March Madness Nascar Style: Final Four

On a crazy Sunday in NCAA Basketball where a #15 seed will advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time ever, Nascar had a dramatic finish to the Auto Club 400. Great racing, check. Rivalry battle for the lead, check. Thrown punches, check. New rivalries started, check. Last lap pass for the win, check. As well as a Nascar fan I am also a fan of college basketball. My hometown team the Minnesota Gophers were on, and another team I grew up on the North Carolina Tar Heels were also on, yet I was glued to the race at Fontana.

 

This Nascar addition bracket is just for fun and has no real chance to add any extra drama to this Hollywood movie at Fontana and its a good thing, as Nascar fans we don't rely on it like College basketball does. That's because this past Sunday most of these match ups were blow outs. Lets take a look at the four match ups and the results. Here is a look back at the Elite Eight Article from last week.

5) Kyle Busch v 3) Clint Bowyer

• Kyle seemed to be in full control of this victory all day long. He lead 125 laps and Bowyer really never had a chance. Bowyer did however have a really solid day, that is until 15 to go when his car gave up on him and he ended up not finishing the race. Kyle Busch is definitely one driver that doesn't want a week off from the Sprint Cup after finishing 4th, 2nd, and 1st.

4) Kasey Kahne v 2) Mark Martin

• I guess it is only fair that Mark Martin went down this week to Kasey Kahne. That's because Martin got to step out at Bristol and let Brian Vickers get him into the Elite Eight. It was a tough day for Martin anyways, when Gilliland got into him and Martin remarked "something just broke in the car." Kahne meanwhile finished 9th and continued his hot run into the Final Four.

1) Brad Keselowski v 6) Juan Pablo Montoya

• This is that match up where neither guy deserves to win, but because they got this far someone must go on. BK got the free pass in this race when Montoya went behind the wall to the garage early in the race. BK did have a good run from the back to the front, but at the end of the day he fell all the way back to 23rd.

8) Kurt Busch v 3) Paul Menard

• The only close match up of the day in Fontana, Kurt Busch came out on top in the closing laps. Both drivers at one point in the Auto Club 400 were a lap down (Kurt a speeding penalty, Menard a cut tire). Both drivers also climbed their way back out of that hole to a top 10 finish. The difference was Kurt Busch's late race restarts that consistently shot him past other drivers for good track position. Kurt is the Cinderella of this Tournament heading into the Final Four and has a chance to fave his brother in the Finals.

So now Nascar takes a one week break during Easter weekend and gets back at it at Martinsville Speedway April 7th. Martinsville will be the track where the Final Four will be held and decide which two drivers move onto Texas Motor Speedway for the Finals. Here is who we have left and there match ups.

5) Kyle Busch v 4) Kasey Kahne

• This is going to be an exciting match up in the Final Four. Kyle is definitely the hottest driver in Nascar right now. That leaves Kahne a close second. In the past three races you would have to be blind not to notice these guys having an impact.  Martinsville will be a tough place to advance out of because anything can happen. It will be exciting to see who gets out alive.

1) Brad Keselowski v 8) Kurt Busch

• The only #1 seed left in the bracket faces the only #8 seed left in the bracket. In college basketball this would look like a mismatch at this point in the tournament but heading to Martinsville and anyone has a chance. Kurt and his small team that could is on a heater heading into the break. BK just hit his very first speed bump since becoming the defending Champion. How will either driver react at Martinsville? Whoever stays out of trouble the most may just be the one heading to Texas in the Finals.

Well here we go. A long week off after a race that left Nascar fans wanting more. With it being a long two weeks I will be back to update this throughout the week when we get closer to Martinsville.

Check out the Auto Club 400 Review
Also you can check out the Opening Round brackets,
and the Elite Eight brackets.
Can't get enough of last Sundays week? Check out Tweets of the Race.

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