Although it had an unpromising start, 2011 turned out to be an exciting year for both Stewart and his fans as he claimed his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, with his previous two title wins being in 2002 and 2005. The final race of the NASCAR season turned into a nail-biting duel between Edwards and Stewart, with Stewart crossing the finish line in first place and claiming the championship title.

In a post-race interview, 40-year old Stewart was reported as saying that it was the first time he had raced on New Year’s Eve, and that it was a great way to have finished the year. He also noted that it would be hard to keep up his winning streak, but he anticipates that it will be a lot of fun trying.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Tony Stewart has revealed that he will be part of a four-car “Team of Champions”, along with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bryan Clauson and Jake Blackhurst, to participate in the 26th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals set to start on 10 January. Driving the Chevrolet Performance Parts Sponsored No. 14 Chevrolet/Spike, which he has dubbed “Back in Black”, Stewart intends to challenge the Esslinger/Ford dominated event. Clauson will be driving a No. 39c Essingler/Spike Indycar/Indy 500 race car, while Stenhouse Jr. will be competing in a No. 39a Esslinger/Spike, and Blackhurst will be driving a No. 39b Esslinger/Spike Kitchen Cooked entry.

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What made Stewart’s victory even sweeter was the fact that it was not without obstacles. Eearly on in the race he discovered a hole in his car’s front grille forcing him to stop for repairs. His team put a new grille over the damaged one, securing it in place with electrical tape, and sending him on his way again. At one stage Stewart was 40th in the field, but climbed to 5th place before a 74-minute rain delay broke his stride once more. But nothing was going to stand in Stewart’s way as he fought his way to the front of the field, and the battlefor first place became a duel between himself and Edwards.

In a post-race interview, Stewart acknowledged that the first 109 laps of the race had been very challenging and commended his crew for their hard work. Commenting on his daring driving style which saw him passing a trio of cars on the inside of the track, Stewart said:”That shows you how bad I wanted to win this thing.” He also noted that a driver can’t hold anything back when going for a championship.

Martin Truex Jr. finished in third place, with Matt Kenseth taking the fourth spot and Jeff Gordon coming in fifth. Having scored two wins in the season, Jimmie Johnson had a disappointing finish to the season, finishing 32nd due to engine trouble and an incident in lap 143 where he spun out and hit the wall. Nevertheless, Johnson ended in sixth place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings with 2304 points. Both Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards clocked up 2403 points, with Kevin Harvick taking third place with 2345 points, Matt Kenseth at fourth place with 2330 points, and Brad Keselowski in fifth place with 2319 points.

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Getting to the race was a rush for Ambrose, as he left Michigan International Speedway, where the NASCAR Sprint Cup was hosted, hopped on a jet, took a helicopter ride to St Hubert, and then jumped into a speedboat to cross the Olympic Basin to make the race on time. Not only was it rush to get to the racecourse, but Ambrose also had to survive a collision with Jacques Villeneuve, before he could focus on his winning performance and secure the victory.

Because Ambrose and drivers Carl Edwards and Trevor Bayne were needed to participate in Cup practice, they had to use reserve drivers to do their qualifiers for them, placing all three drivers at the back of the field. The course was filled with a field of forty-three cars. Twice Ambrose had to fight his way through the field, even though he was able to pass a staggering sixteen cars on the first lap and managed to get into the top twenty before the sixth lap, when he pitted for the first time. It was an accident filled race, with no less than six caution flags (yellow flags) making their appearance. The race had everyone, pit crews and spectators, on the edges of their seats as the action packed race unfolded before them.

But it was Marcos Ambrose who managed to take the victory, followed across the finish line by Alex Tagliani in second place, and Michael McDowell in third place. Ambrose commented after the race that he was never able to close the deal before, but he remained patient and calm throughout the race, which enabled him and his team to convert his efforts into a winning performance and that it felt really good to finally win the race that had eluded him for so long.

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Both Allgaier and Edwards were travelling at a speed of around 50 mph as they crossed the finish line. Given the high-speed competition of the first 199 laps of the 200-lap race, the climax was described as “almost surreal” by a NASCAR reporter. Edwards acknowledged that he was disappointed in the result, especially as he had anticipated having sufficient fuel to complete the race. For most of the last 50 laps Edwards was competing with Elliott Sadler for first place, pushing into the lead with 25 laps to go. Seeing Allgaier moving up into second place, Edwards pushed his car to the limit – and ran out of gas. As Allgaier passed Edwards, he too ran out of fuel, but managed to coast over the finish line with a 1.719 second advantage.

Following a six-week absence from racing as he recovered from a mystery illness, eventually treated as Lyme’s Disease, Bayne was delighted with his third place in the race. Proving his talent as a driver, Bayne moved his way to 10th place within 23 laps, before crossing the finish line third. Elliott Sadler, who had been dueling with Edwards earlier in the race, finished in 11th place, after being forced to make a pit-stop when his right front tire lost air pressure. Aric Almirola took 4th place, with Jason Leffler in 5th.

Having finished in 10th place in the Indianapolis 500 last week, Danica Patrick returned to the NASCAR Nationwide Series following a nine-race break, taking 10th place at Chicagoland Speedway. The next race is at Michigan International Speedway on June 18 – don’t miss it!

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Usually, the All Star Race is filled with legendary smashes, risky maneuvers that take the audience’s breath away, but this year, the drivers were safe, and drove their four segment race without any incident. During the first segment of the All Stars Race, Greg Biffle took the lead and won the first segment, even though Kyle Busch had pole position at the start. But that did not deter Carl Edwards, as he kept Jimmie Johnson at bay to take the win on the second segment. Taking the lead on the third segment was Kyle Busch, after getting away well on the restart, but a caution within the segment saw Carl Edwards edge his way into second position and with five laps left on the segment, Edwards was able to pass Busch taking the victory in the third segment as well. A mandatory tire change saw all the cars go into the pit lane and Edwards’ team were fast and efficient giving him a very favorable restart, putting great distance between himself and Kyle Busch who was chasing in second position.

After the checkered flag flew into the air, making Carl Edwards’ victory official, Edwards decided to celebrate his win on the grass of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, which led him to hit a drainage device and damage the front of his car. He apologized to the crew chief as he climbed out the car window and then did his traditional backflip, for his victory at the 2011 NASCAR Sprint All Star Race.

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During the qualifying rounds held during the week, the Roush Fenway Racing team performed well and seemed to be a very strong team. Even one of their drivers, Matt Kenseth, broke the record at the track. But it was Carl Edwards who stole the show on race day. Tony Steward’s team let him down a little in the pits, which gave Edwards the edge, as his team did not put a foot wrong throughout the race. Strategy also plays a huge role in these events, and Edwards went into the pits for his last stop five laps later than Steward, with fuel and two tire changes that took him the rest of the distance.

Sunday was a nineteenth career victory for Edwards, and the first for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for 2011. Edwards praised his team by giving them the credit for his victory, saying, “These guys are unbelievable. It means a lot coming off Phoenix. I went home last week and didn’t know how things were going to go. You don’t get a good race car like that often. We had another one today.”

The CEO of Roush Yates Engines, Dough Yates, was also very pleased with the victory, commenting after the race: “This is an exciting win for Roush Yates Engines. We ran great all week long. I think this says a lot about our program and how we plan to run at 1.5 mile tracks throughout the 2011 season. I want to thank Ford again for their support as we continue to excel with the FR9 engine.”

Thumbnail image by Royalbroil

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The Race of Champions was started in 1986 in Paris as a battle of international rally drivers. Now it is one of the best off-season auto racing attractions in the world. There are two parts to the competition – the two-man teams and an individual shootout. The drivers entered into the race start side-by-side in opposite lanes as they get ready to tackle the almost 1-mile lap that will take them back to the starting line. The lap takes the various drivers on separate paths and there are two laps. There is a team event which follows a best-of-three format, while the individual portion of the race works on a win and advance system. Both of the different races involve bracket racing and to keep things interesting, there are five types of cars that are rotated during the four-hour event. The prize for the teams is glory for your country and a great day of stress-free racing. According to seven-time Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher, ‘The World doesn’t go bad if you lose. It just means you get to have a drink earlier.’ Drivers come from both sides of the Atlantic to compete and fun is the main focus of the day. Some of the cars used this year included an Audi-powered KTM X-Bow track machine, a World Rally Championship Ford Focus, an Abarth 500 Assetto Corse, an open-wheel buggy that looks like a sprint car and another open-wheel vehicle resembling something more ungainly – like a praying mantis. Certainly such a selection of vehicles keeps drivers on their toes and helps to even out the playing field.

And that is exactly what they did do. Carl Edwards attended the event in London for the first time this year to see what all the fuss was about. He found himself inspired by a great day of racing and hopes to return soon. He did quite well, managing to reach the semi-finals in the individual driver’s category, even beating Michael Schumacher in a head-to-head race. Understandably, that was the highlight of Edwards’ trip. In the end it was the German team of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel who took the team trophy for the second consecutive year. Sebastian Loeb proved to be the ultimate individual winner yet again, taking home the trophy for the third time. He did, however, get stiff competition from David Coulthard who went home with bruised hands from some intense driving but a big smile on his face.

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When the cars crossed the finish line at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, any possibilities of Edwards beating Johnson in the series were put to an end. Jimmie Johnson absolutely dominated the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, taking the checkered flag and enjoying his 40th career victory. He led for 217 of the possible 313 laps in his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet. The win was his third straight triumph on the track and his seventh so far this season. It gave him a commanding 141-point lead over his chief rival, Carl Edwards. Johnson is so far ahead now, that he’d have to finish below 36th in the big season finale next weekend in order to lose it. For someone who has been dominating the track since the beginning of the season, that’s very unlikely. So many people now consider Johnson winning the series to be just a formality. When he takes to the Homestead-Miami Speedway in just one week’s time, he’ll not only be winning the championship, he’ll be clinching his third championship so far. If everything goes according to plan, Johnson will become the second driver in NASCAR‘s history to win three straight titles, after Cale Yarborough.

But Edwards and his team haven’t given up just yet. Mathematically speaking, Edwards still has a sliver of a chance if Johnson runs into some bad luck and ends up at the back of the pack. Edwards remarked: “It’s possible, not real probable, but I guarantee that’s not going to change the way we do business. We’re going to go to Homestead with everything we’ve got and be aggressive and try to win the race.” During the course of Sunday’s race, Kurt Busch had as many as five opportunities to challenge Johnson’s lead. Instead he ended up watching Johnson’s skill in awe. He remarked: “It was unbelievable to watch that type of display and it’s something pretty special.”

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For a while during the race things were looking up for Edwards. Johnson started from pole but ended up 30th on the grid at one point after he was flagged for speeding on the pit road. After some tenacious racing, Jimmie Johnson slowly managed to climb his way back up the grid but as the laps began to wind down he was still stuck outside the Top Ten. It seemed as though he’d never make it past that point, which would have meant a significant drop in points for him and possibly given other contenders for the Sprint Cup a chance. Meanwhile Edwards had been working hard to make his way to first place and to stay there. The Pep Boys Auto 500 victory trophy was clearly in his sights and, knowing that Johnson had suffered such a major setback earlier on in the race, he thought his chances at catching up to Johnson in the Sprint Cup Championship were carved in stone.

The magic started to happen with just 13 laps to go when debris on the track brought out a caution. Crew Chief Chad Knaus made the decision to bring Johnson in for a quick four-tire stop, causing him to restart the race in 11th place. There were just eight laps left and it seemed impossible for Johnson to finish in the top five. But surely enough, Johnson picked his way up the grid, one car at a time, until he finally made it over the finish line in second place. The dramatic finish widened Johnson’s points lead to 183. With just three races left in the championship, it is almost certain now that Johnson will be winning the Sprint Cup Championship for the third time in a row. Edwards has improved his chances in the overall standings with his victory on Sunday helping him to jump forward to second place. The last few racing events in the series will no doubt be real nail-biters.

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The Talladega Superspeedway is known for its ability to produce excitement – lots of it. The race held here on Sunday was certainly no exception to the rule. Things got really hair-raising just fourteen laps from the end of the race when Carl Edward’s Ford lost grip on the track and spun out. This created a chain-reaction, which left a number of cars spinning all over the track. Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Matt Kenseth were amongst those caught in the mess. All four of them are engaged in the battle for NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, so the tangle would have caused a fair amount of frustration. Juan Pablo Montoya, Dave Blaney, Michael Waltrip, Travis Kvapil and Reed Sorensen were less fortunate and were either sidelined or seriously damaged in the incident. By the end of it, Tony Stewart was able to pull out ahead of the pack. But he wasn’t about to have it easy. Rookie Regan Smith was hot on his tail for most of the remainder of the race and he even made a last-minute attempt to pass the two-time champion. Unfortunately for Smith, passing below the yellow line is prohibited in NASCAR rules.

Despite his attempts to get into first place on the last lap, it was Smith’s teammate Paul Menard who eventually crossed the finish line in second place. Officials didn’t take Smith’s unruly behaviour very well and, as punishment for his rule violation, Smith was moved back to 18th place. David Ragan finished third, Burton claimed fourth place and Bowyer finished fifth. The race set a new all-time record for leaders in a race with 27 drivers taking the lead during the course of the race. The ever-changing race leaders gave the crowds plenty to cheer for and there wasn’t a dull moment at Talladega that day!

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