November 23, 2005

By Rebecca Gladden

On the surface, NASCAR might look like a sport about guys who race cars.

In reality, it's an ongoing human drama, with a cast of characters as varied as any soap opera and a plot equally as complex.

The 2005 Cup season's final race at Homestead-Miami was almost Shakespearian, offering fans a compelling mix of successes and failures, triumphs and tragedies, sad endings and new beginnings.

Here then, in no particular order, are some of the noteworthy driver storylines from Sunday's season finale:

Greg Biffle - Biffle entered the race 4th in points, the last of the top-four drivers with a mathematical shot at the title. He was also trying to become the first driver in history to win a championship in all three of NASCAR's highest divisions, having already secured titles in the Craftsman Truck series (2000) and the Busch series (2002). Biffle won Sunday's race with a masterful pass on teammate Mark Martin in the closing laps, but finished 2nd in the Chase, 35 points behind Tony Stewart. He did, however, win a series-high six races on the year, and also finished 10th in Busch series points, despite having competed in just 27 of 35 Busch races.

Jimmie Johnson - Johnson entered the race 2nd in points, acutely aware that he had finished 2nd overall for the past two seasons. Perhaps trying a little too hard to break the spell, Johnson qualified a disappointing 32nd on Saturday. He narrowly missed a wreck in the early going on Sunday only to crash out of the race on lap 126 with a blown tire. Johnson dropped to 5th in points, despite having five wins on the year.

Carl Edwards - Though technically not a rookie in the Cup series after competing in 13 races last year, this was Carl Edwards first full season as a Cup driver. He surprised almost everyone by winning four races and qualifying handily for the Chase. He started Sunday's race on the pole and led the most laps, finishing 4th in the race and 3rd in the standings. After the race, Edwards promised, "I'm having a good time and that's what it's all about, and we'll be back next year." He finished 3rd in Busch series points as well.

Matt Kenseth - The 2003 Cup champion, Kenseth's season started poorly. By the Pocono race in June, he was 24th in the standings, 700 points out of 1st and seemingly far-removed from another title run. A remarkable mid-season turnaround propelled Kenseth into the Chase field, but he raced with a heavy heart on Sunday after the passing of crew chief Robbie Reiser's father on Saturday. "John Reiser was a special, special man," Kenseth said after the race. "Without him, I would never have been racing Busch series, much less Winston Cup series. I'm for sure gonna miss that guy a lot."

Rusty Wallace - Wallace said he wanted to go out on top and he did just that, ending his career as one of the top 10 drivers in the 2005 season. Wallace drove his first Cup race in 1980 at age 23, and retired on Sunday after completing more than a quarter of a million Cup miles, with 55 wins and a championship. In Sunday's drivers meeting, Wallace delivered a funny, poignant speech to his fellow competitors, sharing these words of advice with the four drivers vying for the title: "One of you four is going to get this thing and whoever gets it, do your damndest to respect this sport - because driving these cars is a privilege."

Jeff Gordon - Four-time Cup champ Jeff Gordon had a roller-coaster year marked by both highs and lows. After winning the Daytona 500 and two other races out of the first nine, the 24 team's performance fell off dramatically. Gordon missed the Chase, had 9 DNF's on the year, and changed crew chiefs in an effort to stop the bleeding. He was 16th in points after the fall race in Talladega, but, like the champion he is, started to rediscover the winning edge that had eluded him earlier. He put together a string of four top-5's in the last five races of the season and climbed to 11th in points - a position that will earn him a trip to New York for the award's ceremony and a $1 million check.

Kurt Busch - Busch should have had a prime view of Sunday's race through the windshield of the 97 car. Instead, he was at home in North Carolina, watching the action from the comfort of an easy chair. The reigning Nextel Cup champion was arrested in Arizona on November 11th and charged with reckless driving, then suspended by team owner Jack Roush for the final two races of the year. On Sunday's pre-race show, NBC commentator Bill Weber said that during a phone conversation, Busch admitted that, "he realizes in the last few years he has matured in the seat as a racer, but not as much as a person." Weber said he plans to work on that.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - After a six-win season last year, Earnhardt started 2005 with a new crew chief, new team and new stable of cars. The results were just short of disastrous. Heading into Homestead, Junior was barely hanging on to 20th in the standings, with six DNF's and just one win, having changed crew chiefs twice more during the year. Despite a disappointing season on the track, Earnhardt is en route to receiving the fan-voted Most Popular Driver award for the third straight year.

Kyle Busch - Kyle Busch headed to Homestead on the heels of victory at Phoenix, his second win of the season. The victory was overshadowed, however, by the arrest of older brother Kurt on a charge of reckless driving two days before the race. Kyle wrapped up the season in disappointing fashion with a wreck and a 41st-place finish. On a brighter note, Busch became the youngest driver ever to win a Cup race earlier in the season with a victory at California, and also took home Rookie of the Year honors - an award previously won by the likes of Richard Petty, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace and Jeff Gordon.

Ricky Rudd - Different people retire in different ways, and perhaps this was never more evident than the contrasting farewells of Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd this year. Wallace went out with great fanfare, a season-long "Rusty's Last Call" tour, and tributes at virtually every track the series visited. Rudd, on the other hand, announced his retirement from full-time Cup racing just weeks before the season ended with very little pomp and pageantry, just as he had hoped. Rudd started his Cup career in 1975 and has a total of 23 wins, but will be best remembered for his amazing string of 788 consecutive Cup starts without a day off for illness or injury.

Kenny Wallace - A full-time Busch series driver for the past two seasons, Wallace was tapped by Jack Roush to serve as a last-minute replacement for suspended driver Kurt Busch in Phoenix. Excited and anxious, Wallace jumped in the car wearing a uniform and gear borrowed from various drivers including big brother Rusty. After bringing home a 16th-place finish, he was offered the ride again for the Homestead race, finishing 21st and avoiding any major problems on the track.

Jeremy Mayfield - Mayfield's participation in the Chase two years in a row seemed almost like a postscript, judging by the amount of media coverage he received. Mayfield finished 10th in the Chase last year and 9th this year, but was not satisfied with his overall performance, despite a respectable season in which he had one win, nine top-10's and just one DNF. Mayfield remained optimistic heading into the Homestead weekend as a major realignment was underway at Evernham Motor Sports. "When you get in the Chase, you want to win the championship obviously, but I see bigger and better things in our future," he explained Friday. "We can't let one season take away from the big picture. We all know we weren't running good enough this year to win the championship, but there's nothing to say we can't run good enough next year to win it."

Kasey Kahne - Another Evernham driver, Kahne was last season's Rookie of the Year, but struggled through a sophomore slump in 2005. Aside from securing his first Cup win this season he had very little to boast about, finishing 23rd in points and suffering 9 DNF's. The restructuring at Evernham may help him get on track next year as well.

Elliott Sadler - Sadler, a Chase contender last year, was in the top 10 - even the top 5 - for much of the early going this season. He hadn't finished lower than 29th through the first 17 races, but in the next 12 races, he had six finishes of 32nd or worse. Sadler missed the Chase and ended the season in 13th with no wins and just one top 5.

Tony Stewart - There's probably not much to say about Tony Stewart that hasn't already been said. At the end of the 2004 season, his crew conducted something of an attitude intervention with him, making him painfully aware of the way his anger and petulance affected them. To his credit, Stewart not only listened, but acted upon their advice and learned to control his temper. Stewart dedicated his 2005 championship to crew chief Greg Zipadelli and the two have now been together longer than any other driver/crew chief tandem presently in the Cup series.

With the Bud Shootout just 80 days away, NASCAR fans can rest assured that a new season of drama and excitement is right around the corner.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.