Is a NASCAR driver like an NFL QB?

   NASCAR drivers have been called many things but how about a comparison to the quarterback position on an NFL team?

    Certainly, a driver is the most visible part of a NASCAR team and has a defacto leadership role in that regard.

    Here's Brad Keselowski's take on the question:

   “Yeah, certainly. I've said before in one of our media sessions that of all the spots or roles in professional sports that a race car driver is most similar to, I would put it right there with an NFL quarterback. There's a certain level of phenomenal talent you must have to achieve to be able to throw a ball down the field, but a large part of it is decision making, and you find that the elite athletes aren't all it takes. Elite athletes that can run around and throw the best pass, it takes more than that.

    "You have to be a great decision maker and a great leader, and that's why you see certain guys in football that are successful, and I feel that same way now. So that shows the importance of a solid mental approach as a foundation for being a great race car driver.”

History tells us Brad Keselowski has a chance

   It certainly appears Jimmie Johnson is in strong position to win his sixth Sprint Cup Series championship with two races remaining.

   The five-time champion has a seven-point advantage over his nearest rival, Brad Keselowski, heading to a track this weekend – Phoenix International Raceway – where he has been very successful.

   Yet all may not be what it seems.

   Why? History tells us so.

   Backtrack to 1995. The late Dale Earnhardt was fresh off his NASCAR-record-tying seventh Cup championship and was in good shape to win an eighth.

   A young upstart driver who sometimes rubbed his competitors and fans the wrong way looked to change that. His name was Jeff Gordon.

   The previous season Gordon finished eighth in the series standings and had won his first two races of his career. The odds then appeared on Earnhardt’s side.

   Down the stretch Gordon outpaced the veteran Earnhardt, racking up seven wins that season to Earnhardt’s five and won his first series championship by 34 points – a very small margin under the points system then in place.

   It would be the beginning of an impressive career for Gordon, who has gone on to win four Cup titles and stands at 86 wins and counting. The 1995 title was also the first for team owner Rick Hendrick, who has become one of the most successful owners in the sport’s history.

   Keselowski, 28, is just in his third full season in the Cup series. He drives for an organization, Penske Racing, which has never won NASCAR’s biggest prize.

   He is brash, outspoken and a talented driver.

   Why does he have a chance?

   History tells us so.

Coulter joins Kyle Busch Motorsports

   Kyle Busch Motorsports announced Tuesday the team has signed Joey Coulter to compete for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver’s championship in 2013.

   Coulter currently ranks fifth in the 2012 Truck Series driver point standings and is tied for the series lead with three poles. The 22-year-old driver picked up his first career Truck Series win at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in August and has six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 20 starts this season.

   “Joey has been running up front, competing for wins this year and we feel like he is ready to have a breakout year," team owner Kyle Busch said. "With the personnel we have in place at KBM and the support we receive from Toyota, we’re going to do everything possible to make sure that he is in a position to bring home a championship next season.”

Brian Vickers to run for 2013 Nationwide title

   Joe Gibbs Racing on Tuesday confirmed Brian Vickers will join the organization and compete for the 2013 Nationwide Series championship with the organization. Vickers is a former series champion who drove a part-time schedule in the Sprint Cup Schedule this season for Michael Waltrip Racing.

  "I’m very happy to stay in the Toyota family, and when you look at the Nationwide Series over the past several years, no team has dominated like Joe Gibbs Racing," Vickers said. "Hopefully we’ll be able to get Dollar General, Toyota and JGR a Nationwide Series Championship next season.”

   Vickers will be sponsored by Dollar General, which also announced an expanded partnership with JGR next season. The new agreement means in 2013 the No. 20 Toyota team driven by Matt Kenseth, who joins the team next season, will be sponsored by Dollar General in 20 races - up from 12 this season.

   “We look forward to our expanded partnership with Dollar General in both our Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series’ programs for next season,” said Joe Gibbs, owner and founder of JGR. “With Matt (Kenseth) and Brian (Vickers) we feel well positioned to deliver great visibility and winning results for the Dollar General brand. Matt is obviously a great talent, and his experience will be invaluable to our race team. Brian has proven to be successful in everything he has raced.”

   Dollar General will also to continue to sponsor two Nationwide races in 2013 - at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway.

 

Every race is a Chase for Chad Knaus

    Chad Knaus, crew chief for five-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, provided an interesting perspective on how he and his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team approaches the Chase each season.

    Actually, it was more about what they don't do. They don't do anything different then the rest of the season. Knaus thinks teams get into trouble when they try to alter their approach once they make the Chase.

   Speaking with the authority of five titles in his pocket, Knaus may know what he's talking about.

   "Everybody thinks once you get to the Chase, you've got to ramp everything up. Being part of the No. 48 car, you're expected to win every single week, so we really can't prepare any differently. I think going to the race track each week, whether it be Martinsville or Richmond or Atlanta, wherever it may be, we put as much effort into the race cars as we can week‑in and week‑out," Knaus said.

   "Once we get into the Chase, we really can't do anymore. We're really operating in our comfort zone. Where I think what happens to a lot of the other teams, it takes them out of the comfort zone.  They try to do more. They try to push that further. They do things that are outside the norm. I think that's where usually people get in trouble."

Reddick gets win, Larson takes K&N title at The Rock

    The 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship came down to the last lap of the season and when the smoke cleared at Rockingham Speedway, rookie Kyle Larson won his first NASCAR title.

   Tyler Reddick, 16, earned the win in the Classic 3 Championship race in a wild finish. Reddick, who was making his series debut, got a run on race leader – and championship contender – Brett Moffitt coming out of Turn 2 toward the checkered flag. Moffitt came up on Reddick, made contact, and went spinning onto the grass. Reddick then came around to take the yellow and checkered flags.

   A sixth-place finish by Larson was enough to give him the title by 15 points over Corey LaJoie. It marks the first NASCAR championship for Rev Racing and NASCAR Drive for Diversity.

   The 20-year-old Larson, from Elk Grove, Calif., also won the series’ Sunoco Rookie of the Year, joining only Joey Logano and Ryan Truex in the 26-year history of the series to accomplish that feat of earning the championship in their rookie years.

   LaJoie was also finished second to Reddick in Saturday’s race.

    Moffitt, who was in position to clinch the title if he would have held on the final lap for the win, finished the race 21st and third in points, 24 points back.

    Following Reddick and LaJoie across the line were Darrell Wallace Jr., Coleman Pressley and Jesse Little in the top five. The remainder of the top 10: Larson, Ryan Gifford, Sergio Pena, Ben Kennedy and Eddie MacDonald.

 

   With his victory Reddick earned a secured starting position in the inaugural UNOH Battle at the Beach on the short track at Daytona International Speedway in February 2013.

    Larson will be crowned the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion at the NASCAR Touring Awards on Dec. 10 at in the Crown Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

 

 Unofficial race results from Rockingham Speedway:

 (Start position in parentheses)

1. (6) Tyler Reddick, Corning, CA, Dodge, 100 laps, 90.817 mph.

2. (4) Corey LaJoie, Concord, NC, Ford, 100.

3. (2) Darrell Wallace, Jr., Concord, NC, Toyota, 100.

4. (3) Coleman Pressley, Asheville, NC, Toyota, 100.

5. (7) Jesse Little, Sherrils Ford, NC, Chevrolet, 100.

6. (11) Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA, Toyota, 100.

7. (21) Ryan Gifford, Winchester, TN, Toyota, 100.

8. (27) Sergio Pena, Winchester, VA, Toyota, 100.

9. (8) Ben Kennedy, Daytona Beach, FL, Chevrolet, 100.

10. (22) Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, MA, Chevrolet, 100.

11. (1) CJ Faison, Seaford, Del, Chevrolet, 100.

12. (15) Chase Elliott, Dawsonville, GA, Chevrolet, 100.

13. (10) Bryan Ortiz, Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Toyota, 100.

14. (12) Jimmy Weller, Hubbard, OH, Toyota, 100.

15. (19) Brandon Gdovic, Yorktown, VA, Toyota, 100.

16. (13) Steven Legendre, Danville, VT, Chevrolet, 100.

17. (23) Tim George, Jr., New York, NY, Chevrolet, 100.

18. (24) Frank Deiny, Mechanicsville, VA, Chevrolet, 100.

19. (14) Jack Clarke, Effingham, England, Toyota, 100.

20. (29) Noel Dowler, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, Chevrolet, 100.

21. (5) Brett Moffitt, Grimes, IA, Toyota, 99, accident.

22. (18) Harrison Rhodes, High Point, NC, Dodge, 99.

23. (28) Beto Monteiro, Recife, Brazil, Toyota, 99.

24. (16) Larry Barford, Jr., Denton, MD, Chevrolet, 99.

25. (9) Cale Conley, Vienna, WV, Toyota, 97.

26. (25) Sam Hunt, Midlothian, VA, Toyota, 96.

27. (20) Jorge Arteaga, Aguascalientes, Mexico, Toyota, 77, accident.

28. (17) Dylan Presnell, Sevierville, TN, Toyota, 77, accident.

29. (26) Rafael Vallina, Chihuahua, Mexico, Toyota, 42, accident.

30. (30) Chuck Buchanan, Hildebrand, NC, Chevrolet, 9, accident.

Dale Junior explains his frustrations of last weekend

   Dale Earnhardt Jr. had from most accounts a strong return last weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. In all aspects, that is, except the finish.

 

   Earnhardt, one of just two teams to stay out on the track on the last pit stop rather than take on fresh tires, got stuck on the outside lane on the restart and ended up wrecked with Carl Edwards. After the race, Earnhardt appeared especially frustrated with his finish and the team's decision to pit.

 

   On Friday, Earnhardt spoke in depth about his frustrations of last week.

 

   "We were coming back from missing a few weeks and just trying to really get in a solid week of work. Obviously, even finishing seventh or whatever wasn’t exactly where we wanted to finish, but I needed a little closure on the whole process. I really didn’t get it last weekend," Earnhardt said.

 

   "When we made the decision to stay out I was positive coming to that restart I was positive about what we were doing. When (crew chief Steve Letarte) made the decision for us to not pit I didn’t immediately throw my hands up in the air at that moment. I was still like ‘Alright you know I’m going to go as hard as I can go here.’ I was starting up front and I really didn’t think we were going to be as bad as we were on that little run after that restart. So I really wasn’t that upset about it at all. 

 

   "Then we had the restart and the car was real tight, real slow and just in the way. People were all over me trying to get by me. I know I was a pain in the ass and I was just getting more and more frustrated. I think I lost control of my emotions a little bit in how I expressed my opinion after the race to him, to you, to everybody. Because looking back now I really wasn’t that mad about it. I didn’t even think it was a bad call when we made it. I was being a bit of a back seat driver or arm chair quarterback after the fact. He had done a great job been real supportive of me and I need to realize he is trying to help me. He’s not trying to throw me to the wolves. He is trying to help me win races.”