NASCAR Behind the Wall Final Four
By Richard Tix
So the craziness of Martinsville Speedway is now past the March Madness bracket and four drivers have fought through to make it to the Final Four. These drivers will get a week off to get ready for the race that could send them to the Championship at Bristol. That race is the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway that will be held Saturday night, April 11th. This will be the drivers last shot at making the Championship. NASCAR Behind the Wall is left with only one #1 seed, but still has a few strong drivers left. Check out the bracket and Final Four match-ups below.
Rules and Bracket Breakdown
- Brackets were decided by current standings after the race at Las Vegas. Four Divisions, top 4 in the standings got the #1 seeds, 5-8 in the standings got the #2 seeds, 9-12 #3 seeds and so on.
- From the standings the rankings were given out serpentine style. Meaning: The driver ranked 5th (first #2 seed) started in the lowest #1 seed's bracket. That continues until the three seeds where it then goes from top back down.
- Here is how the rounds break down by race (first race we have two eliminations to speed it up).
- Phoenix: Round 32
- Auto Club: Sweet 16
- Martinsville: Elite 8
- Texas: Final Four
- Bristol: Championship
- The driver that finishes Highest in the race moves on, no bonus points included (Think the last Chase Race)
Round by Round Articles
2015 March Madness NASCAR Style Brackett
5
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Keselowski
|
4
|
Almirola
|
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7
|
McMurray
|
5
|
Keselowski
|
4
|
Almirola
|
2
|
Johnson
|
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4
|
Newman
|
6
|
Larson
|
1
|
Logano
|
1
|
Logano
|
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6
|
Larson (#42)
|
2
|
Dillon
|
So after Martinsville we are down to just four drivers. Regan Smith filled in for Kyle Larson so we adjusted used the #42 car in the match-up with Newman. Fortunately for Larson, Regan Smith did a fine job filling in while Newman struggled. It should make a great match-up at Texas between him and Brad Keselowski. Jimmie Johnson struggled all day so it left the door open for the Cinderella of this year, Aric Almirola.
Final Four Match-Ups
5) Brad Keselowski v 6 Kyle Larson
- Larson- This one could get interesting. Last week Kyle Larson fainted at an autograph session which prompted him to go to the hospital. Like normal, if any driver ever steps out during the March Madness Tourney we just treat it as whoever drives the car that weekend. Regan Smith filled in and kept Larson going in 2015. All sign's lead to Larson back in the #42 after a week break for Easter. Larson only has three career starts at Texas but these kinds of tracks seem to suit him well. After his first finish of 23rd, he has finished 5th and 7th in his last two respectively. He might just pull of a bid to the Championship.
- Keselowski- Kyle may have two straight top 10 finishes, but he still is up against Brad Keselowski. BK's early career here wasn't the best, so it brings down his average finish, but if you take a look at his last five starts at Texas you will see a different story. In his last five BK has finishes of 2, 9, 6, 15, and 3 (2 top 5's and 4 top 10's). Starting during his title year in 2012, BK has run well here but has yet to pull of a win.
1) Joey Logano v 4) Aric Almirola
- Logano- This one seems like an obvious advantage to JoLo, after all he won this race just one year ago. Still, bad luck can happen at anytime which is partially how Aric got here, so could it happen to Joey? JoLo has five straight top 15 finishes here including 1 win and 3 top 5's.
- Almirola- To advance to the Final at Bristol it will take a quality race by "Double A." Aric doesn't have a ton of tracks with top 10 streaks like a guy of JoLo's calaber, but he hasn't had a lot of crippling finishes here. He has finished in the top 25 6 of 8 starts and has 3 top 15's. If he can safely bring it home maybe JoLo will run into some bad luck?
Previous NASCAR Behind the Wall March Madness Champions
- 2014 Champion: Tony Stewart
- 2nd: Carl Edwards
- Final Four: Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Brian Vickers
- 2013 Champion: Brad Keselowski
- 2nd: Kasey Kahne
- Final Four: Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch
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