2011 FIA Cup Championship

[slorydn1]

001 T Bayne..............025
002 C Edwards............018
003 D Gilliand...........015
004 B Labonte............012
005 Ku Busch.............010
006 JP Montoya...........008
007 R Smith..............006
008 Ky Busch.............004
009 P Menard.............002
010 M Martin.............001

The real Bri-Bri standings can be found here:
http://www.racing-reference.info/yeardet/2011/W

[slorydn1]

t01 J Gordon..............025
t01 T Bayne...............025
003 Ky Busch..............022
004 C Edwards.............018
t05 J Johnson.............015
t05 D Gilliand............015
007 Ku Busch..............014
t08 K Harvick.............012
t08 B Labonte.............012
010 R Newman..............010
------------------------------------
t11 JP Montoya............008
t11 K Kahne...............008
t13 T Stewart.............006
t13 R Smith...............006
t15 P Menard..............002
t15 A Allmendinger........002
t17 D Earnhardt...........001
t17 M Martin..............001

[slorydn1]

001 C Edwards.............043
t02 J Gordon..............025
t02 T Bayne...............025
004 T Stewart.............024
005 JP Montoya............023
006 Ky Busch..............022
007 R Newman..............020
008 Ku Busch..............016
t09 J Johnson.............015
t09 D Gilliand............015
------------------------------------
t11 K Harvick.............012
t11 B Labonte.............012
t11 M Ambrose.............012
014 K Kahne...............008
t15 R Smith...............006
t15 M Truex...............006
017 D Earnhardt...........005
t18 P Menard..............002
t18 A Allmendinger........002
t20 M Martin..............001
t20 B Vickers.............001

Carl Edwards assumes the FIA points lead....

[slorydn1]

001 C Edwards.............061
002 Ky Busch..............047
003 J Johnson.............030
t04 J Gordon..............025
t04 T Bayne...............025
006 T Stewart.............024
007 JP Montoya............023
008 Ku Busch..............022
009 R Newman..............021
010 K Harvick.............020
------------------------------------
011 D Gilliand............015
t12 B Labonte.............012
t12 M Ambrose.............012
t12 P Menard..............012
t12 M Kenseth.............012
017 K Kahne...............010
t18 R Smith...............006
t18 M Truex...............006
020 D Earnhardt...........005
021 G Biffle..............004
022 A Allmendinger........002
t23 M Martin..............001
t23 B Vickers.............001

[slorydn1]

001 C Edwards.............069
002 Ky Busch..............062
003 J Johnson.............048
004 K Harvick.............045
005 R Newman..............031
t06 J Gordon..............025
t06 T Bayne...............025
t08 T Stewart.............024
t08 JP Montoya............024
t08 M Kenseth.............024
------------------------------------
011 Ku Busch..............022
012 D Gilliand............015
t13 B Labonte.............012
t13 M Ambrose.............012
t13 P Menard..............012
t13 K Kahne...............012
t17 R Smith...............006
t17 M Truex...............006
t17 C Bowyer..............006
t20 D Earnhardt...........005
t20 B Vickers.............005
022 G Biffle..............004
023 A Allmendinger........002
024 M Martin..............001

Getting tighter up top in Cup.....

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............077
002 K Harvick.............070
003 C Edwards.............069
004 J Johnson.............048
005 JP Montoya............036
006 J Gordon..............035
007 M Kenseth.............032
008 R Newman..............031
009 T Bayne...............025
010 T Stewart.............024
------------------------------------
011 D Earnhardt...........023
012 Ku Busch..............022
013 D Gilliand............015
t14 B Labonte.............012
t14 M Ambrose.............012
t14 P Menard..............012
t14 K Kahne...............012
t18 M Truex...............008
t18 C Bowyer..............008
t19 R Smith...............006
t19 J McMurray............006
t19 D Hamlin..............006
022 B Vickers.............005
t23 G Biffle..............004
t23 D Ragan...............004
t25 A Allmendinger........002
t25 M Martin..............002

Still pretty tight at the top, just 7 points between Shrub and Harv

[slorydn1]

001 C Edwards.............084
002 Ky Busch..............077
003 K Harvick.............070
004 M Kenseth.............057
005 J Johnson.............048
006 JP Montoya............040
007 J Gordon..............035
008 R Newman..............031
009 C Bowyer..............026
t10 T Bayne...............025
t10 D Earnhardt...........025
------------------------------------
012 T Stewart.............024
012 Ku Busch..............023
014 P Menard..............022
015 M Ambrose.............020
016 G Biffle..............016
017 D Gilliand............015
t18 B Labonte.............012
t18 K Kahne...............012
020 D Ragan...............010
021 M Truex...............008
t22 R Smith...............006
t22 J McMurray............006
t22 D Hamlin..............006
025 B Vickers.............005
t26 A Allmendinger........002
t26 M Martin..............002

[slorydn1]

001 C Edwards.............092
002 K Harvick.............080
003 Ky Busch..............077
004 J Johnson.............073
005 M Kenseth.............057
006 J Gordon..............050
007 C Bowyer..............044
008 JP Montoya............040
009 D Earnhardt...........037
010 R Newman..............031
------------------------------------
011 T Bayne...............025
012 T Stewart.............024
013 Ku Busch..............023
t14 P Menard..............022
t14 G Biffle..............022
016 M Ambrose.............020
017 D Gilliand............015
t18 B Labonte.............012
t18 K Kahne...............012
020 D Ragan...............010
021 M Truex...............008
t22 R Smith...............006
t22 J McMurray............006
t22 D Hamlin..............006
t22 M Martin..............006
026 B Vickers.............005
027 A Allmendinger........002
028 J Logano..............002

[slorydn1]

t01 Ky Busch..............102
t01 C Edwards.............102
003 K Harvick.............080
004 J Johnson.............077
005 M Kenseth.............057
006 C Bowyer..............052
006 J Gordon..............050
008 JP Montoya............040
009 D Earnhardt...........037
010 R Newman..............031
------------------------------------
011 K Kahne...............027
012 T Stewart.............026
013 T Bayne...............025
014 D Hamlin..............024
015 Ku Busch..............023

[slorydn1]

001 C Edwards.............126
002 Ky Busch..............114
003 K Harvick.............106
004 M Kenseth.............082
005 J Johnson.............079
006 C Bowyer..............060
007 J Gordon..............050
t08 D Earnhardt...........043
t08 M Ambrose.............043
010 R Newman..............041
-----------------------------------
t11 JP Montoya............040
t11 D Ragan...............040
013 K Kahne...............039
t14 R Smith...............035
t14 Ku Busch..............035

[slorydn1]

001 C Edwards.............136
002 Ky Busch..............114
003 K Harvick.............106
004 M Kenseth.............090
005 J Johnson.............085
006 J Gordon..............062
007 D Earnhardt...........061
008 C Bowyer..............060
009 D Hamlin..............048
010 M Ambrose.............043
-----------------------------------
011 R Newman..............041
t12 JP Montoya............040
t12 D Ragan...............040
t12 B Keselowski..........040
015 K Kahne...............039

[slorydn1]

001 C Edwards.............136
002 Ky Busch..............129
003 K Harvick.............116
004 J Johnson.............097
005 M Kenseth.............094
006 J Gordon..............087
007 D Earnhardt...........069
008 C Bowyer..............060
009 Ku Busch..............055
010 D Hamlin..............048
-----------------------------------
011 JP Montoya............046
t12 M Ambrose.............043
t12 R Newman..............043
t14 D Ragan...............040
t14 B Keselowski..........040

[slorydn1]

001 C Edwards.............161
002 Ky Busch..............144
003 K Harvick.............118
004 M Kenseth.............112
005 J Gordon..............105
006 J Johnson.............103
007 Ku Busch..............080
008 C Bowyer..............076
009 D Hamlin..............073
010 D Earnhardt...........069
-----------------------------------
011 M Ambrose.............053
012 R Newman..............051
013 JP Montoya............046
014 T Stewart.............042
015 B Keselowski..........041

[slorydn1]

001 C Edwards.............161
002 Ky Busch..............154
003 M Kenseth.............130
004 K Harvick.............124
005 J Gordon..............113
006 J Johnson.............103
007 Ku Busch..............080
008 C Bowyer..............076
009 D Hamlin..............073
010 D Earnhardt...........069
-----------------------------------
011 D Ragan...............065
012 M Ambrose.............053
t13 K Kahne...............051
t13 R Newman..............051
015 JP Montoya............048

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............179
002 C Edwards.............171
003 M Kenseth.............138
004 K Harvick.............124
005 J Johnson.............118
006 J Gordon..............114
007 Ku Busch..............082
008 C Bowyer..............076
009 D Hamlin..............073
t10 D Ragan...............069
t10 D Earnhardt...........069
-----------------------------------
012 R Newman..............063
013 M Ambrose.............053
014 K Kahne...............051
015 JP Montoya............048

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............179
002 C Edwards.............171
003 M Kenseth.............138
004 J Johnson.............128
005 K Harvick.............124
006 J Gordon..............114
t07 D Hamlin..............088
t07 R Newman..............088
009 Ku Busch..............083
010 C Bowyer..............076
----------------------------------
t11 D Ragan...............069
t11 D Earnhardt...........069
013 T Stewart.............060
014 K Kahne...............059
015 M Ambrose.............055

Never thought I would see the day when the "Dart without feathers" would be ahead of Tony Stewart in these standings this far into the season.

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............180
002 C Edwards.............171
003 M Kenseth.............148
004 J Gordon..............132
005 J Johnson.............128
006 K Harvick.............124
t07 D Hamlin..............088
t07 R Newman..............088
009 Ku Busch..............083
010 C Bowyer..............076
----------------------------------
t11 D Ragan...............069
t11 D Earnhardt...........069
013 T Stewart.............068
014 P Menard..............063
015 K Kahne...............059

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............198
002 C Edwards.............177
003 M Kenseth.............148
t04 J Gordon..............140
t04 J Johnson.............140
006 K Harvick.............124
t07 R Newman..............098
t07 Ku Busch..............098
009 D Hamlin..............088
010 C Bowyer..............076
----------------------------------
011 B Keselowski..........074
012 D Earnhardt...........071
013 D Ragan...............069
014 T Stewart.............068
015 P Menard..............064

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............213
002 C Edwards.............177
003 M Kenseth.............148
004 J Johnson.............141
005 J Gordon..............140
006 K Harvick.............132
t07 R Newman..............098
t07 Ku Busch..............098
009 B Keselowski..........092
010 D Hamlin..............088
----------------------------------
011 M Ambrose.............080
012 C Bowyer..............076
013 D Earnhardt...........071
014 D Ragan...............069
015 T Stewart.............068


Shrub starting to leg out a bit of a lead now. Just for comparison purposes after 22 races:

2010 Harvick over Johnson 196-180
2009 Tstew over Johnson 245-184 :eek: (BIG choke by Tstew over final 14 races)
2008 Ky Busch over Edwards 273-206 :eek: (EVEN BIGGER choke by Shrub)
2007 J Gordon over Johnson 263-197 :eek: (I'm seeing a trend developing here)
2006 J Johnson over Kenseth 213-187
2005 Tstew over Johnson 218-182
2004 Johnson over Gordon 242-216
2003 Kenseth over Junebug 188-184
2002 Tstew over Kenseth 175-162
2001 J Gordon over Jarrett 271-172

I went back to 2001 because a) that was the first of the 36 race seasons and b) Watkins Glen was race 22 all of those seasons.

Interesting trends?

From 2001-2006 (the 3rd full season of the Chase) the leader in the FIA standings after the Glen went on to win the FIA cup (which we established elsewhere is not always the same as the real champion for various reasons).

2006 was the LAST year that the leader after 22 races won the FIA cup-some even had some pretty substantial leads.

I'm beginning to believe what people say is true about drivers racing "to the system" in any given season.

I'm also beginning to believe that the Chase in and of itself hasn't caused the BIG change in the way drivers handle a season-it was the expansion of the Chase field from 10 drivers to 12 in 2007. This seems to have fostered a sense of "mediocrity until Richmond" can still get it done-that all one has to do is hang around and be near the top 10 going into Richmond-risky because a bad race at Richmond can do one in-but it makes the first 20-22 races meaningless.

Now we have this Bri-Bri deal. I do like the win bonus component of it-but it seems all this Wild Card deal has done is foster even MORE mediocrity during the season. Sure-we now have Kez with 2 wins, who has really stepped it up over the last few weeks. But prior to Pocono he didn't stand an ice cube's chance in hell of making the chase, languishing in the 20's in points. But now that he has 2 wins he can basicly just back his way in-and then all he has to do is stay real consistent after that and then 2011 will make 2004 look like a good result (real champion wise).

Kevin Harvick stated that he learned his lesson from last year that being good all year doesn't mean squat so his team has adopted the "48" strategy of throwing away the summer as a long test session-and his race by race results bear that out this year.

Remember-he finished p42 in the Daytona 500 due to a blown motor. It took him all the way until the Coke 600 to catch back up to Cuz in points-the penalty for a bad finish is even WORSE now than it was before. So even though there is a bonus winning races all one needs to do is finish poorly once and that person is basicly done in the chase.
SO once the chase starts, the good old fashioned points racing will commence once again, and will probably be even worse than before. It's just too risky to make that push for that last lap pass or take that fuel gamble (Denny).

That's why I really love the FIA system. The difference between p11 and p43 is zero. Even the greatest of the great (Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, Earnhardt Sr, Gordon, Johnson) finish p11 or p12 several times over a season-over a championship season. You don't need to have the big 1st lap or engine blowing on lap 25 of a 200 lap race to score low-just have the handling go away over the last 10 laps or so and Driver X has a decent chance to take a chunk out of Driver Y's lead-a lead that has been built up over an entire season. I love it.

Now, yes, there will be some really boring years, too. I'm talking about years that the championship being decided by race 30 or 31. Its up to the field as a whole to keep that from happening, though. And with today's competition level it gets less and less likely that will happen every year.

Remember, this is the basic tenant I go by when watching racing as a whole. We as fans are not (and should not be) guarenteed an exiting run to the championship every year. It's what makes those truly exiting finishes special and memorable. Like DW erasing a 200+ point deficit one year back in the 80's to win the championship, or Dale Sr ALMOST duplicating that feat in 1995 against Jeff Gordon. He didn't get it done, but he sure as hell made it interesting towards the end.

I guess I just miss the days when a race in and of itself meant something, and the championship was just a nice added bonus at the end of the year. Racing as a whole (not just NASCAR and the chase) has become all about the championship-each race just an obstacle on that road to it. Be it F1, Indy Car, ALMS, Grand-Am, or NASCAR, its all about that Championship now-a race no longer matters. That's not any points systems fault, that's just the way it is. You could offer a million points to the winner and Zero to p2 and it will still be all about that championship at the end of the year-that's just the way the marketers and media wants it.

That's what made Ambrose's win at the Glen even more special, for me anyway. Yeah I wanted Harvick to somehow teleport his car up to the front on that last retstart but since that wasnt possible Ambrose winning the race was very satisfying to me.

Yeah he said all the "right" things in his Sportcenter interview after the race, about thinking about the possibilty of winning another race and getting into the chase, etc etc. But he knows down deep inside that he really never have a real chance at winning the Sprint Cup. For him it was all about winning this race, and has been all about winning this race. Now it's all about him winning another race. For my guy Harv, its all about winning the Sprint Cup, and winning more races would be a nice way to get there, but a bunch of p2's and p3's will be almost as good to get him there. Same with Shrub, Kes, Jeffroleum, Whinesth (dont ask) Sniffle, Tstew, Unibrow, Junebug, Hammy and insert your other favorite perennial front runner here.

I got a little long winded, I know. I really just wanted to point out that trend-got a little carried away. So there you have it, now have at it.

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............238
002 C Edwards.............179
003 J Johnson.............171
004 J Gordon..............163
005 M Kenseth.............157
t06 B Keselowski..........132
t06 K Harvick.............132
008 R Newman..............112
009 Ku Busch..............098
010 D Hamlin..............094
----------------------------------
011 M Ambrose.............081
012 C Bowyer..............080
013 D Earnhardt...........071
014 T Stewart.............070
015 D Ragan...............069

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............238
t02 J Johnson.............189
t02 C Edwards.............189
004 J Gordon..............188
005 M Kenseth.............159
006 B Keselowski..........140
007 K Harvick.............138
008 R Newman..............112
009 Ku Busch..............010
010 D Hamlin..............098
----------------------------------
011 T Stewart.............085
012 M Ambrose.............081
013 C Bowyer..............080
014 D Earnhardt...........071
015 D Ragan...............069

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............246
002 C Edwards.............207
003 J Gordon..............203
004 J Johnson.............189
005 K Harvick.............163
006 M Kenseth.............159
007 B Keselowski..........140
008 Ku Busch..............120
009 R Newman..............116
010 D Hamlin..............100
----------------------------------
011 T Stewart.............091
t12 M Ambrose.............081
t12 D Ragan...............081
014 C Bowyer..............080
015 D Earnhardt...........071


For comparison purposes, this is what it looked like coming outta Richmond last year:


001 K Harvick.........223
002 J Johnson.........210
003 D Hamlin..........206
004 Ku Busch..........177
005 Ky Busch..........167
006 J Gordon..........159
007 T Stewart.........142
008 J McMurray........141
009 C Edwards.........125
010 J Montoya.........109
__________________________
011 G Biffle..........107
012 J Burton..........102
t13 C Bowyer..........098
014 K Kahne...........090
015 M Kenseth.........083

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............246
002 C Edwards.............219
003 J Gordon..............203
004 J Johnson.............190
005 K Harvick.............181
006 M Kenseth.............159
007 B Keselowski..........150
008 Ku Busch..............128
009 R Newman..............120
010 T Stewart.............116
----------------------------------
011 D Hamlin..............100
t12 C Bowyer..............086
t12 D Earnhardt...........086
t14 M Ambrose.............081
t14 D Ragan...............081


Just for comparison purposes, this is what it looked like coming outta Race 27 last year:


001 K Harvick.........233
002 D Hamlin..........224
003 J Johnson.........210
004 Ku Busch..........177
005 Ky Busch..........175
006 J Gordon..........167
007 J McMurray........156
008 T Stewart.........142
009 C Edwards.........125
010 C Bowyer..........123
__________________________
011 J Montoya.........109
012 G Biffle..........107
013 J Burton..........102
014 K Kahne...........090
015 M Kenseth.........083

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............246
002 C Edwards.............223
003 J Gordon..............215
004 J Johnson.............190
005 K Harvick.............181
006 B Keselowski..........168
007 M Kenseth.............167
008 T Stewart.............141
009 Ku Busch..............128
010 R Newman..............120
----------------------------------
011 D Hamlin..............100
012 D Ragan...............087
t13 C Bowyer..............086
t13 D Earnhardt...........086
015 M Ambrose.............081


For comparison only, this is what it looked like after 28 races in 2010:


001 J Johnson.........235
002 K Harvick.........233
003 D Hamlin..........226
004 Ku Busch..........189
005 Ky Busch..........183
006 J Gordon..........167
007 J McMurray........156
008 T Stewart.........142
009 C Edwards.........135
010 C Bowyer..........123
__________________________
011 J Burton..........120
012 J Montoya.........109
013 G Biffle..........107
014 K Kahne...........090
015 M Kenseth.........083

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............254
002 C Edwards.............238
003 J Gordon..............215
004 J Johnson.............208
005 K Harvick.............182
006 M Kenseth.............177
007 B Keselowski..........168
008 Ku Busch..............153
008 T Stewart.............141
010 R Newman..............120
----------------------------------
011 D Hamlin..............100
012 C Bowyer..............090
013 D Ragan...............087
014 D Earnhardt...........086
015 M Ambrose.............083

Hamlin down to Ambrose are facing elmination at Kansas.

In full season Bri-Bri points, It's Carl Edwards over Jimmie Johnson by just 4 points (997-993). FIA leader Kyle Busch is p3 just 12 points back (985). Chase Leader Kevin Harvick is p4, 20 pts back (977).

In the Chase, Its Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards tied at 2122. FIA Leader Kyle Busch is P8 (2107), 15 points back.

The real life Chase and Full Season Bri-Bri points standings can be found at the bottom of this page:

2011 AAA 400 - Racing-Reference.info (http://www.racing-reference.info/race/2011_AAA_400/W)

Last years FIA standings coming out of race 29 looked like this:


001 J Johnson.........253
002 K Harvick.........248
003 D Hamlin..........226
004 Ku Busch..........189
005 Ky Busch..........183
006 J Gordon..........177
007 J McMurray........156
008 T Stewart.........154
009 C Edwards.........143
010 G Biffle..........132
__________________________
011 C Bowyer..........123
012 J Burton..........120
013 J Montoya.........109
014 K Kahne...........090
015 M Kenseth.........089

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............254
002 C Edwards.............248
003 J Johnson.............233
004 J Gordon..............215
005 K Harvick.............190
006 M Kenseth.............189
007 B Keselowski..........183
008 Ku Busch..............153
008 T Stewart.............141
010 R Newman..............120
----------------------------------
011 D Hamlin..............100
012 C Bowyer..............096
013 K Kahne...............095
014 D Ragan...............087
015 D Earnhardt...........086


Hamlin down to Junebug are eliminated, and Newman is facing elimination at Charlotte.

In full season Bri-Bri it's Jimmie Johnson over Carl Edwards by 5 (1041-1036).

In the Chase it's Carl Edwards over Kevin Harvick by 1 (2161-2160)

Top 20 in both maybe found at the bottom of this page:
2011 Hollywood Casino 400 - Racing-Reference.info (http://www.racing-reference.info/race/2011_Hollywood_Casino_400/W)

For Comparison, this is what the FIA standings looked like after 30 races in 2010:


001 J Johnson.........268
002 K Harvick.........254
003 D Hamlin..........230
004 Ku Busch..........189
005 Ky Busch..........183
t06 T Stewart.........179
t06 J Gordon..........179
008 J McMurray........156
009 C Edwards.........143
010 C Bowyer..........141
_______________________
011 G Biffle..........132
012 J Burton..........120
013 J Montoya.........109
014 K Kahne...........102
015 M Kenseth.........089

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............272
002 C Edwards.............263
003 J Johnson.............233
004 J Gordon..............215
005 M Kenseth.............214
006 K Harvick.............198
007 B Keselowski..........183
008 Ku Busch..............153
009 T Stewart.............145
010 R Newman..............121
----------------------------------
011 K Kahne...............107
012 D Hamlin..............102
013 C Bowyer..............096
014 M Ambrose.............095
015 D Ragan...............087


Newman and Tstew are eliminated, and Kurt Busch is on his way to the showers after Talladega. Junebug has fallen out of the top 15 entirely.

For Comparison-this is what it looked like with 5 to go in 2010:


001 J Johnson.........283
002 K Harvick.........258
003 D Hamlin..........242
004 Ky Busch..........201
005 Ku Busch..........189
006 J McMurray........181
t07 T Stewart.........179
t07 J Gordon..........179
009 C Edwards.........143
010 G Biffle..........142
________________________
011 C Bowyer..........141
012 J Burton..........120
013 J Montoya.........109
014 K Kahne...........102
015 M Kenseth.........097

In full season Bri-Bri, Jimmie's wreck at Charlotte has probably finished him off for the title here, too, although he's better off than he is in the Chase. Right now its Carl Edwards (1078) by 15 over Kyle Busch (1063) and 25 over Kevin Harvick (1053). Unibrow is back to p4 26 markers out of first (1052).

In the Chase, it's Carl Edwards (2203) by 5 over Harv (2198) going into Talladega. No wonder when told he only lost 4 points to Cuz at Charlotte he exclaimed on the radio "ITS ON!!"

As we get closer to the end of the season we seem to be on the brink between the 18th Triple Crown Season since 1975(the last being 2009) or the 4th season with 3 different champions (2004 was the last time that occured). Right now I'm leaning towards the 3 different champion scenario and let me tell you why:

With just 5 races to go, even though Shrub has a slim 11 point lead in the FIA standings, I feel like he will be able to do just enough to stay on top there, as the reality of Cuz's slim Chase lead will have him doing things to protect his points lead and not really going for it, whereas Shrub has nothing to lose anymore. Harvick is just too far back and isnt a terror for reeling off the 3 or 4 wins in a row neccesary to catch back up-and Uni is in the situation that he's most dangerous, too. Kenseth has a shot, but he's in the same boat as Cuz and Harv in real life-protection mode.

In the full season Bri I think Cuz's lead is just insurmountable at this stage of the game-he would really have to choke now to be overtaken in the last 5-or Shrub and Harv would have to dominate the rest of the way, and I'm just not seeing it.

In the Chase-Harvick and Kenseth are VERY REAL threats to Cuz at this point, and its still way too close to call. JJ is way down in p8 with 5 to go AND 35 back (which is like 143 back in old money). Now the points in and of themselves arent IMPOSSIBLE to make up-it can be done. BUT all 7 drivers in front of him will have to have major issues at the same time that the 2007 Jimmie Johnson all of a sudden surfaces-and I'm just not feeling it this year for him, sorry 48 fans.

[slorydn1]

001 Ky Busch..............272
002 C Edwards.............263
003 J Johnson.............233
004 J Gordon..............215
005 M Kenseth.............214
006 K Harvick.............198
007 B Keselowski..........195
008 Ku Busch..............153
009 T Stewart.............151
010 R Newman..............121
----------------------------------
013 C Bowyer..............121
011 K Kahne...............115
012 D Hamlin..............106
014 M Ambrose.............095
015 D Ragan...............087

Top 6 all failed to score. Harv and Kes facing elmination at Martinsville.

[slorydn1]

001 C Edwards.............319
002 Ky Busch..............272
003 J Johnson.............251
004 J Gordon..............248
005 T Stewart.............241
006 M Kenseth.............226
007 K Harvick.............214
008 B Keselowski..........195
009 K Kahne...............161
010 Ku Busch..............153
---------------------------------
t11 R Newman..............132
011 C Bowyer..............132
012 D Hamlin..............118
014 M Ambrose.............099
015 D Earnhardt Jr........098
016 D Ragan...............087
017 M Truex...............076
t18 P Menard..............066
t18 G Biffle..............066
020 J Logano..............061
021 J Montoya.............056
022 R Smith...............051
023 M Martin..............046
024 AJ Allmendinger.......045
025 J Burton..............041
026 B Vickers.............037
027 J Mcmurray............030
028 D Reutimann...........026
029 T Bayne...............025
030 B Labonte.............018
031 D Gilliand............017
032 D Blaney..............015
033 M Waltrip.............002

We did end up with a split, but not a 4 way (thanks to Jory Fleischauer at phatstats.blogspot.com we also have the Winston Cup Points standings).

Carl Edwards finished strong with 3 straight p2's to end the sesson, and who could have forseen Shrub's COMPLETE meltdown at the end of the season-guess he stood to close to Smoke's flames, lol. Cuz ended up winning the FIA Cup by 47 over Shrub 319-272) or almost a full 2 race margin.

Cuz also dominated the full season Bri-Bri by 78 over Kevin Harvick (1278-1200) again almost a 2 race margin.

Cuz destroyed the field in the Winston Cup standings, beating Jimmie Johnson by 277 points (5193-4916).

And, of course,, Tstew won the Chase on a freakin TIEBREAKER over Cuz 2403-2403, which has the media oooooohinhg and ahhhhing over the "closet finish in nascar-no wait, racing history!!!!"

Thanks, Bri-Bri, another contrived finish to an otherwise dominating season and the driver that got it done all year long loses to the guy that only shows up at the end. :blackeye:


Congrats to Carl Edwards, The 2011 FIA, Bri-Bri, and Winston Cup Champion :beer: :beer: :beer:

Congrats to Tony Stewart, the 2011 Sprint Cup Series Champion :beer:

Chase and Bri-Bri standings: 2011 Ford 400 - Racing-Reference.info (http://www.racing-reference.info/race/2011_Ford_400/W)

Winston Cup Standings: Phat's Stats - NASCAR Points Analytics: Classic Points System - 2011 Final Standings (http://phatstats.blogspot.com/2011/11/classic-points-system-2011-final.html)