2015 March Madness NASCAR Style: Final

NASCAR Behind the Wall Championship

By Richard Tix

Well, the third annual March Madness NASCAR bracket is coming to a close in 2015. This is the first year the tournament will end at Bristol as NASCAR changed its schedule and NBTW also extended the bracket by one race. So, after a week off and then NASCAR heading to Texas, we are down to two. Going into Texas we had Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola left. So, lets take a look at who moved on, how they moved on, and who is facing off at Bristol.

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:

• Opening Round
• Sweet 16
• Elite 8
• Final Four

2015 March Madness NASCAR Style Bracket

5	Keselowski								4	Almirola
			5	Keselowski		1	Logano
6	Larson								1	Logano

Well, the Team Penske run in the 2015 March Madness NASCAR Style continues into the Championship. This after Joey Logano finished 4th and Brad Keselowski finished 5th at Texas Motor Speedway. It wasn't really a close two match-ups either as Almirola finished 19th and Larson finished 25th. Both BK and JoLo have been rolling this year and once Harvick was out of the tourney it has really been theirs to lose. 

Championship Match-Up

5) Keselowski v 1) Logano

• Over his career Bristol has not been JoLo's best track, yet we go into this weekend with Joey being the most recent Bristol winner (Fall of 2014). So, did he figure it out? Statistically he has run much better in the Fall race compared to the Spring race, maybe it's the light? 
• Comparatively, BK's career has been pretty good at Bristol Including back to back wins in 2011 (Fall) and 2012 (Spring). He has run into some bad luck in his last 5 finishing 30th twice but I still think he holds a slight edge over JoLo. BK is a one time winner in the NASCAR Behind the Wall March Madness Tournament (2013) in the three years it has been running. 

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