9-2
18	Baylor	7-3
19	Penn State	9-2
20	TCU	9-2
21	Nebraska	8-3
22	Notre Dame	8-3
23	Georgia Tech	8-3
24	Auburn	7-4
25	Texas	6-4

In racing news, Tony Stewart closed out the 2011 season by winning Sunday night's rain-delayed NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Carl Edwards, who entered the final race with a four point lead over Stewart, finished 2nd. The final points standings were tied at 2,403, so the points championship went to Tony Stewart in a tiebreaker decided by most wins (Stewart: 5; Edwards 1). Ironically, all five of Stewart's wins came in the final ten races.

Kurt Busch Hangs On To Win $1 Million In NASCAR's All-Star Race at Charlotte

The old saying goes, "If you ain't first, you're last."

That statement certainly held true Saturday night, as Kurt Busch won NASCAR's All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, cashing in on a grand prize of $1 Million.

Capitalizing on a tangle between race leader Denny Hamlin and younger brother Kyle Busch on lap 93 of 100, the elder Busch blasted his "Blue Deuce" from fifth to first and never looked back, avoiding two late cautions and holding off a late-charging Martin Truex, Jr. for the victory.

As Busch crossed the finish line for his first career All-Star race win, younger brother Kyle sat waiting at Hamlin's hauler.

Battling for the lead on lap 93, Kyle Busch tried to squeeze by teammate Denny Hamlin on the outside, but ran out of room, slamming the outside wall and dropping from 2nd to 5th.

Busch accused Hamlin of "cutting him off," and didn't mind letting his team and a national television audience know it.

"Somebody better keep me away from Denny Hamlin," Kyle Busch screamed over the team's radio transmitter. "I swear to God, I am going to kill [him]. All his ... fault. I had this race won! It was won!"

He later blew a tire and bounced off the wall in the tri-oval, collecting Kasey Kahne in the accident, before driving his mangled M&M's Toyota into the garage and straight to Hamlin's hauler.

Kyle Busch, Hamlin, and team owner Joe Gibbs would later have a private meeting to discuss the incident in the team's hauler, with all parties coming away "cooled down."

But the fireworks in the pits had nothing to do with the fireworks over Victory Lane, as Kurt Busch celebrated his first win of the season.

"Man, this car was a rocket ship at the end," said Busch. "This is huge. This is one of the big marquee events. We were able to dodge the wrecks and, ultimately, we had the fastest car when it counted."

Hamlin led the field after a 10-minute break and mandatory pit stops, followed by Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson, but the altercation between Hamlin and [Kyle] Busch allowed [Kurt] Busch to squeak by for the lead and ultimately, the victory.

Busch's win made the evening extra special for team owner Roger Penske, whose IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves qualified first earlier in the day for next week's running of the Indianapolis 500.

Original article can be found at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/395666-kurt-busch-hangs-on-to-win-1-million-in-nascar-all-star-race




 

NASCAR Heads To Dover: Jeff Gordon Still Seeking First Win of 2010

As the NASCAR circuit rolls into Dover, Delaware this weekend, Jeff Gordon is still patiently licking his chops for a win.

The four-time Sprint Cup Champion, winless in his last 39 starts, has every reason to be eager.

He's seen win after win slip away this year in the closing moments, all while leading more laps (709, to be exact) than any other driver and recording four top three finishes.

And what does Gordon have to say about those statistics?

"I've been doing this long enough to know they don't give out trophies for leading any lap other than the last one," said Gordon. "We're leading laps, a bunch of laps, at a lot of different types of tracks. I think our team is really on top of our game."

The all-important win could finally come this weekend at a track where Gordon has had plenty of success over his 19-year Sprint Cup Series career.

But the "Monster Mile," as the racing world has come to know Dover International Speedway, hasn't been so nice to Gordon as of late.

It's been nine years since the NASCAR star has visited Dover's victory lane, a June 2001 win in which Gordon dominated, leading 381 of 400 laps.

Since that win, Gordon has posted an average finish of 14.8 at Dover, with a disappointing four DNFs.

However, Gordon didn't seem to remember his recent bad luck at the Delaware track in his comments following last Saturday night's Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington, a race that Gordon seemed to have in his back pocket before falling late to finish 4th.

"This team is doing the job we need to do to get in to victory lane," Gordon said. "Right now, we are knocking on that door. We are leading laps, we are running up front. We are having a lot of fun, that is for sure. It has been a while since this No. 24 car has run like this. I can't wait to get to Dover."

FOX's television coverage of The Autism Speaks 400 from Dover, Del. begins Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. ET.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/391575-nascar-heads-to-dover-jeff-gordon-still-seeking-first-win-of-2010

Jimmie Johnson Cashes In With Win at Vegas: Is He NASCAR's Best Ever?

As the warm afternoon sun faded in Las Vegas Sunday, Jimmie Johnson basked in is 49th career victory after holding off Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon to win the Shelby American.

Johnson's late blast past teammate Jeff Gordon was enough to seal the victory, as Gordon fell past Harvick and the laps ran out on any attempt by Harvick for a winning pass.

The win marks the second straight for Johnson, picking up his Vegas win a week after he won the Auto Club 500 last Sunday in his home state of California.

Johnson's day was short of spectacular, riding mostly in teammate Jeff Gordon's shadow before dashing past Gordon with 16 to go.

Gordon, who led 219 of 267 laps, fell back to third due to an unlucky gamble on pit road.

In late race pit stops, Gordon's crew chief Steve Letarte opted for a two tire stop while Chad Knuas called for four on Johnson's Chevrolet.

The move proved crucial, as Johnson was finally able to creep past his counterpart as his tires gave out late.

"Well, you know, if we won the race we'd look like geniuses, Steve would have," Gordon said. "The fact that we lost the race, now Chad looks like a genius. That's how it goes sometimes. When you're leading, that's the toughest position to be in, to make that call."

As Johnson could be seen celebrating another victory, in a lets just say "less than excited" manner, one has to raise the question.

"Is Jimmie Johnson the best NASCAR driver in history?"

Well, he's well on his way to becoming that, and the numbers speak for themselves.

Aside from his four straight Sprint Cup titles, the 34-year-old California native has also proven is worth in other areas of the stat book.

Johnson moved into 11th in all-time wins Sunday, just one win away from Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett's equal marks of 50.

His 23 poles place him 27th all-time in Sprint Cup Series pole wins, and he has won at all but five of the 22 tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit.

Another stat to ponder: "Superman," as teammate Mark Martin refers to Johnson, has won 17% of his 294 starts since his rookie 2001 season.

Lets keep going, shall we?

Sunday's win gave Johnson his 15th victory at 1.5 mile tracks, a new NASCAR record.

OK, it's obvious he's the real deal and that owner Rick Hendrick now has a new Golden Boy.

The boos can easily be heard at NASCAR tracks across America, eerily similar to those heard during Darrell Waltrip's dominant 1980s and Gordon's annihilation of the 90s.

With what looks to be plenty of years ahead for Johnson, the record keepers better pull out those jumbo-sized erasers.

This racing phenomenon is on the fast track to rewriting history.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/354221-jimmie-johnson-cashes-in-with-win-at-vegas-is-he-nascars-best-ever

Danica Patrick to make first NASCAR start Saturday in Daytona

Ah, Daytona.

Where the sun shines, the lazy beaches roll, and the NASCAR engines roar twice a year when the boys and girls come to town.

Hold on, boys and girls?

Well, girl anyway.

Danica Patrick will make her first NASCAR Nationwide Series start Saturday when her Godaddy.com Chevrolet rolls onto the high banks of Daytona.

The go-ahead decision to participate in Saturday's race came Monday after her impressive performance in last weekend's ARCA Series race.

Patrick fell to last place in the race after a spin on lap 54 but managed to fight her way back through the pack to finish sixth.

The spunky 27-year-old from Roscoe, Illinois showed what she had in the comeback, dashing up, down, left, and right for positions before the checkered flag halted her efforts.

"I was goin' side by side with people," said Patrick after the race, smiling ear to ear.

"The GoDaddy car doesn't look very pretty, but it was fun."

Saturday's ARCA race was the most-watched ever, with an increase of over 87 percent from last year.

Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon said he believes this weekend's Nationwide race will be no different.

"I'm as excited as anybody else to watch," he said. "It's exciting."

Daytona expects a ten percent attendance increase for Saturday's Nationwide race, a jump that's unprecedented over the last decade.

But the female phenomenon hasn't made it this far without criticism from some of NASCAR's greats.

Seven-time Cup champion and NASCAR owner Richard Petty doesn't believe Patrick's move to a stock car career will prove successful.

"I just don't think it's a sport for women," said Petty. "And so far, it's proven out. It's really not. It's good for them to come in. It gives us a lot of publicity, it gives them publicity."

"But as far as being a real true racer, making a living out of it, it's kind of tough."

Patrick will try to continue proving "The King" wrong this weekend, hoping to continue her success despite a huge jump in competition level.

The DRIVE4COPD 300 will be televised live Saturday on ESPN2. Coverage from Daytona begins at 1 PM ET.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/343473-danica-patrick-to-make-first-nascar-start-saturday-in-daytona