tool name
closeNASCAR 2007: Good guy finishes first
MIKE BRUDENELL / Detroit Free Press
Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007
At last we can refer to 10-race winner Jimmie Johnson as the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, after he took a virtual stranglehold on the title weeks ago.
Well done, Jimmie. Your second consecutive title, which you celebrated at Homestead on Sunday, is a plus for racing and professional sport. We all have a few skeletons in the closet, but yours don't rattle all that often. Nice to know some good guys still finish first.
Looking back at the 36-race NASCAR season, here are some thoughts on an intriguing year and some other people and events that made it one to remember:
• Nothing topped Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s announcement that he would leave DEI and join Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. A case of bye-bye, Teresa, and hello, brave new world.
• Speaking of good-byes, best wishes and thanks a million to NASCAR ironman Ricky Rudd and team owner Robert Yates, who will retire after distinguished careers.
• The mysterious disappearance of Kasey Kahne, who had six Cup wins in 2006 and not a single victory this season, in which he finished 19th in points.
• The end, for the moment anyway, of open-wheel racing at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn with the Indy Racing League and the speedway unable to agree on a date in 2008. We hope an agreement can be reached for its return.
• The astonishing rookie performance of England's Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), who should be this year's Formula One champion but for a couple of mistakes late in the season. He's the favorite to win the title in 2008.
• Another "almost" season from Danica Patrick (Andretti Green Racing), who has come so close to winning in the IRL but remains without a victory. Her doubters continue to grow, but if you think she'll lose focus, you're wrong.
• F1 spying and cheating episodes involving the Ferrari and McLaren teams. The horror of it all!
• The effort of Kyle Busch (Hendrick Motorsports) to finish fifth in the Chase for the Championship after being dumped by the team for 2008. He can be a royal pain in the butt, but they don't come much gamer or better.
• Michael Waltrip's fall from grace at Daytona in February when he was caught breaking the rules and couldn't talk his way out of it.
• Toyota's season-long struggle in Nextel Cup, where they paid their dues, missed races but learned plenty. With Joe Gibbs Racing and Tony Stewart on board for 2008, expect Toyota to burst from the gates at Daytona in February.
• Finally, one Jeff Gordon, who didn't win his fifth NASCAR title this season but recorded six victories, finished second in the championship and became a father along the way. Nice going, Pops.
(c) 2007, Detroit Free Press.
Visit the Freep, the World Wide Web site of the Detroit Free Press, at http://www.freep.com.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.