-
Ricky Craven
NASCAR ended the 2018 season on a high note. For the fifth time in its five-year existence, the Championship Four formula delivered these champions: Joey Logano preceded by Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. They all became Cup champs in an undeniable fashion — by winning when it counted.
Regardless of where you weigh in on how NASCAR determines its champion, we can all acknowledge that what we witnessed Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway played out to perfection. With all four championship contenders occupying the top four spots with less than 20 laps remaining, it became a who-wants-it-most moment, and Logano and his No. 22 team responded best.
With the season in the rearview mirror, there’s plenty to reflect upon on a roller coaster of a NASCAR season. Here are my top takeaways, along with a look toward 2019.
Jimmie Johnson and a new start
The end of the season provides a much-needed break for everyone, and I can’t imagine any driver needs it more than Johnson. Having bid farewell to the only sponsor and crew chief he has known during his amazing Cup series career — along with closing out his first winless season — the offseason will prove to be a time to relax and then reboot.
Based on last season’s performance, a record eighth Cup title seems remote. But keep in mind, Logano missed the playoffs last year, so we shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss the No. 48 team.
There are two things I believe critical to Johnson’s chances in 2019.
-
1. Can he maintain the desire, dedication and work ethic that has been the trademark of his career? It will probably require more of all of the above because when Father Time takes from elements of your game, it has to be made up in other areas.
-
2. Can the No. 48 team survive a slow start to next season? The risk with a slow performance early on is that it makes it difficult to maintain morale and also retain talent. During most of its existence, the Hendrick Motorsports team has had an easy time recruiting star power from within the organization, but when the pendulum swings the other way, the momentum can be swift.
Chase Elliott might be the Hendrick team’s most-coveted driver among employees because he won three times in the second half of 2018. I expect that trend to continue. I’m not suggesting team members have the latitude to choose where they land, but I can assure you having been teammates with Jeff Gordon, it’s a very difficult environment to work in when you’re the teammate commonly getting beat.
Marcus Smith came into his own in 2018
Speedway Motorsports Inc. president and chief operating officer Marcus Smith has long lived in the shadow of his father, Bruton Smith — a creative entrepreneur who unquestionably helped build NASCAR.
Marcus Smith contributed more this year than ever before because of the creation of the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course. The whole idea was his concept and he faced enormous opposition — particularly from car owners. But Smith stayed the course and was rewarded for it. It’s safe to say most industry folks and NASCAR fans are looking forward to the track’s second act.
Like his father, Marcus has demonstrated a long-term commitment to the welfare of the sport.
Thank you, gentlemen
There are a few retirement parties to hold. It seems as if only the marquee names get celebrated on a grand scale after announcing their wishes to hang up their helmets. To that end, I say thank you to Matt Kenseth, AJ Allmendinger, Jamie McMurray, Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne.
All of these drivers have contributed to the betterment of NASCAR, and all are winners.
Monumental loss
There’s absolutely no way to sugarcoat the bitterness of NASCAR losing 2017 championship team owner Barney Visser from the ownership ranks.
It’s not that we haven’t experienced this before, because teams come and go, but never has the loss been this great. What the No. 78 team has done the past five years was inspiring. We need more team owners, or at least more “healthy teams,” in the sport.
This Colorado franchise has been a catalyst in terms of potentially creating new owners, but the team shutting down after narrowly missing out on a second consecutive title might create a greater barrier to entry for potential charter investors in terms of perception. Healthy team ownership is critical to NASCAR’s viability.
I consider it NASCAR’s tallest hurdle to clear in the next five years.
‘Whatever it takes’
We are in the midst of a culture change as it relates to how drivers capture titles going forward. If you remember back to the beginning of the season, there was a lot energy behind promoting the sport’s young talent. That marketing push created some pushback from the veterans, perhaps three of whom battled in Sunday’s race for this year’s title.
I happened to agree early on that there was too much noise and not enough substance.
Now, having witnessed the youngest champion we’ve had in more than a decade, you have to consider what we witnessed in the final set of turns at the Martinsville race nearly a month ago.
Logano’s judgment to move Truex up the track was unpopular among fans, but rewarding in terms of team unity. It’s obvious now that Logano’s championship would not exist without it, and it illustrates an attitude that will become prevalent going forward, at least among the younger drivers.
I didn’t necessarily agree with Logano bumping Truex, but I wasn’t critical of the move because I understand the shift that has taken place in NASCAR.
A 10-race playoff creates drama, fosters weekly narratives, and produces favorites and long shots. These things are essential in creating entertainment. A one-race winner-take-all championship format has proven intriguing and successful.
We have now arrived at a point where all of these ideas, efforts and implementations I’ve generated are a return on investment. We are going to see more bumping at the front of the field for race wins along the lines of what we saw at Martinsville. It has, or will become, a requirement of the next generation of drivers’ DNA, a driver that never experienced a season-long points championship format the way Harvick and Truex have.
The next generation of drivers have now witnessed the reward of “do whatever it takes” attitude toward winning a Cup title and are going to want some of that!
A new time
I’m a purist at heart, and change becomes more difficult as you get older, but everything I witnessed in the past three months has been far more entertaining than what existed years ago. We have had major challenges in the past several years. Millions and millions of dollars have been spent studying demographics, remodeling tracks, making change after change after change.
Most of NASCAR’s challenges, however, have less to do with marketing and mechanisms and more to do with an aging population of talent. We have suffered in the absence of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Gordon and Tony Stewart. It truly is that simple — drivers determine the show.
Brighter days are coming for NASCAR, and there is momentum once again. I see it and I can feel it.
We are on the cusp of some intense, entertaining racing in 2019. And I’m not endorsing the major rules change coming as the reason why, but I’m endorsing Logano’s win-at-any-cost attitude he displayed in the first race of the third round of the playoffs.
That move changed this sport for good.