Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Chasing History

By Richard Tix

Richard "The King" Petty. Dale "The Intimidator " Earnhardt. Two names that come to mind when you think NASCAR Champions, and for good reason because both have won a NASCAR record 7 Championships. Now for the first time since the start of the 1994 season when Dale won his last Championship, we have a driver in NASCAR looking to join the 7-Time club.

Jimmie Johnson will forever be a driver remembered for dominating the 2000's but will he also be remembered as a 7-Time Champion, or dare I say (sorry Dale and Petty fans, close your eyes) the all time NASCAR Champion leader?

Whether you love or hate Jimmie Johnson all it takes is one look at his career and notice he has been a force since he started driving. Jimmie Johnson may have come into NASCAR and been given a key to a Ferrari (or a Hendrick car) but he has done just about as much as you can do with that. Many other drivers have come and gone as part of the Hendrick team and not have near the success that Jimmie has, which says one thing, he can win. Haters will still hate, but year after year he proves once again that when he is done in NASCAR you will have to remember his name.

Every year he has run a full schedule he has at least 3 wins (except 2011 when he had 2). In those same years he has averaged 5.5 wins a season. Jimmie Johnson is into a crazy category of Champions where it is hard to pick his best season as a Cup driver. Most fans may look to 2007 (his second Championship) because he won 10 races, had 20 top 5's, and 24 top 10's, but past that you can argue a handful of years. The sad thing after you try to pick one, you realize you are picking from a bunch of Championship years and not just some really good seasons that ended up in a second place finish.

So now its 2014 and Jimmie Johnson is once again on top, but can he win another one right away? Tony Stewart will be coming back from his injury and wanted to regain his 2011 form when he stole a Championship from JJ after JJ had won 5 straight (NASCAR record 5 straight). Brad Keselowski had a roller coaster season in 2013 after winning a Championship in 2012 and is as close to a "rival" to Johnson as anyone. Add into the mix that it seems parity is starting to hit NASCAR and it might be a tough feat just to get to 7.

In the coming years NASCAR's landscape will change and in perfect time to see how JJ will handle it. He has handled everything that has come his way so how will a bunch of veterans entering there prime (Carl Edwards, Brad K, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, etc, etc) and new young guns (Ricky Steinhouse, Austin Dillon, Justin Allgaire, Kyle Larson, Parker Kligerman, etc, etc) hungry to take him down affect how easy it is for JJ to dominate? I think that JJ faces a tough task trying to get to number 7 and 8, but that is what will make it even better for him. If he can get at least two more Championships fans will have to start recognizing him whether they like it or not.

Let me know on Twitter what you think! Will he get/pass Dale and Petty? Are you a JJ Follower or hater? Do you think its all Hendrick or there has to be more to him?

(Note: As a fan I am not a follower of JJ, nor am I a hater. I do respect what he has done so far in his career and am interested to see how it continues to shape up)

Take a look at these NASCAR Behind the Wall Articles as well:

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Monday, January 6, 2014

NASCAR World Top Stories: January

By Richard Tix

NASCAR World is a section dedicated to keeping you up to date with NASCAR Articles from around the web. So just in case you missed it, check out these articles from other sites.
Check back, this article will get updated throughout the month

Also, Check out NASCAR Behind the Wall on Twitter to get even more updates from the Social Media world.
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Driver Spotlight: Joey Logano (Preseason Addition)

Joey Logano 2014 Preview


By Richard Tix

 So far this offseason NASCAR Behind the wall has taken a look at Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin in our Driver Spotlight articles. Next up, the Penske driver that made the Chase in 2013, Joey Logano.

Next up in our Preseason Driver Spotlight is Joey Logano.  I found it only fit to follow Denny Hamlin's spotlight up with a guy he was rivals with before his crash. No matter what side you take on the altercation early last season, both of these drivers were getting after it and racing hard.

Joey Logano and Penske Racing had a lot of ups and downs in 2013 with plenty of bumps along the way. All last season (from Fontana and on) I thought that Joey Logano would get a Win in 2013 and also have a legitimate chance at the Chase. In the end JoLo just got into the Chase after getting his first win of 2013 at Michigan which happens to be the one race I make it to annually.  Ironic he started his push in Michigan I guess, but he not only made the Chase for the first time but also didn't do too bad.


His Chase started out with a bang, he won the Pole, and then had engine troubles that put his chances immediately in jeopardy. He did however finish the Chase with 5 top 10's (including the last 3 races) and 3 top 5's. In four races he finished between 14-18th place with his lone spot outside the top 18 being the first Chase Race.

My Take:
2013 was hands down Logano's best season in the Cup Series with new Career highs in average finish position, top 10's, and top 5's. It was a bumpy first season with Penske, but not because of a lack of chemistry. It seemed that other then problems with Nascar Officials and Rules that Joey fit right in at Penske. Penske now has two young drivers with something to prove in 2014. I think now that Penske has another year under its belt with Ford and the Gen-6 car, and Joey Logano is also in year two with them, that he will have once again his best season yet. Joey Logano might be one of the drivers this season that takes his driving up to the next level and is talked about week to week as a race contender.

I don't think it is out of the question in 2014 to think that JoLo will get multiple wins and make the Chase again. So what do you think? Let me know and let your voice be heard on Twitter and let the countdown to Daytona continue.

New NASCAR Behind the Wall Articles:

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Friday, January 3, 2014

Driver Spotlight: Denny Hamlin (Preseason Addition)

Denny Hamlin 2014 Preview

By Richard Tix


Well on the third installment of the preseason driver spotlight Nascar Behind the Wall will take a look at Denny Hamlin. In 2013 Denny Hamlin started his 8th season as a full time Cup driver with high hopes of finally competing for a Cup Title.  Every season prior Denny Hamlin had made the Chase and no one in Nascar thought he would miss it in 2013, but then something crazy happened.


Nascar headed to Fontana and Denny Hamlin had a typical weekend, actually he started the weekend on a great note after winning the Pole. In the weeks leading up, back and forth Twitter banter with Joey Logano had heated up to on track racing which as a fan of racing was great to see.  While running for front spots Denny and Joey were racing hard and it ended with Denny heading towards the infield wall in a brutal accident. That accident left Denny out of his car for the next four races and killing his Chase chances. Denny got back in his car, possibly before he was ready, and still tried his hardest to get back into the race for the Chase but things just didn't work out.

Fast forward to the last race of the 2013 season. Most of the spotlight is on Jimmie Johnson and if he can finish off his 6th Cup Title at Homestead.  Not only had DH made the Sprint Cup Chase every year of his career, but he had also won a race every year. He entered Homestead still winless in 2013 but ended up winning and continuing his win streak. Yet, all the attention was obviously (and for good reason) on JJ and his 6-Peat.


So as we close the chapter on 2013 and the season that Denny Hamlin wants to forget, we move onto 2014 and the season that Hamlin can not wait to start.  This season DH hopes to be the headline for all the right reasons. He is ready to go and as motivated as ever. It will be interesting to see how he handles his first season after a down year. Will he bounce right back like nothing ever happened? Or will he still have some bumps in the road along the way?  Maybe this is what DH needed to finally cross that line into a true contender and win his first Championship.

Contact me on Twitter and let me know what you think! Will Hamlin bounce right back? Should other drivers worry that he could once again dominate? Will he finally make a run at a Title? Will his feud with JoLo start back up now that he is fully healthy or is that just a thing of the past? And will he win another in 2014 to keep his streak going?

Let me know what you think and lets continue the count down to Daytona.
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