Monday Musings, 11/21/11

Yesterday at Homestead, there was a changing of the guard. Yeah, there was the obvious changing of the guard as Jimmie Johnson turned the Sprint Cup crown over to Tony Stewart. But we also got to see a new side of Tony Stewart.

This is not the same Tony Stewart who won the first two championships. He still was confident, but it was different. Tony was so calm and relaxed on the radio on Sunday. A hole in the grill? Won't they be ticked when we come through the field. A broken air socket? We'll get it back, boys. The old Stewart probably would not have been so nice. Where did the change come from? Is it because he's an owner now? Is he older and wiser? (I'd like to think it's that one because Smoke and I both turned 40 this year.)

I admit I like the "bad boy" Stewart. But yesterday and throughout the Chase, he showed a different confidence. And it worked for him too. Whenever a challenge was thrown his way, he didn't get angry or give up. I'm very interested to see whether this Stewart is going to stick around and what he can do next year.

Some other thoughts:

• Jimmie Johnson will have to be content with the nickname Five Time for at least another year. Congrats to Jimmie and Chad Knaus on their five-year run. Now it's time to share the wealth.
• Thank you to Carl Edwards for being so classy in defeat. I've been a Carl fan for a long time, and yesterday he confirmed why I like him so much.
• Smoke passed 116 cars during the race. That means he passed every car in the race almost three times (although I have a feeling he passed some more than others).
• Is NASCAR imitating baseball? Carl Edwards (the Red Sox) is strong all season, only to succomb to a last-minute surge from Tony Stewart (the Rays) at the end of the season. The only difference between the Red Sox and Carl is that Carl's average finish during the Chase was 4.9 and didn't fold like a cheap suit (and I say that as a Red Sox fan). I'd imagine that John Henry and Roush Fenway probably don't appreciate this comparison.
• I'm disappointed that one of the stories coming out of Homestead is that the crowd booed Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden.
• Congrats to Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse for winning the Truck Series and Nationwide Series championships. This was the first year that drivers could earn points in only one series, and this new format produced two champions who could play a big part in NASCAR's future. Hopefully they will be allowed to develop their talents until they are ready to make the jump to the big stage.
• Perpetuating my love for V8 Supercars, check out this video. Maybe we just need to lighten up a little bit here in the United States.

One more race to go for 2011. I seriously won't know what to do with myself once the F1 race is over next Sunday.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.