The biggest race of the season has come and gone. And hopefully NASCAR, it's drivers and its fans have learned some valuable lessons this week. It's true that as humans we are capable of learning and changing our behavior, even if we don't necessarily want to, but know deep down it's for the best. So with that in mind, here are a few things we learned after a week of racing at Daytona.
Fans are at risk: This doesn't happen very often, in fact, it almost never happens.  But that word, "almost" is the key here. When a horrific crash on the final lap of the Nationwide race Saturday ended with big pieces, including a tire, of Kyle Larson's car catapulting into the stands, it reminds us that there is, albeit a small one, a risk for the fans. Fortunately, no fans died in the accident, and sure, NASCAR and all tracks need to check their safety standards. Are the catch fences high enough and strong enough? Should fans sit a little farther back from the track? Should there be a secondary catch fence directly in front of the first row of the stands? Should NASCAR require tires to be tethered to significantly decrease the chance of a tire going into the stands? It's not that the safety standards at Daytona are bad (the catch fence is 22-feet high), but all parties involved need to ask if those standards can be better. It's in the best interest of the fans, and hopefully that will be the first consideration here.
No more Franco: When actor James Franco gave the command to start the engines before Sunday's Daytona 500, he said, "drivers and Danica"  in reference to female driver Danica Patrick. Those of us who follow auto racing know that Danica is a driver. He could have said  "gentlemen and Danica" and that would have been acceptable. Saying "drivers and Danica'' though was a major mistake. She was even starting on the pole and there had been numerous stories written about her last week and she had been on the talk-show circuit, too. Danica is most definitely a driver. Whether you think she's a good one or not, is an entirely different matter. Which brings us too . . .

An eighth-place finish at Daytona proves Danica Patrick
 belongs in NASCAR competition.

Danica belongs: After she qualified first for the Daytona 500, Patrick admitted that was largely due to the crew having her car prepared to go fast. Sure, she pointed it in the right direction, took the right line around the famed 2.5-mile oval, but what she said was true. So the big question Sunday was how would she do at the front of the pack with 42 other drivers on the track. And if there are any doubts if she belonged, those now have to be erased. Danica definitely belongs. It might not be so much what she did, but what she didn't do that should make us take notice. She has never approached her time in NASCAR as some hot-shot know-it-all. She's always ready to take advice and makes it well-understood that she knows she is still learning. So, she didn't make  any stupid moves while running near the front of the pack Sunday. She didn't come close to causing any big accidents. She even led five laps. Sure, some more experience will teach her how to at least keep and maybe improve her position on those final laps at Daytona and Talladega, instead of dropping back five places. But if going from third to eighth in that situation is the worst thing that happened to her, then that's a pretty good drive for any driver.
Stay away from our sport: When Saturday's crash happened at the end of the Nationwide race, one of the networks to break into the coverage was CNN. And, hey, we can't blame them because if fans are hurt then it's a pretty big story. What we can blame them for is not having anyone with any idea about the sport available to talk about the situation. It was clear after about two minutes of coverage they didn't know what they were talking about. There was better and more accurate information from fans and reporters who cover the sport on Twitter than what CNN was attempting to tell us. The responsibility here just doesn't fall on the on-air personalities, but on the production people behind the scenes who don't understand our sport. It was a poor effort and those of us who have at least a decent knowledge of auto racing recognized it immediately and tuned out.

Tony Stewart understands the safety of the fans is more important  than the safety of the drivers.

Tony grows up: Yes, Tony Stewart did win the Nationwide race Saturday, but there was no celebration in Victory Lane. Stewart's first words when he exited his car were to express concern for the fans. Sure, he'll take the win because somebody has to, but he undoubtedly would have traded that victory for the fans' safety. There have been times in years past when Stewart has lost his temper and acted inappropriately, and there's no guarantee that won't happen again. But how he reacted to the situation Saturday won't soon be forgotten. Then he took it one step further by giving  the injured fans who were still in the hospital Sunday a personal visit after the Daytona 500. That's a winning move.
Youth with a machine: There were a couple of years there where one had to wonder if and when there would be a rush of young NASCAR stars that we could look forward to following in the future. That now is no longer a worry. With brothers Austin and Ty Dillon, Kyle Larson, Ryan Truex, Travis Pastrana, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Ryan Blaney racing in the Nationwide and trucks series, and even Ricky Stenhouse and Danica Patrick being regulars on the Sprint Cup scene now, and we're not just talking about their dating relationship, some new blood is coming to NASCAR and that's a good thing. We need new people to like, or hate, or whatever. How successful those drivers will be on the long-term remains to be seen, but it will be fun finding out.
No. 48 is still No. 1: It's not like we needed a reminder, but Jimmie Johnson's victory at Daytona tells us he's still the guy to beat when it comes to winning the Sprint Cup title. After winning five straight titles, Johnson hasn't won the crown the past two seasons. Along with winning Sunday, of course, Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus' preparation for Daytona was quite interesting. Instead of running with large packs and seeing how the new Gen 6 car would handle in traffic, Johnson did only solo runs in practice. It seemed a bit odd, but when you do the same thing everybody else does, it's hard to learn anything different. Johnson and Knaus had confidence in their plan and they stuck to it. And like it or not, it worked. That may be bad news for the rest of the field when it comes to the 10-race Chase for the Championship in the fall.
Just another dad:  It was back a couple of years ago that an angry Joey Logano said that DeLana Harvick, not fellow competitor Kevin Harvick, wore the pants in the family after Harvick appeared to purposely wreck Logano at Pocono. Well, after winning one of the 150-mile qualifying races Thursday at Daytona, Kevin Harvick pretty much confirmed that. When Harvick went back to his RV, he found a sign hanging on the door. He was not allowed to enter as his baby son Keenan was asleep. So there was a winner of a Daytona race, still in his driver's suit, left to wait outside of his own RV. Don't worry Kevin, us dads completely get it. And if and when Logano marries and has children, he'll get it too.
The rest of the story:  Winning the Daytona 500 is no guarantee of success for the rest of the season. Of course, Johnson may well be the exception to that rule. The last driver to win at Daytona and then win the Sprint Cup title was well, Johnson, in 2006. It's almost like Daytona is it's own mini-season. The real season begins Sunday afternoon in Phoenix. We'll likely learn a lot more there, too.

These are the days that we go around wishing friends and co-workers a Happy New Year.

And with the NASCAR Sprint Cup season ready to start up again next month in Daytona (and later this week with testing in Daytona), there are a lot of new developments that will play a major role in just who will have a Happy New Year and who will not.

So, to get 2013 underway, here's a look at some of those issues.

I need a new car: Yes, the biggest factor for 2013 will likely be which teams can adjust best to the new 2013 car. Chevrolet will have its new SS model on the track, Ford will return its Fusion and Toyota  its Camry. With not a lot of on-track testing before Daytona, everyone will be looking to make the right adjustments to see how cars will react to different situations on different tracks. But here's the real key. If you're a fan of a driver on a big-money team, you're likely to be a bit happier at least earlier in the season. So give the early advantage to the Hendrick and Stewart-Haas Chevrolets, the Roush Fords and the Gibbs Toyotas. They each have the in-house testing equipment needed to have their cars more ready when they roll off the trucks. 

I need a new driver: The biggest changes came on the Roush, Gibbs and Penske teams. The shuffle included Matt Kenseth going from Roush to Gibbs, Joey Logano going from Gibbs to Penske and Ricky Stenhouse being promoted from the Nationwide Series to drive full-time in the Sprint Cup series for Roush. Each of these moves comes with some questions, all for different reasons. Kenseth has been a regular contender for the title, but his only championship came in 2003. And since he turned 40 last March, the odds are against him winning another title. Only six of the 28 drivers to win a title have done so after turning age 40. Logano came to Gibbs Racing with great promise and he's proven he can dominate in the Nationwide Series. However, he's struggled in the Sprint Cup Series and while he won't turn 23 until May, he needs to show he can be a consistent contender for Penske. And much like Logano, Stenhouse has proven himself by winning the Nationwide title the last two years. But the Sprint Cup series is a different game, with more experienced drivers and different cars. So the question will be what kind of transition can Stenhouse make in 2013?

I need a new manufacturer: When Brad Keselowski captured the 2012 Sprint Cup title it was a unique situation in that he won in a Dodge after Penske had announced it was switching to Ford for the 2013 season. The question here is if Penske made the right manufacturer choice. Penske was the lone Dodge team left, so he pretty had to make a switch. But Fords found Victory Lane just six times in the 36 official Sprint Cup races last season, while Keselowski put his Dodge in the winner's circle five times. Having another high-profile team to gather and share information will help, but the Fords definitely need a rebound season.

I need a chance: Trevor Bayne, for Roush Racing, and Sam Hornish Jr., for Penske Racing, are each scheduled to run full-time in the Nationwide Series and maybe they will battle for the title. Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 winner, will still run on a part-time basis for the Wood Brothers in Sprint Cup, but it's a shame he hasn't had a legitimate full-time shot in Sprint Cup. He's young and excellent with the media and he'd make a great personality on the sport's biggest stage. Hopefully he can prove he belongs there by winning often in the Nationwide Series in 2013. Hornish started 20 Sprint Cup races, including the last 19 for Penske after A.J. Allmendinger was suspended and eventually let go for violating NASCAR's substance abuse policy. Hornish had 11 top 20 finishes in the final 19 races and regularly ran in the top 10. He's proven he deserves a legitimate Sprint Cup ride, too.
Do we need moe Danica?: Danica Patrick will move to Sprint Cup full-time with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2013. She's always going to receive a lot of attention just because she knows how to market herself. But I think she's more than just a pretty face. We'll not go crazy and say she will compete for a spot in the Chase, but out of 36 races, I think she finish in the top 20 with regularity, and a handful of top 10 finishes aren't out of the question for her. Sure, she'll get some not-so-kind bumps, that will ruin a race or two or five, but Patrick isn't afraid to push back either, and once she does, then she can concentrate on racing.

I need a dirt race: The NASCAR trucks will hit the dirt in Eldora, Ohio,  in July. It will be interesting to see how many Sprint Cup drivers go back and revisit their roots as most of them began their careers racing on dirt tracks, including several drivers and tracks from and in the Midwest. Just what will happen and how the trucks will react to the dirt will be a bit unpredictable, which should be a good thing.
I need a lame duck: The heavy rumor is that Kevin Harvick and his Budweiser sponsorship will be leaving Richard Childress Racing for Stewart-Haas in 2014. Since neither side has denied those rumors, it's probably pretty much a done deal. So, for Harvick fans, there's this bit of hope for 2013. The last two champions have involved a lame-duck situation, this past year with Penske announcing a manufacturer swtich, and then in 2011 when eventual champion crew chief Darian Grubb was told before the season ended that he was being let go by driver-owner Tony Stewart.

I need one less point: The 2012 season came down to the last race with Jimmie Johnson pretty much needing to win to have a shot at overtaking Keselowski for the title. However, when Johnson's mechanical issues relegated him to a 36th-place finish, and Clint Bowyer finished second, that allowed Bowyer to finish second in the season points standings. That's not good news for Bowyer and here's why. Sprint Cup drivers who have finished second in the standings in recent years have not fared well the following year. In 2012, the previous year runnerup, Carl Edwards, who came within one point of the title, did not make the Chase for the Championship. In the 2011 season, 2010 runnerup Denny Hamlin made the Chase, but was never a serious contender for the title. In the 2010 season, 2009 runnerup Mark Martin finished 13th in the standings and in the 2009 season, 2008 runnerup Edwards finished 11th in the final standings. Call it what you want. I call it more good fortune for Jimmie Johnson.  Which brings us to . . .

I need two more titles: So now Johnson, who will be 38 in September, has gone two straight seasons without winning a title after winning five in a row. He needs two crowns to tie the Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt for the most in Sprint Cup history. Can he do it? Yes, he certainly can. Will he do it? I'll have to yes, especially as long as he stays with Chad Knaus as his crew chief. Along with their equipment, their familiarity with each other will help them figure out the new cars faster than most this year and that's why Johnson will be a favorite to win a sixth title.

I need one title: Dale Earnhardt Jr. came to Hendrick Racing in 2008 with great promise, and it was just assumed that he would be a perennial title contender. And while he made strides forward  in 2012 and showed some of the consistency needed, he now needs to add some victories to become a legitimate championship contender. Will that happen in 2013? And that's one big question that no one can answer with the outcome determining whether this will be a happy year for Junior and his fans.

Roger Penske has done a lot of winning in his storied career as a race car owner. Most notably, Penske's drivers have won 12 titles in the IndyCar Series, where he and his drivers have dominated at times. Penske just missed winning the IndyCar title this year as it came down to the final race in Fontana, Calif. While winning that title would not have been unusual for the 75-year old Penske, it would have made what might happen this weekend all the more remarkable.
If Penske driver Brad Keselowski holds on to his 20-point lead over Jimmie Johnson and does capture the Sprint Cup crown Sunday, it will give Penske his first NASCAR Sprint Cup title. And if Penske IndyCar driver Will Power had won the title in September, Penske would have won two titles in the same year.
But Penske is not only the leader of remarkable teams on the track, he also a leads significant happenings off the track.
It was last month when the Driving Away Cold Program donated coats to Philadelphia area organizations based on how many cars auto dealer sold. One of those dealers involved was the Penske Group from Reading, Pa. Being part of the coat drive was a good thing to do, but not something highly unusual. However, one of the men at the Community YMCA of Eastern Delaware County in Upper Darby, Pa., in mid-October helping unload those coats was David Penske, Roger Penske's brother. He didn't hang around to be interviewed, and was not seeking extra attention to let the world know how great the Penske organization is. In fact, he was trying to avoid it. Not because he was being uncooperative, but simply because there was the next delivery to make and there was work to do. He wasn't looking for credit.

A little while later, after asking a few questions about the Penskes to a public relations representative for the program, I found that the truck used to deliver the coats was donated by Penske. And also, that the Penskes had been very helpful to the entire program.
That's one of those classy type of acts that often go unnoticed, but as is often the case life, an indication of a true winner.
That Penske hasn't been a Sprint Cup title winner sooner is a bit of a surprise. He came close with Rusty Wallace in 1993, when Wallace won 10 races and finished second, and then finished third the following year. But he hasn't been that close for a while ... until now.

The reason it's a surprise Penske hasn't won that Sprint Cup title is because he leads an organization that works to do everything first class. To put Penske's ownership career in perspective, he was viewed by many in IndyCar the way owner Rick Hendrick is viewed by many in NASCAR today. Penske's team was the place to go if you wanted to win the Indy 500 and win the IndyCar championship.
While Penske's teams got off to a good start when he re-entered NASCAR in 1992, it's been a bit of a struggle at times, with hints of success.
Penske is all about doing the right thing all the time. But he without question took a bit of risk after hiring the brash Brad Keselowski to be his driver three years ago. Keselowski delivered Penske his only NASCAR title by taking the Nationwide crown in 2010. And after making the Chase last year, Keselowski clearly set his sights on winning the title this year.
It's been a maturation process for Keselowski, who at times in years past took to wrecking other drivers if they were in slower cars. But he's realized that creates more problems than it solves.
And some of that maturation has had to come from Penske, whose adept at solving problems.
One of the team's biggest issues this year was being the final Dodge team in Sprint Cup and announced it was moving to Ford beginning next year. But what about this year? Penske has somehow managed to continue a quality relationship with Dodge, which announced earlier in the fall that it would not be fielding a team in 2013.
It could be the second ironic situation in two years for the Sprint Cup champion. Last year, Tony Stewart bid adieu to crew chief Darian Grubb after winning the title. This year Penske will be doing the same with Dodge.
You can be sure Penske has done a lot of work behind the scenes to keep a strong working relationship with the Dodge. Once again, not seeking attention, just seeking victory.

THIS WEEK'S PICKS

We've hit race No. 36 overall, and race No. 10 in the Chase as NASCAR finishes another season at Miami-Homestead. It will be hard for NASCAR to top the drama it had last year at Miami when Tony Stewart needed a victory to capture the title, then went out and won. It will be next to impossible to match the drama from last week, with then points leader Jimmie Johnson crashing, Jeff Gordon extracting revenge on Clint Bowyer in the form a causing a crash and eventually a pit crew fight, and a last lap finish that became wild when Danica Patrick's car lost oil in the fourth turn with NASCAR not throwing a yellow flag.

Keselowski heads into Miami with a 20-point lead over Johnson and needs only a 15th-place finish for a guarantee of the title. Keselowski's first goal, contrary to what his instincts will want it to be, is to stay out of trouble. He'll also be protecting tires, to try and avoid what happened to Johnson last week.

Unless an accident or mechanical issue sidelines Keselowski early, Johnson will be going all out for the win.

So with that in mind, here's a look at our final picks of the season:
1. Jimmie Johnson. His past history at Miami is a bit deceiving because during his run of five straight titles, he often was in control of the points race and was just looking to stay out of trouble, taking few risks. That won't be the case this Sunday as he knows he'll need to win for any shot to catch Keselowski.

2. Brad Keselowski. He'll be in protection mode, but I'm picking him anyway. He's only led 11 laps in eight races at Miami, but he's been breaking those trends in this Chase and it may well continue here.

3. Carl Edwards. If there's any place that he can break his 68-race losing streak it's at Miami. He has two wins in eight races at Miami and has led 560 laps.

4. Tony Stewart. He ended last season at Miami with a win, and just like Edwards, Miami has been one of his best tracks. In 13 races there he has three wins and has led 450 laps.

5. Matt Kenseth. This will be his final race with the only organization he has ever known, and Miami has also been a good track for him. He has one win there and has led 303 laps in 12 races. He'd love to finish his Roush-Fenway time with one more win before moving to Joe Gibbs Racing next season.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda: Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer. Just for fun, wouldn't it be interesting to see Gordon leading this race on the final lap, with Bowyer on his bumper. Do we really need to ask what the outcome might be?

ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP

Here's a look at how last week's picks fared in Week 9 of the Chase at Phoenix.
Jimmie Johnson  - 32nd.  He was looking at a top 10 finish before his right-front tire blew, causing him to go to the garage for repairs, leaving him over 30 laps down.
Brad Keselowski  - 6th.  He was a contender to win for a while, but once Johnson went out, it was clear that he was looking for a good finish and to stay out of trouble.
Denny Hamlin  - 2nd. He also was in contention much of the day and had a nice rebound after a disappointing finish in Texas the week before.
Tony Stewart  - 19th. He was trying to battle for a top 10 finish when a spin put him a lap down.
Kyle Busch - 3rd. He had the dominating car for most of the day, but for some reason chose the inside lane on a late restart when the outside lane had been working well all day for restarts. He led the most laps at 237 and it was the eighth straight time when he has led the most laps in a race and not won.
Here's a look at my results after 35 races and 175 picks.

17 wins

56 top 5s

84 top 10s

Grade for the week: B-. No winner this time, even though Busch should have won it. Still two of the top five and three of the top six isn't too bad a day.
One last thing: Ryan Newman has not started from the pole this year, putting at risk his streak of 11 straight seasons of winning at least one pole position. Newman has not started from the pole in any of his 10 races at Miami.

If there's anything that can be said about NASCAR's handling of the events that took place at the end of Sunday's Sprint Cup race in Phoenix is that the organization was all wrong and all right.
And just how might this be possible?
They made mistakes in their late race calls to not throw cautions, but those mistakes also upped the drama meter significantly, and maybe even more than NASCAR could have ever imagined.
The first caution that should have been thrown was when Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer tapped each other, eventually sending Gordon into the wall. Normally, that's enough to cause a yellow, but Gordon managed to keep his car going and since it was late in the race, NASCAR may have been hoping for the race to stay green the rest of the way. But once word  began spreading over the Bowyer team radio that Gordon was waiting for an opportunity to wreck him, NASCAR should have thrown the caution.
And well, as you've probably heard or seen many times now, the result was the big fight (see video at right) between the Bowyer and Gordon pit crews in the garage area. Some are saying that Gordon was at the bottom of that big pileup, but the replays appear to show him being held back by three crewmen at a tool box next to where the melee broke out. And then of course there was Clint Bowyer's sprint from pit lane to the the melee. While the sprint was impressive, it was as if his arrival would bring some sort of conclusion to the fracas, whether it be negative or positive.
So, mistake No. 1 resulted in something better than any reality TV show could ever dream of. Once the action started, it was impossible to change channels. Just what NASCAR wants.
Then there was the final two laps of the race. Danica Patrick was minding her own business while going for a top 20 finish, when Jeff Burton apparently slipped from the apron to the center of the fourth corner and tapped the No. 10 car, sending Patrick into the wall. Again, a fairly significant hit with the wall almost always brings out the caution. But it didn't this time. That left Patrick leaking oil on the track and to give her credit, she did her best to stay out of the way, driving next to the inside wall that separates pit road from the frontstretch. But her spilled oil left cars slipping and sliding all over the place as they came to the finish line, including Patrick, who was limping slowly across the start-finish line when she took a big hit. NASCAR said after the race that the smoke coming from Patrick's car could have been caused by a tire rub. Any veteran NASCAR observer knows from where the smoke was coming from and how slow she was going, it could have only been from oil leaking not a tire rub.
But here's the rub on error No. 2: It gave us a crazy and dangerous finish. Just what the ratings doctor ordered for NASCAR.
But NASCAR wasn't done making mistakes.
Monday it was announced that Gordon would receive a $100,000 fine and 25 point penalty for his role in the final accident with Bowyer. By all rights, and going by history of past judgments , Gordon should have been suspended for this Sunday's final race at Homestead-Miami. But that would take away one of the big storylines of the day Sunday, to see if Bowyer will retaliate. And by not suspending Gordon, NASCAR is sending the message to Bowyer that if wants to extract some revenge on the No. 24 car, go right ahead. NASCAR can say what it wants about the penalty being fair etc., but to believe the powers that be didn't know a revenge scenario would help add to the drama Sunday would be naive. Some have suggested that since Gordon is a four-time champion and drives for Hendrick Racing that he got preferential treatment from NASCAR. And while being a high-profile driver helps in these situations, this time it's all about getting more eyes to tune in to ESPN Sunday.
So, miscue No. 3 gives us the possibility of even more drama.
But we're not done yet.
During the Bowyer-Gordon crew melee, NASCAR red-flagged the race for 15 minutes (well, it was actually 14 minutes, 58 seconds for those your snoring at home). That was the right call by NASCAR. But during the red flag, points leader Brad Keselowski took his phone out and sent and answered a couple of tweets on Twitter. He did the same thing at the start of the season at Daytona, during the great Jet Dryer Fire red flag, and Keselowski become an instant social media star. But this time Keselowski took the big hit, in a $25,000 fine for having that kind of electrical device in his car.
In this age of social media and the public's want for instant information, Keselowski's tweeting, at Daytona and Phoenix, was a stroke of genius. Instantly, you've got more people interested in the sport because they can actually communicate with a participant before the event is over. It's a connection that makes NASCAR, or at least Keselowski, unique and someone who is quickly becoming a fan favorite. Now, with a fine for tweeting, Keselowski's popularity will only grow more. In trying to discipline Keselowski, they may just raise him to hero status.
And really, that's good news for NASCAR, too. They have plenty of stars in guys like Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. But if Keselowski keeps his 20-point lead over Johnson to win the title Sunday, he may become NASCAR's next superstar.
And make no mistake about it, that could be a very good thing for NASCAR.

I keep trying to find reasons to not like Jimmie Johnson, but the well is running dry and, really, I'm ready to give up.

Sure, you could say, the simple fact that he drives on the best financed-team and has won five of the last six NASCAR Sprint Cup titles, with a sixth crown well within reach this season, is enough of a reason to not like him. You could say he gets all the breaks and has the best equipment and sure, he makes a ton of money. But, can you really not like somebody just because of that? Think for a second who your favorite professional athlete is, and how much money they make, and really is there a big difference?

Maybe it's the fact that Johnson's life seems perfect, with his wife and young daughter, and he's on the top of his sport. But, even at that, it's still difficult to not like a guy for the simple reason that he is successful. If Johnson came across with an attitude that he's better than anyone else and he knows it and he could care less about the rest of the world, then OK, maybe that could be the root of having some kind of dislike for him. But he's just not like that.

Maybe if he was not really in the greatest physical condition, and fed the stereotype that race car drivers are not  athletes, and didn't care about how he represented the sport, then, OK, maybe that would work, too. But after the July Daytona race, Johnson, along with teammate Kasey Kahne, went and competed in a triathlon in South Carolina. So, he's an athlete, no doubt.

Or maybe if he consistently won races by purposely knocking other cars out of the way in order to win, then, yes, it would be easy to not like seeing that No. 48 at the head of the pack. But he doesn't do that.

So the problem with trying to dislike him is, well, there's just not much to dislike.

Can we really blame a guy who goes out and does his job well? Sure, his crew chief, Chad Knaus can come off as a bit of a know-it-all at times, but given his record, a little extra confidence can be understood. Last year on the radio one time Johnson basically told Knaus to shut up and just let him drive. So, even Johnson can be a little annoyed with Knaus at times, and that did give us a glimpse of Johnson's more human side.

But Johnson's human side was even more apparent after Sunday's victory at Texas, when in three different interviews, he ended by reminding fans how they could donate to help victims from Hurricane Sandy.

Now, after a victory, the questions are of course all about the driver and the winning team. It's his moment, his time to shine, and as they all rightfully say, they are going to enjoy the moment because they realize the top of the mountain experiences in sports are rare.

And while there was the celebration in victory lane, which includes gunfire at Texas, Johnson wasn't pounding his chest, exuberantly attempting to remind the world that he is the so-called man. Somewhere along the line, he's figured out that others will let the world know how good he is.

If he does go on and wins this sixth title, as racing fans, we should take a second to appreciate what he has done.  Even if you're sick of him beating your favorite driver year after year, if you don't respect what he and his team have done, then you've got a problem. We could very well be in the midst of seeing one of the top two or three drivers in NASCAR history make more history.

But even if he doesn't win title No. 6, he alluded Sunday to the fact that being a father overrides what takes place on the track.  Sure, Johnson figured out what it takes to finish first in a race years ago. Now it seems, he's figured how to be a winner, too. And it's hard to dislike a guy who accomplishes that.

THIS WEEK'S PICKS

It's Week 9 of the Chase, the next to last race of the year, as the Sprint Cup series heads to Phoenix for Sunday's 2 p.m. race on ESPN. Of course, we all will be watching what points leader Jimmie Johnson and second-place Brad Keselowski do. Johnson has a seven-point lead going in and while Keselowski doesn't have to have a huge day, if he gains three or four points on the leader, that will set things up nicely for Homestead-Miami next week. However, if Keselowski loses, say even seven or eight points, he'll be in a tough spot to try and catch the five-time champion.

As for this Sunday, it would be a surprise if each Johnson and Keselowski were not on the top of their games. So, no matter what past history is telling us, they're each must picks this week.

Here's a look at this week's picks:

1. Jimmie Johnson. It's true he hasn't won in the last five races at Phoenix, but he does have four top-five finishes in those races and has led 187 laps. That may be bad news for Keselowski, because if a driver is leading that many laps and finishing that well at a track, that usually means a win is not too far away.
 2. Brad Keselowski. Here we go again, ignoring so many of his past performances at Phoenix. The driver of the No. 2 Dodge has an average finish of 19.2 in his last five races there, but that doesn't mean there is no hope. Keselowski finished fifth in the spring race there and with so much on the line now, it's hard to imagine this team not being prepared for every scenario this week.

3. Denny Hamlin. After being a contender for the title until two races ago, he's been reduced to spoiler status now. Last week's performance at Texas, where he finished 20th, was a little disturbing because he has been so good there in the past and was never a factor Sunday. We'll give him one more chance this week as he has led 260 laps in the last five races at Phoenix, including one win.

4. Tony Stewart. He showed he was still giving his best all the way to the end with last week's fifth-place finish at Texas. And while this isn't a big issue, he probably would like to finish ahead of Hamlin and former crew chief Darian Grubb, just so he can say he had a better season with his hiring of this year's crew chief Steve Addington. While Stewart hasn't won in the last five races at Phoenix, he is second to Hamlin with 243 laps led in those races.

5. Kyle  Busch. The No. 18 team has had its frustrations this year for sure, including missing the Chase. But what I like about the team is that it continues to go out and compete and try to win races. Busch has led 194 laps in the last five trips to Phoenix, so based on that and his recent contention in races, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him in Victory Lane Sunday night.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda: Jeff Gordon. He got off on the wrong foot to start the Chase when his throttle stuck at Chicagoland, costing him what would have been at least a top 10 finish.  But Gordon has been a contender in several races since then and he does have a win in his last five races at Phoenix.

ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP

Here's a look at how last week's picks fared in Week 8 of the Chase at Texas..
Jimmie Johnson  - 1st. The five-time champion displayed his poise and patience, using the final restart to get the edge and race to his 60th win of the year.

Brad Keselowski  - 2nd.  He was a contender to win at a track where he had traditionally struggled. That's a good sign for this team in the last two races.Denny Hamlin  - 20th. His recent and long-term history at Texas has been outstanding, so this finish was a real headscratcher.

Matt Kenseth  - 4th. For once, not a win or 30 plus finish for the Kenseth. He's had a nice rebound since a poor start in the Chase.

Greg Biffle - 10th. He has been traditionally strong at Texas, and while this was certainly no disaster, it was a bit of surprise that he didn't contend for the win.

Here's a look at my results after 34 races and 170 picks.

17 wins

54 top 5s

81 top 10s

Grade for the week: A-. That's a winner two weeks in a row thanks to Johnson, and Keselowski came through even though he had not been good at Texas. Picking three of thetop  five, and four of the top 10 is a pretty good day.

One last thing: Keselowski is trying to become the first Dodge driver to win a title since Richard Petty in 1975.

Yes, we're getting down toward the end of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, with just three races left starting with Sunday's 3 p.m. race on ESPN at Texas.  And while we can't quite be sure who the top driver will be this season, you know it's either going to be Jimmie Johnson or Brad Keselowski, we do have a pretty good idea of some drivers who have without question had disappointing seasons.

So, here's a look at five drivers that easily fall into that disappointing category based on the expectations they had coming into this season.

1) Carl Edwards: He finished in a tie for the title last season, only to lose the tiebreaker to Tony Stewart for most wins. But Edwards hasn't won since the Las Vegas race in the spring of 2011, a span of 66 races. And this season, he has just three top five finishes and 10 other top 10 finishes. What's more disturbing is he has rarely contended for a victory this season. He missed the Chase and is 14th in the points standings with an average finish of 15.8. It would be fair to expect a rebound season from him in 2013.

2) Kyle Busch: This isn't so much a reflection on the driver as much as a team that had an endless string of bad luck. Busch is certainly still capable of being a championship driver, but the No. 18 Toyota has had numerous mechanical issues this year, and then in the  final race of the regular season, a questionable call late in the race by crew chief Dave Rogers left Busch on the outside of the Chase.  While Busch has an average finish of 14.2 this season and sits 13th in points, one sign that the team still has a quality program is that the Busch has led 928 laps this season, the third most in the Sprint Cup. Yes, he'll be considered a title contender again next year.

3) Joey Logano: This was a contract year for Logano at Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 20 Toyota. And while he did win the first race at Pocono this season, that was really about his only highlight. Logano, who certainly seems like one of the nicest guys on the circuit, sits 17th in points with an average finish of 17.4  And what's more disturbing is that he has just one other top five finish and 10 other top 10 finishes in 33 races this season. Also, he's led just 25 laps this season. He'll be in the No. 22 car for Roger Penske next year and at age 22 Logano certainly has potential. But potential will only last so long when the results don't follow.

4) Kevin Harvick: It's true, he is in the Chase, so you can't say this season has been a complete disaster. But many thought he would be a legitimate contender to win the Sprint Cup title this season. But he has no wins this year and just four top five finishes and seven other top 10 finishes in the 33 races this season and he's rarely been a legitimate contender to win. It's been a disappointing year for the Richard Childress Racing team as Harvick, Paul Menard and Jeff Burton have combined for just seven top five finishes without a win in their 99 combined starts. The team clearly has a lot of work to do before hitting Daytona in February.

5) Juan Pablo Montoya: No, I wouldn't have picked him to win the title this season, but he's a talented driver with a team that looked ready to at least contend for one of the 12 Chase spots coming into the season. But his highlight moment came at Daytona when a suspension piece broke on his car on a yellow flag and he crashed into a Jet Dryer causing a the now famous Jet Dryer fire. Montoya's average finish is 21.4 this year and he sits 22nd in the standings with no top five finishes and just two top 10 finishes. Whether it's the team or the driver or maybe a combination of both, Montoya is simply too talented of a driver to almost never contend for a top five spot.

In these final three races each of these drivers still has a chance to salvage a victory, and maybe go into 2013 with a little positive momentum, something Edwards did two years ago before he went on to contend last year. But if they haven't already, these teams are going to be asking a lot of questions about what went wrong, rather than talking about all the things that went right.

THIS WEEK'S PICKS

It's Week 8 of the Chase and as the Sprint Cup series heads to Texas it is now without question a two-driver race for the title with three races remaining. It's between Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson as Johnson has a two-point lead. Next in line are Clint Bowyer at 26 points back and Kasey Kahne at 29 behind. The largest comeback in NASCAR history in the final three races came when Dale Earnhardt rallied from 49 points down under the old points system to beat Mark Martin for the title in 1990. If that was converted into today's points system, Earnhardt would have been 12 points back. Last year, Tony Stewart was eight points behind Carl Edwards with three races to go before winning two of the final three races and taking the title on a tiebreaker. So, yes, it's really a two-man race at this point.

Here's a look at this week's picks:

1. Jimmie Johnson. He has an average finish of seventh in the last five races at Texas and with a title on the line, it's hard to imagine him not finishing in the top five.

2. Brad Keselowski. It's impossible not to pick him, even though the numbers are telling us something completely different. In his last five trips to Texas, Keselowski has an average finish of 30th and has not finished on the lead lap,. But he's been breaking down personal barriers all season, so we'll go against the numbers here.

3. Denny Hamlin. Yes, his title chances got short-circuited with last week's electrical issues, but he's still been very good at Texas, with two wins in the last five races with an average finish of  9.8. 

4. Greg Biffle. Things haven't gone well for him in the Chase, but he does have a win, three other top five finishes and another top 10 finish in the last five races at Texas. Can't ignore that.

 5. Matt Kenseth. It's pretty much been all or nothing for Kenseth in the Chase. He has an average finish of 6.4 in the last five races with a win and three other top five finishes at Texas. So, he could be in feast mode, which means he could have three wins in eight Chase races and still have no shot at the title. That would be hard to do.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda: Tony Stewart. His Chase has gone pretty much the opposite of last year when he won five of the 10 races, but Texas has been a good place for him, including winning this race last year and since he's back in 10th in the standings, he'll not be afraid to gamble late and go for the win.

ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP

Here's a look at how last week's picks fared in Week 7 of the Chase at Martinsville..
Denny Hamlin  - 33rd. May have had the best car, but getting caught twice speeding on pit lane and eventually going to garage with electrical issues put him way back in the pack.

Jimmie Johnson  - 1st.  He was at or near the front all day, and five-timer may become six-timer in a few weeks.

Jeff Gordon  - 7th. Was near the front much of the day, but got caught in the dreaded outside lane on final restart and fell back a bit.

Brad Keselowski  - 6th. Tried the old stay out and get track position trick late to go for the win, but he'll take sixth considering his past history there.

Clint Bowyer - 5th. It looked like he might win, leading 154 laps, but stalled in pits and never got all the way back to the front again.

Here's a look at my results after 33 races and 165 picks.

16 wins

51 top 5s

77 top 10s

Grade for the week: A-. Finally, I got you the winner and four of the top seven. And Hamlin would've been a top five car if it hadn't quit running on him.

One last thing: Johnson's win broke an 11-race winless streak for Chevrolet. The last time Chevrolet went 11 or more races without a win was 12 races in 1993.

So we're down to the Final Four in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and in this case that means two things. It means there are four races left in the 10-race Chase for the Championship as the Sprint Cup Series heads into Martinsville this weekend. And in this case it also means there are just four drivers who have a shot of winning the Sprint Cup title.

But trying to figure out who is going to win the title is a little more complicated than adding 2 + 2.

Before looking at the numbers at driveraverages.com, I pretty much thought Denny Hamlin had no chance as he is 20 points out. That would also exclude Clint Bowyer, who is in fourth at 25 points out.

However, when looking at the last four tracks and the history of both points leader Brad Keselowski and second-place Jimmie Johnson, the numbers say it's not quite time to rule out Hamlin and Bowyer. Well, at least Hamlin anyway. But if we're going to say Hamlin is still in this thing, and Bowyer is just five points behind Hamlin, then we have to say that Bowyer is still in it, too. If not in theory, at least just to be nice to a guy whose had a big season with three wins for Michael Waltrip Racing.

So, I took at look at the history of these four drivers on the last four tracks, Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami. On the first three tracks, we just looked at the last five races, as it takes into account how drivers have done with the newer cars and on tracks that have had repaves in recent years, such as Phoenix. However, since the Sprint Cup circuit visits Miami just once a year, we counted each driver's career stats there.

Then I came up with a bit of a different scoring system, sort of like a cross country meet, where the low score wins (or you could say golf, but hey, cross country is a race, so we'll go with that analogy). At each of these last four tracks we totaled a driver's average finish, how many wins he had and how many laps he has led. The best score for a category received one point, the second best two points and so on.

And here's what the numbers told us: Based on recent past history, Hamlin still has a realistic shot. His total number in the three categories was four, while Johnson was second with a six, and Keselowski and Bowyer tied for third with 10 points each.

So, since Johnson is seven points behind Keselowski, and Keselowski has a poor record at the remaining tracks with an average finish of almost 15th, with no wins and only 47 laps led, maybe Hamlin needs to focus more on beating Johnson. And if that's the case, he's 13 points behind Johnson.

And that just might be doable.

While Johnson has a slightly better average finish at these final four tracks, Hamlin is the only of the four to have a win at any of them. But he doesn't have just one win, he's got five of them. And Hamlin has led 693 laps in recent races at these four tracks compared to Johnson's 525.

The other thing in Hamlin's favor is that he's got last year's champion crew chief on his pit box in Darian Grubb. And while he's had some ups and downs this year (like taking four tires at Dover when he clearly should have called for two), he proved last year he could make the right calls under pressure. For sure, he doesn't have the same history as Johnson crew chief Chad Knaus and their five titles, but he does have recent success on his side.

The other variable in this slightly complicated math problem is that Johnson's record is not good at Homestead-Miami because five-timer has often entered that race in points protection mode, merely trying to miss accidents and come home safely for the title. So, as a result, he has led just three laps there in his career.

The other variable here is Keselowski. He's broken a lot of barriers in his career this year and he's a legitimate contender for the title, no doubt. But he's going to have to keep breaking those barriers down. He's led just 47 laps in recent years at these last four tracks.

So, he's either going to have to lead a lot more of them, or lead at the right time.

And as is the case in every sport, timing just may be everything when it comes to deciding this year's Sprint Cup champion.

THIS WEEK'S PICKS

It's Week 7 of the Chase and as the Sprint Cup series heads into Martinsville and with four races this seems to be looking more and more like a two-horse race. Sure, Denny Hamlin is within striking distance of the lead at 20 points, and Clint Bowyer is next at 25 out and even Kasey Kahne at 30. But for these drivers to have a realistic shot of getting into the title hunt they'll need leader Brad Keselowski and second-place Jimmie Johnson, who is seven points back, to do something they haven't done all year - have two bad races in these last four and it's not likely to happen to either one of them, let alone both of them.

With that in mind, here's a look at this week's picks:

1. Denny Hamlin. He may need to do what Tony Stewart did last year to win the title, and that's win three of the last four races. He's won two of the last five races at Martinsville, so he does have a chance this week.

2. Jimmie Johnson. He's on Keselowski's tale and he hasn't won a race in the Chase yet. He has three career wins at Martinsville, so it makes sense to pick him here because he's due for a victory and he's had success at Martinsville.3. Jeff Gordon. He very easily could have, and maybe should have, won the spring race here. He led 329 laps before a late accident relegated him to 14th.

4. Brad Keselowski. He's still a must pick pretty much every week, especially because his bad days are still top 10 finishes. So, that means a good day will put him in the top two or three.

 5. Clint Bowyer. It seems more and more that a lot of these races are coming down to which car gets the best fuel mileage. And if that happens again Sunday, look for Bowyer to be in the mix as the No. 15 seems to get better mileage than anyone else. And yes, like Hamlin, he really needs a win to have a shot at the title.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda: Dale Earnhardt Jr. So, he's coming back after a two-race hiatus due to a concussion.. This wouldn't be a bad place to pick him because he'll want to show he's healthy and he also has a good track record at Martinsville with an average finish of 6.8 and four top 10 finishes in the last five races.

ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP

Here's a look at how last week's picks fared in Week 6 of the Chase at Kansas.
Brad Keselowski  - 8th. Never a factor to win it, but avoided enough wrecks for an OK day.

Jimmie Johnson  - 9th.  Actually had a shot to win, but a meeting with the wall ended those hopes.Denny Hamlin   - 13th. Got caught  in pits during a yellow, so had to battle back from that.

Clint Bowyer  - 6th. Was up front a couple of times and good finish kept his title hopes somewhat alive.

Carl Edwards  - 14th. Took a shot with a non-Chaser here and was reminded there's a reason he's not in the Chase.

Here's a look at my results after 32 races and 160 picks.

15 wins

49 top 5s

73 top 10s

Grade for the week: C-. Not a disaster in terms of having some decent finishes, just couldn't get anyone in the top five.

One last thing: Not that he's close to a Dale Earnhardt Jr. type losing streak, but Edwards hasn't won since the Las Vegas race of last year, a span of 65 races..