Best Moments: 2017 NASCAR Season in Review

Well the 2017 NASCAR season has come to a close and, boy, was there some excitement. We had first time champs in all 3 of the national touring series', Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne ended winless droughts of over 100 races, and 3 first time Cup winners. We had 2 sons of former Cup drivers win the K&N Pro Series titles, teammates feuding, and Parker Kligerman won a race? We had slide jobs, bump and runs, and a controversial "dump" and run that put Austin Cindric in victory lane in Canada.

Without any further ado, let's take a look back at the 10 best moments of the 2017 season:

10. Welcome Back, Bubba

It was an up and down season for Darrell "Bubba" Wallace, Jr. After a 33rd place finish at the Xfinity season opener in Daytona, he followed it up with 5 consecutive 6th place finishes and moved up to 4th in points. When Aric Almirola injured his back at Dover in June, it was Bubba that got the call to fill in for him. It was a dream come true for the 23 year old, but with that announcement also came the announcement that he was losing his Xfinity ride with Roush Fenway Racing due to lack of sponsorship. Bubba ran 4 Cup races with Richard Petty Motorsports, improving his finishing position in each race, capping it off with an 11th place run at Kentucky in July. After that, he had nothing. A month later, Wallace got the call from Matthew Miller of MDM Motorsports for a 1 race deal to race their truck at Michigan. Bubba made the most out of this 1 race effort by qualifying 9th and working his way to the front. With 11 laps to go he took the lead and didn't look back, holding off Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch for the win. 

Despite only running one more race on the season (Xfinity race at Chicago), Bubba's season ended on a high note as he was announced as the full-time driver of the Richard Petty Motorsports #43 in 2018.

9. Happy Father's Day

It's always fun watching 2nd or 3rd or even 4th generation drivers work their way up the NASCAR ranks. There are quite a few of them out there right now and one of the most talented is John Hunter Nemechek, son of Joe Nemechek. This season was particularly fun to watch the Nemechek's as both ran the full Truck schedule as teammates for the family owned NEMCO Motorsports. Now Joe didn't really compete and essentially ran as a field filler just to pick up additional funding for John Hunter's truck, which often times raced without full sponsorship. 

The Truck Series hit up Gateway Motorsports Park on Father's Day weekend and John Hunter showed off his speed by qualifying 2nd. He immediately took the lead and led the first 39 laps, winning Stage 1. Joe, who dropped out of the race after 2 laps due to a "vibration" had taken a seat on his son's pit box. After restarting 3rd with 11 laps to go, John Hunter made his move to the front and passed Matt Crafton for the lead with 6 to go. Chase Briscoe, the polesitter, was coming on strong though after pitting for 4 tires and went from 6th with 5 to go, to being 3rd just a half second behind at the white flag. Fortunately for Nemechek, Briscoe and Christopher Bell made contact, slowing them both down, and John Hunter captured the victory. 

During the victory celebration, a tearful Joe Nemechek informed the pit reporter that they came into this race without sponsorship to for the rest of the season and didn't know if they would be able to run the next week. The win secured sponsorship for John Hunter for the rest of the year and he even followed up that win by winning again the next race at Iowa.

8. Money Well Spent

Speaking of Iowa...the Xfinity race at Iowa in July had one of the most thrilling finishes of the year. 26 year old Ryan Preece was making his 2nd, and final, scheduled start for Joe Gibbs Racing. Preece had made a name for himself in NASCAR's Whelen Modified division by finishing 2nd in the points at the age of 18. He won the championship at age 22 and finished 2nd in points 3 more times. In 2016 he decided to make the jump to the Xfinity Series, but his limited funding could only land him a full-time ride with the low level JD Motorsports. He had 1 Top 10 (10th at Darlington) and only a handful of Top 20's and finished 17th in points. 

For 2017 Ryan decided to take a different approach. Instead of using his limited funding for a full-time schedule with a bad team, he would use it for a part-time schedule with a top tier team. What it got him was a 2 race deal with JGR. He had an impressive 2nd place finish at Loudon in his first race before coming to Iowa. Interestingly enough, his teammate, Kyle Benjamin, was a 19 year old in a similar situation. Benjamin had multiple wins as a teenager in the K&N Pro Series East and the ARCA Series, but had a limited race deal with JGR for 2017. Benjamin was making his 4th, and final, scheduled start for JGR as well. Unfortunately for Benjamin, his first 3 starts did not go well with finishes of 32nd, 16th, and 31st. 

As fate would have it, this race would come down to these 2 competitors. They qualified 1-2 with Preece on the pole. Preece led the first 63 laps, winning Stage 1, before Benjamin took over the lead. With 78 to go Preece got back to the lead and it came down to an overtime restart with the JGR teammates running 1st and 2nd. Benjamin gave it his all, but it was Preece's day, winning by .054 seconds. The win gave Ryan Preece 2 more opportunities with JGR, which he capitalized on with 2 more Top 5's, and he will get to run at least 10 races for JGR next season. Benjamin also got another run with JGR in 2017, finishing 12th at Kentucky.

7. Return of the 3

The Coca-Cola 600 has been known to produce a surprise winner from time to time. It is also not rare for the race to come down to fuel strategy. That's exactly what happened this year. 

Yet again, Martin Truex Jr. appeared to be the dominant car at Charlotte and even a nearly 2 hour red flag for rain wasn't enough to slow him down, but when Truex pitted under green with 34 to go the fuel strategy came into play and in the closing laps it was Jimmie Johnson ahead with Austin Dillon not far behind. Johnson's gamble failed as he ran out of fuel with 3 to go and surrendered the lead to Dillon. All eyes were on the #3 to see if he had enough fuel, and, to add more drama, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. were closing fast. In the end it was Dillon who snagged the victory. It was his first career win and for the first time in 17 years, the #3 car went to victory lane.

6. Public Enemy #11

Short tracks are always a place where tempers flare and the playoff race at Martinsville was no different. With a guaranteed spot in the Championship 4 at Miami on the line no playoff driver was giving an inch. Chase Elliott came into the race at the bottom of the playoff standings and after 3 runner up finishes in the previous 6 races, was extremely hungry for that first career victory. Elliott came on strong in the 2nd half of the race taking the lead for the first time on lap 325 and leading 123 of the final 180 laps. He appeared to have the victory in hand going into turn 3 with 3 to go, but Denny Hamlin had other plans. Hamlin drove hard into turn 3 and ran into the back of the #24, jacked up his rear wheels, and spun Chase out. The Martinsville, Virginia crowd began to boo the Virginia native. On the ensuing restart, however, karma was served as Denny's own teammate, Kyle Busch, roughed him up to take the lead. Hamlin became a pinball being bounced around by Clint Bowyer and Ryan Blaney before finally going around and causing a melee on the front stretch as the checkered flag flew. After the carnage was sorted out, Hamlin began to drive away when Chase Elliott caught up to him and sandwiched him into the wall. Both drivers got out of their cars and began to jaw at each other and the crowd cheered loudly for Elliott, leaving no doubt that the son of a 16 time Most Popular Driver would take over the reigns as NASCAR's new Most Popular driver in 2018.

5. Revenge in the Desert/One Last Time for Old Time's Sake

Just 2 weeks after the sparks flew at Martinsville, NASCAR hit the desert for racing at Phoenix. Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr. had already clinched their positions in the Championship 4, leaving 5 drivers battling for the 1 remaining spot. For Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson the plan was simple, win and you're in. Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin both needed to have a good race, but also needed Brad Keselowski to struggle a bit. Brad Keselowski was certainly struggling, and Denny Hamlin was having a good race. Johnson's day ended early when he crashed due to a flat tire, and Chase Elliott was in and out of the lead up front. With 50 to go it seemed like 1 of 2 things would happen. Either Chase Elliott would win his way in or Denny Hamlin would point his way in. Hamlin made a bold move taking the shortcut through the dog leg to get around Elliott, but Elliott wasn't backing down and had not forgotten the events from 2 weeks prior. Chase caught Hamlin and let him know he was there with his front bumper, eventually getting him loose off of turn 4. Elliott didn't just pass Denny, though, he made sure he drifted up the track and put Denny in the wall. Just a few laps later Hamlin cut a tire and slammed into the wall, ending his championship hopes. Chase grabbed the lead on the restart and again, it looked as if Chase was bound to get his first career victory. Matt Kenseth had other plans, though. After announcing earlier in the week that he would be taking a break from driving in 2018 after losing his ride at JGR to Erik Jones, Kenseth ran down Elliott and passed him with 10 to go. Kenseth would hold on to win the race, most likely the last of his career. In his post race interview, the driver who rarely ever showed any emotion at the track during his 18 year career, couldn't fight back the tears. And in a very classy move, Chase Elliott was one of the first drivers to congratulate him in victory lane.

4. Cinderella in Wisconsin

Over the years road course racing has provided some of the finest, most thrilling, finishes in NASCAR, and not just at the Cup level. Since the Xfinity Series began racing at Road America in 2010 we have seen Reed Sorenson, Nelson Piquet Jr., A.J. Allmendinger, Brendan Gaughan, Paul Menard, and Michael McDowell all go to victory lane. For Piquet and McDowell, it was their first, and thus far only, win at this level. 

Early on it was Australian road course expert James Davison driving for JGR who was looking to steal the show, but he was unfortunately caught up in an incident halfway through the race ending his day. Daniel Hemric also showed promise leading 10 laps and winning Stage 2, but faded in the end. The race came down to 2 drivers. Jeremy Clements, a 32 year old veteran driving for his family owned team with only a handful of Top 10's throughout his 12 year career, and Matt Tifft, the 21 year old rookie for JGR who had to step away from racing briefly in 2016 to have a brain tumor removed. 

Clements, who started 24th, had been methodically working his way through the field and took the lead for the first time with 18 laps to go. After the final round of green flag stops it was Tifft who found himself in the lead with 8 to go. Clements ran him down and took the lead with 3 to go, but Tifft wasn't done, and got him back the next lap in the 2nd to last corner. Clements then pulled a crossover move, shooting to the inside of the final turn, but drove in too hard and slid into Tifft, spinning both drivers out. As eyes began to search for Michael Annett, the 3rd place driver, Clements and Tifft both got their cars moving again, but Tifft lost more time due to his car going into the sand and Clements staying in the grass. Clements would drive off into the sunset, winning by over 5 seconds. It was his first career victory in his 256th career start.

3. Leaving it All Out on the Track

Say what you will about NASCAR's playoff system, but the one thing is does do is produce drama, and we had 50 laps of "edge of your seat" drama in the Xfinity Series finale at Homestead. 

While none of the 4 championship hopefuls led a lap at Homestead, there was some damn good racing going on in the final laps between teammates Elliott Sadler and William Byron. Byron had a good head of steam ahead of Sadler, but got too high and into the wall, allowing Sadler to catch back up. Sadler tried to take advantage of the opportunity and dove down low, but slid up the track making contact with his teammate. Both drivers came close to hitting the wall, but managed to stay off of it and Sadler was able to eventually get back and began pulling away. Once Sadler caught the #18 of Ryan Preece, however, he struggled to find a way by and Byron was back on his bumper. The 2 drivers went side by side into the turn and Byron, using Preece as a pick, had the advantage. This time is was Sadler who pushed too hard and got into the wall. Byron got around Preece, but Sadler never did and Byron went on to win the Championship. Sadler went on to show his displeasure with Preece, confronting him after the race. In his post race interview Sadler was upset that a driver who had nothing to race for cost him a championship. Unbeknownst to Sadler, perhaps, was the fact that Preece was battling Byron for the owner's championship.

2. Sin City Brawl

The final 2 laps at Las Vegas were spectacular and this one I had the pleasure of being able to watch live and in person. Martin Truex Jr., who had won both Stage 1 & 2, trailed Brad Keselowski coming to 2 to go when something broke in Keselowski's car. Brad lost speed and the lead to Truex and Martin would go on to win the race, becoming the first driver to win all 3 Stages.

That wasn't all, though. Perhaps the biggest rivalry in NASCAR over the past few years has been between Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing. Coming down the backstretch on the final lap Joey Logano and Kyle Busch were running side by side with Logano on the inside. Keselowski's ailing car was up ahead in the outside line and Joey intended to use his teammate as a pick. Rather than back off and give the position to Logano, Busch took a sharp left into the #22 to avoid Keselowski. Logano drove hard into turn 3 and slid up the track into Busch, spinning him out. Whether the slide was intentional or Joey just getting loose remains unknown, but it was enough to anger the short-tempered Busch. After the race Kyle sprinted down pit lane to find Logano huddled around his crew. Busch snuck into the group and threw a right hook that appeared to land squarely on Logano's jaw (although Logano denies it connected). The team Penske crew immediately wrestled Busch to the ground and he emerged from the pile with blood streaming down his face from a cut on his forehead.

1. Story Book Ending

For 25 years the 1992 Winston Cup finale at Atlanta has been considered the best finish in NASCAR history. Davey Allison went into the race with a 30 point advantage over Alan Kulwicki and a 40 point lead over Bill Elliott. When Allison was involved in a crash with 75 to go it opened the door for an epic showdown between Elliott and Kulwicki. Elliott won the race, but Kulwicki led 1 more lap than Elliott, giving him 5 bonus points for leading the most laps. Had Kulwicki led 2 fewer laps, Elliott would have received those 5 points, making it a 10 point swing. Kulwicki, who owned his own single car team, ended up winning the title by 10 points. The race was also known for being Richard Petty's final race and it was the debut for a young rookie named Jeff Gordon. 

The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at finale might come to rival that someday. Not only was it a winner take all format for the Championship 4, but it was also a farewell 3 of NASCAR's biggest names: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Matt Kenseth, and Danica Patrick. 

While Danica may not have had the results over her career to justify her staying in the Cup Series, she has been great for the sport and has opened doors for many other female drivers trying to make a name for themselves. Years from now when a woman finally wins a race in NASCAR's top division we will look back and say that Danica paved the way. Unfortunately, Danica's day ended early with a crash on lap 139 and the disappointment and sadness in her eyes in voice in her interview was truly heartbreaking. She made not be done yet, though, as she intends on attempting to qualify for next year's Daytona 500.

Matt Kenseth didn't have a whole lot of fanfare entering the race. His win the previous week at Phoenix pretty much said it all as the primary focus at Homestead was on Dale Jr.. Kenseth had a solid day, finishing 8th, and went out quietly and gracefully, which is pretty much how he raced his whole career.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was all smiles pre-race, soaking it all in. His goal was to run all the laps, which he did (ok, he actually finished 1 lap down, but we'll give it to him). The emotions didn't come until after the race, when he gave his helmet to Rick Hendrick, who has been like a father to Dale since the passing of his dad in 2001, and the 2 embraced each other in a big bear hug for what seemed to last for minutes. It was the end of the road for NASCAR's 14-time (soon to be 15-time) Most Popular Driver.

But the greatest story of all is that of Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR's true "nice guy". Kyle Busch had made a statement earlier in the year that nice guys don't win in NASCAR. Truex, who made a remark at Talladega that he never wins there because he's not "a big enough jerk" (which I believe was a direct shot at Busch), proved him wrong. 

It really is the stuff movies are made out of. Truex, a protégé of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., came to the Cup series 2006 after winning back to back championships in what is now the Xfinity Series. After Dale Jr. left DEI in 2008, the team fell apart. In 2010, Truex got a 2nd chance when he moved to Michael Waltrip Racing. He struggled the first year, but progressively got better and won his 2nd career race in 2013. Things were looking great until the Clint Bowyer controversy where he spun himself out at Richmond to help Truex make the Chase. NASCAR came down hard on the team, Truex's sponsor (NAPA) pulled out, and Martin was left without a ride. 

Barney Visser started up his Furniture Row Racing, based out of his hometown Denver, CO, in 2005, by running 10 Xfinity races and 2 Cup races. The team attempted full-time Cup racing for the first time in 2008 with Joe Nemechek as the driver, but struggled with only 3 Top 20 finishes and a best of 11th at Talladega. In 2009 they went back to part-time with new driver Regan Smith and had 3 more Top 20's. They went back to full-time racing in 2010 and in the 2011 Daytona 500 got their first Top 10 when Smith finished 7th. Everything changed for the team on May 7th, 2011 when, miraculously, Regan Smith piloted the #78 to victory lane at the Southern 500 at Darlington, the team's first win. He picked up another Top 5 at Indy and finished the year with 5 Top 10 finishes. Smith was having another solid year in 2012, but Visser had an opportunity fall into his lap when Kurt Busch was released from Team Penske with 6 races to go in the season. Visser replaced Smith with Busch and Busch picked up as many Top 10's in those 6 races as Smith did in the first 30. Busch came back in 2013 and the team had 11 Top 5's and 16 Top 10's (Both team records) and made the Chase for the first time. Busch then left to join Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 leaving Furniture Row searching for a new driver.

The timing was perfect for both parties. Both Truex and Furniture Row were coming off career best seasons and there was a lot of excitement when they paired up. The first year was a struggle with only 1 Top 5 and just 5 Top 10's, and to make things worse, Truex's longtime partner, Sherry Pollex, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Visser told Truex he could take leave to be with her and the seat would be his when he returned, but both Pollex and Truex agreed he should continue racing. In 2015 Truex was paired with new crew chief Cole Pearn and they started off the next season with 14 Top 10's in the first 15 races, including a win at Pocono. The team won a company high 4 races in 2016, and seemed poised to potentially win a championship, but an engine failure at Talladega eliminated him from contention.

Many eyes were on Truex and the #78 team entering this season. The team was dominant, winning 4 races in the regular season and racking up the playoff points. The season did not come without adversity, though. In early July Sherry Pollex's cancer returned and she began treatment again. Truex won the very next race at Kentucky. In August, 4 days before the race at Watkins Glen, Cole Pearn lost his best friend unexpectedly to a bacterial infection. Truex answered by winning the race. On October 21st, the night before the playoff race at Kansas, Furniture Row Racing's fabricator, Jim Watson, died suddenly of a heart attack. The next day, Truex won the race. On November 4th, Barney Visser suffered a heart attack and underwent bypass surgery 2 days later. He was not able to travel with the team for the final 3 races of the season. There would be no denying Truex this year and nothing stopped him at Homestead. Truex didn't have the best car at Homestead, but he had the best team and he was able to hold off Kyle Busch to win his 8th race of the season and the championship, proving once and for all, that nice guys can finish first.