Oh, what could have been.
The Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway had the potential to be one of the best season-finales in recent history. Then, NASCAR hit a wall.
While Brad Keselowski soared to the lead after passing seven cars in three laps thanks to fresher tires and denying Kyle Larson his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series victory on Saturday night,
Austin Dillon won the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship by three points over championship rival Sam Hornish Jr.
But, it was the 10th and final caution that left NASCAR’s already bruised perception probably a little more mangled.
The 12-lap caution was triggered on the Frontstretch when Jeremy Clements, Regan Smith and Mike Wallace collided and left a trail of fluid soaking into the track’s surface on Lap 184. A typical four-to-five lap clean seemed probable, but as the cautions laps mounted, so did the tempers, which eventually boiled and exploded literally.
The fans were a big loser for the lengthy yellow, but sadly NASCAR’s decision may have altered who was crowned the champion.
Dillon in his No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet Camaro struggled with the handling for a majority of the race and Hornish Jr., who scored the pole in his No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Mustang was one of the best in the field. Knowing the circumstances, the Richard Childress Racing team led by Danny Stockman knew that when Hornish Jr. made their final pit stop of the night, they too would have to do the same. The logic behind the move was to keep Dillon and Hornish Jr. around each other in the closing laps. What they didn’t know that NASCAR would have its second longest caution flag of the season and in a sense hand them the title.
The decision not to red flag the race allowed the lap counter to tick away and ultimately provide less laps for Hornish Jr. and others on fresher tires the ability to swallow Dillon up. Instead of a practical 10-lap sprint to the finish, the final green flag of the night had five with Dillon sliding back to 12th and Hornish Jr. just running out of time to catch his opponents.
Following the race, NASCAR quickly stood by their decision to maintain under yellow, instead of delaying the race. “It really looked like it was going to be a typical clean-up, a typical wreck,” said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition for NASCAR. “You know, you had two cars that had a lot of damage and both of them dumped quite a bit of oil. There was no need to throw a red. We felt like we could get it in normal lap segment of that. You know, unfortunately there was a lot of oil – it looked like it kept either seeping back up out of the race track or whatever from the car that was on the outside of the wall. And you know, we went one to go a handful of times trying to get back racing as soon as we can, but you know, when you’re in situations like that the most important thing is getting the track race ready. You know, you can look at you can use your hindsight every chance that you want to, but in this particular time we did the best we could to do and it was more important to get the track ready.”
Take what you will out of that statement, fact is – NASCAR made their decision and Dillon became the first national touring series driver to win a NASCAR championship winless.
“I was just glad to see the 12’s back bumper [after the final restart],” Dillon said. “I knew if I could see him and know where he was that I wasn’t going to give up till the end. I had a great start and tried to get the jump on him. It worked out.
“That’s all I can say. He was a great competitor, and he brought his stuff tonight, and we were able to capitalize at the end. Man, it was a hell of a race.”
After passing the No. 32 Target Chevrolet Camaro of Larson, Keselowski cruised to his seventh Nationwide win of the season, but first in the No. 48 entry. The reigning Sprint Cup Series champion won six races this season driving the championship owner’s vehicle the No. 22 Ford Mustang.
Larson was second, Kyle Busch was third followed by Matt Kenseth and Trevor Bayne to round out the top-five.
Joey Logano finished sixth giving car owner Roger Penske and Penske Racing the 2013 NNS owner’s championship by one point over Joe Gibbs Racing (No. 54). Parker Kligerman recovered from a late-race spin in Turn four to claim seventh, Hornish Jr. settled for eighth, Cole Whitt ninth in a TriStar Motorsports entry and Nelson Piquet Jr, collected his fifth top-10 finish of the season to comprise the remainder of the top-10.
With his fourth second-place finish of the season, Larson locked up Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. His No. 32 Chevrolet, however, failed post-race inspection for being too low, the team’s second offense. Keselowski’s victory also secured the NNS manufacturers’ championship for Ford.
“It means a lot to me to win rookie of the year in the Nationwide Series,” Larson said. “A lot of veterans in the past and in the current Sprint Cup Series have won the rookie of the year. To add my name to that list hopefully means I’m doing something good.”
Dillon, Penske and Larson will accept their honors on Monday night in Miami, Florida at the Loews Hotel for the NASCAR Nationwide Series banquet.
Pre-season testing for the NASCAR Nationwide Series from Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway is scheduled in January 2014 for two days, January 11 and 12.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
