NASCAR in the Year: 1990

Dear sports, I miss you.... a lot. They say you never know how much you miss something until it's gone and I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that I'm feeling that way with sports right now. Don't get me wrong, I understand the reasons behind the lack of sports and I agree with it, but it does not make it easier, especially not when you depend as much on sports as I do. 

Ask anybody who knows me and they'll tell you that I basically only watch, write, talk about sports. My late grandmother once asked me what I would do without sports in my life. I told her I didn't know. Well, Grandma, now I know and I don't like it. 

I'm currently sitting on my couch with a beverage in my hand, wing in the crockpot and the window open to soak in the nice weather on this fine Saturday. The only thing missing is a basketball game or NASCAR race on the television. 

I've tried to find ways to pass the time without having sports to watch (or cover), but I can only watch so many 30 for 30's/Chiefs Super Bowl highlights or play so much Playstation before I need to break away, so here I go. 

Yesterday, Derek Martin did his part to fill the void of this year's NCAA Tournament by taking a look back at the 1990 NCAA Tournament. He got me thinking about doing the same with NASCAR, so I'm stealing his idea. I'm sorry, DMart. You can write about the 1991 NASCAR season if you want. 

NASCAR was at its best in the 1990s. Anybody who thinks otherwise is an idiot. This decade had everything. Legends retiring, new legends coming of age, tragedy, thrilling finishes, great stories and so much more. This decade turned NASCAR in to must-see TV and put the sport on the map. 

1990 was a wild season that saw a cinderella Daytona 500 winner, a tight championship battle, a great driver suffering a near-fatal injury, tragedy, and some controversy. Let's dive in.

Race 1: Daytona 500 

This was Dale Earnhardt's race to win. One of, if not the greatest drivers in NASCAR history was almost unstoppable at Daytona and Talladega.....except for the Daytona 500. The Intimidator always seemed to have one of the fastest cars at Daytona, but never could get to victory lane. He entered his 12th Daytona 500 as the hands-down favorite. He showed everybody why, dominating the race and leading 155 laps. He seemed well on his way to winning the biggest race of his career until the final lap. 

In the waning laps, Earnhardt overpowered Derrike Cope on a late-restart to take the lead and tried th hold off charges from Cope and Terry Labonte. Earnhardt took the white flag and was less than a half-lap away from his first-ever Daytona 500 when he ran over a piece of debris that cut a tire and handed the victory to Cope, who had never finished better than sixth in his career. Cope won the race while driving for little-known Whitcomb Racing, a team that had never finished in the top five. Cope was an unknown at the time, having made 72 Winston Cup starts for a bevy of back-marker teams and yet he won a Daytona 500 before one of the sport's greatest. How about that? Here's the finish. 

Three final things about this race: 

1. what an awesome call by Ken Squier.

2. the movie "Days of Thunder" was scheduled to be released later in this year, so they actually allowed cars from that movie to be drove around for parts of the race for filming purposes, wild.

3. 62 cars attempted to qualify for the 42-car Daytona 500. That means 20 drivers had to sit and watch rather than race. Like I said, the 90s' were fun.

Points lead: Derrike Cope over Terry Labonte by five points

Race 2: Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond 

NASCAR used to run a race in Virginia...in February. As you can imagine, sometimes it's cold in Virginia that time of year. This race was one of those, regarded as one of the coldest in NASCAR history with a 40+ mph wind and a 5 degree wind chill. Woof, that's cold. Rusty Wallace and Alan Kulwicki dominated this race, but Kulwicki was caught up in a wreck on Lap 234 and finished in 24th. Wallace continued to dominate, but was passed by Mark Martin with 16 laps to go. Martin then held off Dale Earnhardt for his second-career win. However, it was not without a price. 

After the race, NASCAR officials determined that Martin had oversized carburetor spacer plate and was thus penalized 46 points (such an odd number), keep that in mind as we go along.

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Ricky Rudd by five points 

Race 3: GM Goodwrench 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway 

Kyle Petty absolutely dominated this race by leading 433 of the 500 laps. Petty and second-place finisher Geoff Bodine were the only cars to finish on the lead lap. Ken Schrader finished third and was the only car to finish a lap down. Petty's also started from the pole and was able to win what NASCAR called "the Unocal 76 Challenge". It was actually pretty cool, if you started on the pole and won, you got a bonus. If you didn't win, the bonus rolled over to the next race. No driver had won a race from the pole in the last 29 tries, so Petty netted an extra $228,400. Wouldn't it be awesome if they did something like that today? 

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Rusty Wallace by eight points. 

Race 4: Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 at Atlanta

Dale Earnhardt overcame a one-lap deficit, led 216 laps and edged Morgan Shepherd for the win by 0.32 seconds. Sadly, I cannot find video of this finish. This race also served as the breakthrough for young driver Ernie Irvan, who finished third in his first race with Morgan McClure Motorsports.

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 58 points

Race 5: Transouth 500 at Darlington

Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine dominated this race. Bodine led 154 of the 367 laps while Earnhardt led 129, but ultimately captured the victory.  However, this race was marred by a terrifying 12-car accident that collected the likes of Ernie Irvan, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Geoff Bodine and Neil Bonnett. 

Bonnett, an 18-time NASCAR winner, suffered the worst from this injury. The accident left him with amnesia and severe dizziness. That crash almost ended his career, until he returned in 1993. 

Also, car owner Rick Hendrick entered two cars for this race that were from the film "Days of Thunder". Hut Stricklin and Greg Sacks drove those cars. 

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 78 points

Race 6: Valleydale Meats 500 at Bristol

If a race name like "The Valleydale Meats 500" doesn't make you love 1990s' NASCAR, nothing will. A young hot-shoe from Alabama named Davey Allison won this race by leading 160 laps and beating Mark Martin by a whopping eight inches. Eight inches!. At the time, this was one of the closest finish in NASCAR history. Electronic scoring was not a thing yet (more on that in a minute) so this left ESPN broadcasters Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons and Ned Jarrett guessing who won while they waited for NASCAR to make a decision. Here's the awesome final five laps.

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 42 points.

Race 7: First Union 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway 

One of the most controversial races in NASCAR history. Brett Bodine, a rather unknown driver from New York who had never won a Cup race was driving the race of his life, competing with the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and Mark Martin. Drivers were in the process of making their final pit stops when Kenny Wallace spun out, bringing out a caution. 

As I mentioned earlier, NASCAR did not have electronic timing and scoring yet. Everything was done by hand. North Wilkesboro was a short track and could be easy to lose track of positions and laps. This is exactly what happened.

When the caution came out, NASCAR determined Earnhardt was the race leader. However, Bodine's wife (who was in charge of the timing and scoring for his time) vehemently argued that there was a scoring error and that he should be the leader. NASCAR burned 18 laps under caution to determine who the leader should be. They ultimately decided Bodine was the leader. He took advantage of his fresh tires and cruised to the victory, the only of his career. Waltrip, who finished second, protested the result, but NASCAR denied the protest. If you're looking for some more clarity on this confusing situation, here it is.

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 57 points.

Race 8: Hanes Activewear 500 at Martinsville Speedway

A race sponsored by underwear was dominated by two cars sponsored by beer. Man, I love the 1990 season. Geoff Bodine led 270 laps and cruised to victory in his No. 11 Budweiser Ford, holding off Rusty Wallace in his No. 27 Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac. 

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 52 points.

Race 9: Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

Like he usually did at Talladega, Dale Earnhardt dominated this race. He led 107 laps and held off Greg Sacks to capture his second win of the year. 

Side note: during this race, ESPN had an in-car camera in Dick Trickle's car. ESPN caught Trickle smoking a cigarette during a caution. Have I mentioned this was an awesome year?

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 90 points

All Star Race: The Winston at Charlotte Motor Speedway

The NASCAR All-Star Race is the best All-Star event in all of sports and I will fight anyone who disagrees. This one, however, was not great. Dale Earnhardt led all 70 laps and captured the $325,000 payday. 

Race 10: Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Rusty Wallace absolutely dominated this race, leading 306 laps to capture his first victory of the season. This would be the only "crown jewel" race that Wallace, the 1989 Cup Champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, would win in his career. 

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Morgan Shepherd by 21 points.

Race 11: Budweiser 500 at Dover International Speedway

Derrike Cope proved that his Daytona 500 victory was not a complete fluke by holding off Ken Schrader and Dick Trickle for his second and final career win. During this race Dale Earnhardt blew an engine, his team fixed the engine, and it blew again. Fixing a blown engine during a race has not happened since then, nor has blowing an engine twice in the same race. Legendary. 

Points lead: Morgan Shepherd over Mark Martin by 32 points

Race 12: Banquet Frozen Foods at Sears Point International Raceway

Rusty Wallace led 42 of the 74 laps for his second win in three races to put himself right into the mix of the championship hunt. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Morgan Shepherd by 62 points.

Race 13: Miller Genuine Draft 500 at Pocono Raceway

A race sponsored by beer was won by a driver sponsored by tobacco. "The Bandit" Harry Gant and his No. 33 Skoal Oldsmobile held off Rusty Wallace late for the victory. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Morgan Shepherd by 53 points

Race 14: Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan International Speedway

Because 500 miles sponsored by Miller Genuine Draft was not enough. Bill Elliott dominated the race but blew an engine with 15 laps to go, handing the victory to Dale Earnhardt, who had to hold off a hard-charging Ernie Irvan.

Points lead: Mark Martin over Morgan Shepherd by 94 points

Race 15: Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway

Hey look, Dale Earnhardt dominating at Daytona. He led 127 laps and won his second consecutive race. Also, three-time NASCAR champion and future hall of famer Darrell Waltrip missed this race due to injuries suffered after a vicious wreck in practice.

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 63 points

Race 16: AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono Raceway

Geoff Bodine led 119 of the 200 laps and held off Bill Elliott for his second win of the season. This race was ran in light of tragedy. Chicago native Rich Vogler had qualified for his first career Winston Cup start, but was sadly killed in a sprint car wreck in Salem, Indiana the night before.

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 48 points

Race 17: DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

You guessed it, Dale Earnhardt dominated another superspeedway race, picking up his third in four races this year and created a dead heat with Mark Martin for the points lead.

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by one point

Race 18: Budweiser at the Glen at Watkins Glen International

"The Rooster" Ricky Rudd took the lead with 10 laps remaining and never looked back, cruising to victory by 6.54 seconds over Geoff Bodine. Rusty Wallace blew an engine, severely hampering his championship chances. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 10 points. 

Race 19: Champion Spark Plug 400 at Michigan International Speedway

Mark Martin gave himself a cushion in the points standings with his second victory of the season. Dale Earnhardt finished eighth. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 48 points

Race 20: Busch 500 at Bristol International Speedway

In case you're counting, this is the eighth of the race of the season to be sponsored by spark plugs, beer or tobacco. 'Merica!. Ernie Irvan put the NASCAR world on notice  by holding off Rusty Wallace to capture his first career victory. Dale Earnhardt led 350 laps, but faded and finished eighth. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 61 points

Race 21: Heinz Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

Dale Earnhardt took the lead with 54 laps remaining and held off Ernie Irvan for the victory. Earnhardt's victory also put him just 26 points back of Mark Martin with eight races remaining. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 26 points

Race 22: Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Richmond International Raceway

This is the third race that Miller Genuine Draft sponsored in 1990, plus they sponsored Rusty Wallace's car.  I can only imagine how much they spent on NASCAR that year. Dale Earnhardt led 173 of the 400 laps and held off Mark Martin for the victory, whittling Martin's points lead to just 16 points with seven races remaining. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 15 points 

Race 23: Peak AntiFreeze 500 at Dover Downs International Speedway

Bill Elliott dominated the race, leading 364 of 500 laps for his first victory of the season. Mark Martin finished second, followed by Dale Earnhardt in third. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 21 points

Race 24: Goody's 500 at Martinsville Speedway

Geoff Bodine led a nice 69 laps in a race that was extremely competitive with 16 lead changes. Bodine took the lead from Mark Martin with 42 laps remaining and held off Dale Earnhardt and Martin for the victory. Earnhardt gained five points on Martin, cutting the points deficit to 16 points with five races left. Maybe Martin wishes he had those 46 points that got docked at Richmond, right?

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 16 points

Race 25: Tyson Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway 

Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt just couldn't separate from one another. Martin held off Earnhardt for the victory by 3.63 seconds despite Earnhardt leading a race-high 291 laps. 

This was another race was unfortunately marred by tragedy, hours after the race, rookie Rob Moroso was killed in a drunk-driving accident. He was posthumously named NASCAR Rookie of the Year. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 16 points

Race 26: Mello Yello 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Another race where Bill Elliott dominated, but left empty-handed due to a blown engine. Davey Allison was the beneficiary of Elliott's woes and captured his second win of the year. It was a tough race for championship contenders Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt. Martin finished 13th while Earnhardt had an interesting race. He lost all four tires on pit road after his crew mixed up the lugnuts. His team was regarded as one of NASCAR's top pit crews, by the way. 

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 49 points. 

Race 27: ACDelco 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway

One of my favorite drivers I never got to see, Alan Kulwicki, took the lead with 55 laps remaining and held on for his second career victory. Dale Earnhardt managed to finish 10th, one spot ahead of Mark Martin, gaining four points in the process with only two races remaining.

Points lead: Mark Martin over Dale Earnhardt by 45 points. 

Race 28: Checker 500 at Phoenix International Raceway

Dale Earnhardt put together a championship-esque performance, leading 262 of the 312 laps and gaining the points lead after Mark Martin finished 10th. 

Points lead: Dale Earnhardt over Mark Martin by six points

Race 29: Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Morgan Shepherd closed the 1990 season by taking the lead from Bill Elliott with 29 laps remaining and holding off Geoff Bodine by 2.47 seconds. Dale Earnhardt entered the race with a six-point lead over Mark Martin and clinched the title with a third-place finish while Martin finished sixth. When the dust settled, Earnhardt held off Martin for the championship, the fourth of his career, by just 26 points. If Martin had not been docked 46 points at Richmond, he would have had a 20-point advantage over Earnhardt. Something in February prevented Martin from his first-ever title, wild. 

As you can see, the 1990 Winston Cup Series season was insane, just like most the decade. 

My NFL 10 Week Shakedown

I meant to do this at the halfway point, but work got in the way. Better late than never I suppose. The NFL season is 10 weeks in and we are starting to get a clearer picture of the contenders and, in some cases, the pretenders. So with that being said, I'm going to hand out some awards.

Most Disappointing Team: Many people will say the Browns, but that's because we (including myself) were stupid enough to believe the Browns were going to quit being the Browns when in reality, they still had flaws and have played the league's toughest schedule. I'm giving this honor to the Chicago Bears. Their defense has still been really good, but their offense has been putrid and the result has been a current 4-5 record. I know they beat Detroit yesterday, but what about that game makes you think they got their problems fixed?

Most Surprising Team: The popular pick would be the 49ers, but I've been on high them, not 8-0 high, but still high. In my opinion, the most surprising team to me has been their Bay Area rival. Jon Gruden is not a great coach, but Mike Mayock has shown he can build a team and Josh Jacobs is a grown man. They've compiled a 5-4 record with the league's second-toughest schedule and have a legit shot of making the playoffs and perhaps winning the AFC West.

Most Disappointing Player: This honor does go to the Browns. I was high on Baker Mayfield to begin this season and I still think it would be silly to pull the plug on him or consider him a bust. But he's struggled this season with 9 touchdowns and 12 picks. It's not uncommon for QB's to come out of sophomore slumps. Cam Newton was not good his second year, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees also weren't putting up MVP numbers in year two. But, the hype around Mayfield coming into this season has not been lived up to.

Most Surprising Player: Aaron Jones was the 19th running back selected in a talented 2017 draft class that includes Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffery, Alvin Kamara, Kareem Hunt and James Conner. Jones has been the complementary back that I can't recall Aaron Rodgers has ever had. He's rumbled to the tune of 11 touchdowns and has a pair of 3+ rushing touchdown performances to his name. A Packer team with one of the league's best QB's and a homerun hitting runner is terrifying come postseason.

The Coach Most Likely to Be Fired Next: It's been completely downhill for Dan Quinn and the Falcons since they butchered a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl 51. I know they beat the Saints yesterday, but let's not pretend one game will save Quinn's job. The Falcons have a former MVP QB and one of the league's top receivers, 2-7 is not ideal.

The Best Game: This one is tough because I have not watched nearly the amount of football that I usually watch. It could come tonight when Seattle plays San Francisco. I really don't want to get caught up in the "it just happened" syndrome, so I will bypass saying Panthers/Packers or Chiefs/Titans even though they might be the top two. I'm going to say Packers/Chiefs from two weeks ago because everyone thought they were getting Patrick Mahomes vs. Aaron Rodgers, but instead got Aaron Rodgers vs. Matt Moore. Moore went toe-to-toe with Rodgers, but Green Bay grinded out the 31-24 victory in a game that felt like a heavyweight fight.

The Most Exciting Upcoming Game: Whether you like it or not, it's got to be Chiefs/Patriots on December 8th. The two teams played TWO instant classics last season. The Chiefs are 6-4 behind a laundry-list amount of injuries and finding new ways to lose. Meanwhile, the Patriots have rode the 3rd easiest schedule to a 8-1 record, but got exposed by Baltimore last week. Let's not get carried away though, this is New England's conference until it isn't and this game could be a statement or a changing of the guard. Not sure which, but it will likely be one.

MVP: I think there's three obvious candidates and would be four if Patrick Mahomes hadn't missed two games. I'm going with Russell Wilson over Lamar Jackson, DeShaun Watson and Christian McCaffery. I'll eat my crow and admit I've been wrong on Jackson, but Wilson has been lights out this season, too. Wilson only sits ninth in passing yards, but that's the most overrated QB statistic there is. What is not overrated from Wilson is his 22-to-1 touchdown-interception ratio. That's absurd. He also has the league's best QB rating. Wilson has also led the Seahawks to a record of 7-2 despite having the 27th most efficient defense.

Defensive Player of The Year: At first, I was a bit skeptical of the Steelers surrendering a first round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick when it looked they could be in the market for a QB next year. They still could be, but Fitzpatrick has been worth the trade and then some so far. Fitzpatrick has five interceptions, two forced fumbles and to touchdowns since coming to Pittsburgh. He's guided a Steelers defense that is making up for it's beat up and inefficient offense with one of the league's most efficient defenses. I also think Nick Bosa, TJ Watt and Chandler Jones should be considered in play for DPOY.

Coach of The Year: It's Kyle Shanahan hands down. The offensive guru has quietly taken the 49ers to 8-0. The 49ers are currently the most efficient team in the NFL and it's really not that close. Their offense has been Alex Smith-esque, but productive, while their defense has been salty. I think you also have to consider Mike Tomlin because he's been without two of his superstars. Ron Rivera has hardly missed a beat with Kyle Allen, Matt LaFleur already appears more competent than Mike McCarthy ever was and Jon Gruden has the Raiders above .500, but this honor is Shanahan's to lose.

Offensive Rookie of The Year: Josh Jacobs is a grown man. He has been exactly what the Raiders and Derek Carr needed. The rookie from Alabama has pounded the pumpkin to 811 yards and seven scores. He's done so behind the league's most expensive offensive line, but still, it's great numbers, especially for a rookie. Redskins WR Terry McLaurin has also been really good, but he's on a bad team.

Defensive Rookie of The Year: Remember when people were actually dumb enough to think Nick Bosa sitting out at Ohio State last season would impact his NFL career? Well, it didn't. The second overall pick has been a monster for the 8-0 49ers, tallying 7.5 sacks, a forced fumble. Devin Bush also has a case for DROY, but I'm giving it to the better Bosa.

Predicted AFC Playoff Teams: Patriots, Chiefs, Ravens, Texans, Bills, Steelers
I think the Patriots, Chiefs, Ravens and Texans are essential locks to make the playoffs. The battle for the last two spots goes between the Bills, Steelers, Titans, Chargers, Raiders, Colts and perhaps even the Browns, whose schedule gets easier. Pittsburgh is improving and has a generous schedule. I also trust the Bills to grind out wins in ugly fashion more than I trust Ryan Tannehill, Phillip Rivers, Jon Gruden, Brian Hoyer and Baker Mayfield.

Predicted NFC Playoff Teams: Packers, 49ers, Saints, Cowboys, Vikings, Seahawks.
The NFC is way more competitive. I think the Rams, Panthers and Eagles could be playoff teams, but they've struggled to stay consistent and that will keep them out the playoffs.

AFC Championship Game: Patriots over Chiefs
This might not be the popular pick, but hear me out. The Chiefs are 6-4, but have lost those four games by a combined 23 points and have been ravaged by injuries. I firmly believe the Chiefs at their peak, along with the Texans, Colts, Ravens and maybe the Steelers are better than New England. Now I know somebody is going to ignorantly say "But Trevor, the Ravens handled the Patriots a few weeks ago,". Which, they did, but we've seen this before. The Patriots are my pick to win the AFC until they don't.

NFC Championship Game: Packers over Saints
Now I've been bragging on the 49ers, but I think they're still a year away. Instead, we finally get the Aaron Rodgers vs. Drew Brees NFC Title Game we all deserve. Don't let the Saints loss to the Falcons force you to take a trip to Ignoranceville. Losses like that happen in the NFL. The Saints are fine. I yearn for this matchup and hope it happens. Give me the Packers to win fair and square and give the Saints fan nothing to complain about. Although, it would be funny if they lost the NFC Championship Game on a pass interference call against them. Maybe I am just a bad person.

Super Bowl 54: Packers over Patriots
The NFL's 100th season concludes with two of the greatest QB's to ever play the game. Aaron Rodgers has yet to capture his second ring, but this could be his best chance. I'll also take whatever the over would be on ridiculously soft roughing-the-passer calls in this game.

A ranking of which tracks should host the NASCAR Championship race.

Thanks to a massive, and for the most part, awesome overhaul of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the championship race will be at ISM Raceway in Phoenix rather than Homestead, which has hosted the championship race since 2002. I am all for NASCAR rotating where the championship race is held. Personally, I am in favor of NASCAR having tracks bid on hosting the championship race much like the NFL does with the Super Bowl. This would bring a newfound energy to some tracks and could produce some exciting racing, which is the goal, after-all.

After watching yesterday's race at Phoenix, it's completely understandable to be skeptical about how entertaining the 2020 championship race will be. A lot of the entertainment could fall on if NASCAR does anything to the current rule changes, such as perhaps taking off the spoiler or lowering the downforce on short tracks, but that's an argument for another day.

There are 23 tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit and none of them are identical to each other. Sure, there are some similarities to each other, but each track is unique in its' own way. Remember my proposal for NASCAR to rotate the championship race yearly? Unfortunately, I don't think every track would put on a great show for the fans and that's what it's about. So, I thought it would be neat to rank the tracks 1 through 23 in terms of which tracks I would find the most intriguing as a championship race and which tracks I would find the least. For the sake of this, I am conducting this ranking under the 2019 aero package and am paying no attention to the potential weather problems that could arise in November. Let's begin.

#24 Sonoma: I enjoy road course racing as much as anybody, but this year, the top three finishers at Sonoma were separated by 30 seconds. The course is too technical and typically does not yield great racing.

#23 Indy: This is one of my least favorite races on the circuit. It has failed to garner much excitement in year's past and should have never been the regular season finale. I'm not sure how you make this race exciting.

#22 Pocono: I enjoy Pocono more than others, but aside from the thought of running Pocono in November in a potential snowstorm, nothing about Pocono screams exciting championship race.

#21 Michigan: The aero package was designed to make tracks like Michigan more exciting, the June race was a snoozer and the August race was OK thanks to fuel mileage playing a factor.

#20 Fontana: See Michigan, the restarts might be crazy, but that could be the only exciting part.

#19 Phoenix: This is what we have to look forward to next year.

#18 Dover: I didn't think the October race was as bad as many people, but the June race was not good. A softer tire could make this race intriguing.

#17 Las Vegas: This track has two races for some reason. It's a stereotypical cookie cutter track. Not great, but not terrible, so not championship worthy.

#16 Texas: Texas is not a good track. We saw this last week when Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin crashed. It's probably time to repave Texas, but seeing championship contenders battle a terrible track could be intriguing, too.

#15 Richmond: I love short track racing, but Richmond always has the possibility of a driver flat-out dominating.

#14 Martinsville: Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex. Jr combined to lead 910 of 1000 possible laps in two races this season. Part of this could be because of the giant spoilers and high downforce, but that's not changing and Martinsville might not be entertaining until it does.

#13 Watkins Glen: I like Watkins Glen more than most. It usually shapes up to be an entertaining race where strategies play a factor. Might not be a great title race, but would anything below it be either?

#12 Atlanta: The championship track until 2002, Atlanta has really been the only track this year where tires have played a factor. That could be exciting.

#11 New Hampshire: Completely throwing out the fact that it's New Hampshire in November, I like this track and it's kind of a short track, or at least sometimes races like one.

#10 Charlotte: If the All-Star Race is any indication, a championship race at Charlotte could dish out some exciting racing.

#9 Kentucky: The July race was extremely exciting. The 2019 package has benefited tracks like Kentucky.

#8 Chicago: See Kentucky, this track put on a great race. Although, it could have been because it was hot, rained and then cooled down.

#7 Homestead: For some reason, Homestead has been darn near perfect for a championship race. I would be fine if stayed there, but there's six other tracks I'd like to see more.

#6 Charlotte Roval: We've seen two races from the Roval and both have been exciting. It's served high drama as a cutoff race, so could it do the same as a championship race?

#5 Darlington: How about a throwback and championship weekend? That would be awesome.

#4 Talladega: Please save me the garbage take about how the big one could affect a championship. It already does, so your point is moot. It would be exciting to watch the championship contenders try to avoid the big ones.

#3 Kansas: This is undoubtedly the most exciting 1.5 mile track. It put on good shows in both 2019 races and the restarts were ridiculous. Not to mention, a championship in Kansas City would be awesome for once.

#2 Bristol: If you wouldn't be cool with seeing some hard racing and maybe a bump-and-run for the championship, then maybe you shouldn't watch NASCAR. Just the thought of tempers flaring in a championship race has me excited.

#1 Daytona: The season starts at Daytona, so why not finish it there? It would be a perfect way to bookend the season and would put on an exciting race. Again, the big one could happen, but you can't argue that it wouldn't be exciting, because it would be.

My Professional Portfolio

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I have had the opportunity to cover multiple events over the past few years on different platforms. My experience in the industry include working for KZLX Radio, the Northwest Missouri State University's student station from 2016-2019, where I served as sports director for a year. I have also been employed by KMA since 2016 and have covered a variety of high school sports. My experiences have required me to do multiple things such as game tweets, live play-by-play, post-game stories, game previews, coach interviews and player interviews. My portfolio consists of portions of my audio work, links to many of my game stories and a view of some of my work on social media. 

Links to my written work 

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/red-oak-overcomes-slow-start-advances-to-state-for-th/article_b0b70d48-ff84-11e9-93b5-17ad3c5e797c.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/pogge-baudler-claim-a-individual-titles-lo-ma-girls-repeat/article_76995a0e-fdd5-11e9-b198-334aa8f9839c.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/norwalk-comes-back-from---deficit-to-beat-glenwood/article_7d40ad36-fd2a-11e9-841d-a796296039ba.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/tj-trio-ready-to-take-state-xc-by-storm/article_095b07d4-fbe7-11e9-9c1e-3b4edb513e60.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/perfect-october-al-sweeps-again-advances-to-regional-final/article_2239c3b4-facd-11e9-b780-3bf986a80128.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/acgc-downs-treynor-in-five-set-thriller-advances-to-regional/article_6c8fbbfa-fa03-11e9-ad49-17c2aa8fb7b4.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/lamoni-scores-unanswered-to-claim-district-title/article_f96ff698-f7a6-11e9-a2e1-ff880ddc98e1.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/back-to-back-harlan-girls-lewis-central-boys-claim-hawkeye/article_c50aba16-f146-11e9-bce0-f346352f3d7f.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/nodaway-valley-dominates-claims-both-individual-and-team-titles-at/article_38bbbc44-efb7-11e9-8f3e-2b0564f3dd1d.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/senior-leadership-propels-sidney-to-sweep-of-east-mills-fifth/article_a0cb3aa4-e65b-11e9-9c34-4ba71e6239de.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/sw-valley-uses-familiar-recipe-in-win-over-red-oak/article_249be590-cb9f-11e9-9722-53625db9b7e5.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/bedford-holds-off-nodaway-valley-in-inning-classic/article_3be3d634-93de-11e9-9fe2-dbc2faac9655.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/state-soccer-lewis-central-wins-it-on-penalty-kicks-advances/article_02d4a30c-83fb-11e9-bcca-3f71be546173.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/shen-tennis-punches-ticket-to-state-for-fourth-time-in/article_00029dca-79a4-11e9-9d3d-5f445f0ee5ef.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/glenwood-girls-continue-hawkeye-ten-dominance-with-fifth-title-in/article_39ef1bf6-6d5d-11e9-b6a0-4b031dcb78de.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/jefferson-completes-the-gauntlet-wins-state-title-in-school-s/article_fcbbbd24-42dd-11e9-b29e-b79a9f381aa6.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/state-wrestling-tournament-thoughts-state-duals-the-seeding-mess-some/article_02290970-2e56-11e9-b8a0-d713c1a6a8da.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/underwood-pleases-home-crowd-with-state-qualifiers-at-class-a/article_31c48924-2ccc-11e9-ae46-9fe3edabf685.html

http://www.kmaland.com/sports/weight-by-weight-breakdown-of-the-th-annual-john-j/article_e6c21762-1b86-11e9-b4e2-0be8395c9c79.html

https://trevorstakeonsports.blogspot.com/2019/07/sw-iowa-high-school-football-look-at.ht

 Audio Work

1. The fourth quarter of a wild basketball contest between Atlantic and Treynor

2. A game preview with Glenwood Football Coach Cory Faust

3. The first two quarters of my call of a Class 3A Iowa high school football playoff contest between Glenwood and Norwalk 

4. Jacob Blair and I covered this year's NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway as part of NASCAR's College Media Program. Here is a link to one of the podcasts we recorded, that includes interviews with many drivers

5. A highlight package from my 2018 call of the Northwest Missouri State/University of Nebraska-Kearney football contest

6. A highlight package from my call of the 2018 football contest between Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Southern. 

7. This is one of my favorite interviews I've ever conducted, a state cross country preview with Doug Muehlig, the long time coach at Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson High School.

Social Media

I believe in having a strong presence in social media and promoting my employer's brand in the best way possible, so here is a look at some of my social media work from events I've covered.

Craziness in Kansas: Brandon Jones survives craziness for his first career Xfinity win

(KANSAS CITY, KS) -- It took him 134 races, but Brandon Jones made sure that his first career Xfinity win came in a fashion that fans will remember for a long time. The 22-year old Atlanta native survived the craziness and snagged the victory in Saturday's frantic Hollywood Casino 300 at Kansas Speedway, becoming the races' third consecutive first time winner.

"I've been a winner in a lot of different series, but this is the biggest one I've ever had. This is huge," Jones said of his victory.

This race had everything.

A surprise first-time winner, championship contenders plagued by misfortune, an unfortunate wreck involving the leaders and a lapped car, and a pit-road fight.

Jones took the lead from Cole Custer with 10 laps remaining, then had to hold off the field on a restart with five laps remaining. Jones stayed poised despite having never been in that situation

"I had confidence that if he got in clean air, he was going to be really solid at the end," said Jones' crew chief, Jeff Meendering. "We had really good speed most of that race even when we were back in traffic," Meendering added.

Jones' car definitely showed speed, more-so on shorter runs. However, the majority of the race belonged to Jones' teammate, Christopher Bell and Cole Custer. Bell, the pole sitter dominated stage one, leading all 45 laps and picking up another playoff point. Custer took the lead from Bell in stage two and won the second stage.

A long run ensued during stage three, allowing Custer to show the speed that he's had on 1.5-mile tracks this season.

Then things got weird.

Michael Annett ended the long-run when he got into the wall with 50 to go. Briscoe took advantage of Custer's miscues on the restart and grabbed the lead. John Hunter Nemechek spun out with 37 to go, bringing out another caution. Annett stayed out and assumed the lead, but was quickly overtaken by Briscoe. Bell methodically reeled Briscoe in as the laps wound down.

While battling for the lead, Bell and Briscoe both attempted to clear the lapped car of Garrett Smithley. However, Smithley made contact with Briscoe and collected Bell as well. The accident effectively ended Bells' chances of winning, ended Smithley's day and caused severe damage to Briscoes' machine.

Smithley's accident comes weeks after a highly criticized incident in the Cup Series, where Smithley made contact with Kyle Busch at Las Vegas.

"We were on like 70 lap tires, just riding," Smithley said, "I hate it. It was a big mistake, but we'll move on from it. He (his spotter) said he said something, but I didn't get the memo," Smithley added.

"It's frustrating," Briscoe said, "We're literally racing for our lives trying to win a championship."

Tyler Reddick capped off his entertaining day with second place, but a cut on his forehead due to a post-race altercation with Custer due to an on-track disagreement. The altercation also consisted of multiple crew members.

"I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed in his crew members not letting us handle it ourselves. It's just between me and him and that's the way it should have been," Reddick said.

Custer's topsy-turvy day concluded with an 11th place finish despite leading a race-high 85 laps.

Briscoe and Annett rebounded to finish third and fourth respectively, Justin Allgaier, the only playoff driver who did not have troubles, finished fifth. Jeremy Clements, Justin Haley, Nemechek, Ryan Seig and Ross Chastain rounded out the top ten.

Playoff driver Noah Gragson finished 13th. Bell led 69 laps, but finished the day in 14th following his accident with Smithley.

Austin Cindric, who came in fourth in points, found himself in an early race incident with Harrison Burton that caused significant damage. Cindric also battled tire problems throughout the day and finished 25th.

The Round of 8 will resume in two weeks at Texas Motor Speedway. Bell comes into the race as the points leader, 49 points above the cutline. Custer is second, 38 above the cut. Reddick still has a 37-point buffer and  Allgaier holds a two-point margin over Briscoe for the final transfer spot. Annett, Gragson and Cindric are currently on the outside-looking-in by 12, 17 and 30 points respectively.

Results: 1. Brandon Jones, 2. Tyler Reddick, 3. Chase Briscoe, 4. Michael Annett, 5. Justin Allgaier, 6. Jeremy Clements, 7. Justin Haley, 8. John Hunter Nemechek, 9. Ryan Seig, 10. Ross Chastain, 11. Cole Custer, 12. Chrsitopher Bell, 13. Noah Gragson, 14. Ray Black II, 15. Alex Labbe, 16. Dillon Bassett, 17. Gray Gaulding, 18. Brandon Brown, 19. BJ McLeod, 20. Matt Mills, 21. Josh Williams, 22. Kyle Weatherman, 23. David Starr, 24. CJ McLaughlin, 25. Austin Cindric, 26. Chad Finchum, 27. Stephen Leicht, 28. Tyler Matthews, 29. Josh Bilicki, 30. Vinnie Miller, 31. Bobby Earnhardt, 32. Joey Gase, 33. Garrett Smithley, 34. Harrison Burton, 35. Bayley Curry, 36. Landon Cassill, 37. JJ Yeley, 38. Ryan Truex.

Kansas Lottery 300: Playing the playoff lottery

(Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia)

It's fitting that this race is named the Kansas Lottery 300. The lottery benefits those who gamble. Gamble too much and it will hurt you. Gamble just right and the payoff could be huge. Will that happen in Saturday's Xfinity race, which will serve as the first of three races in the Round of 8? Time will tell. Win today and you're racing championship while also having two weeks to prepare your car for the grand finale at Homestead. Struggle today and you're playing catchup. I cannot overstate how important today's race is and perhaps most importantly, the start of today's race.

Lap 1 of last year's race was crazy and saw championship contenders Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric get caught up in an accident that ruined their days while John Hunter Nemechek went onto claim his first Xfinity Series victory. So what will the first lap look like?

"I think early in the race you want to try to make sure you can make it to the end," Custer said.

Last year, both Custer and Bell were put behind the eight-ball after Kansas and had to peel off respective wins at Texas and Phoenix. This year, two-thirds of the Xfinity Series "Big Three" come into today with near-full race worth cushions, but as they learned last year, that can change in a hurry.

"We have a really good buffer," said Custer, who comes in with a 36-point buffer, "At the same time, anything can happen."

So how aggressive will these playoff drivers be? That could depend on the situation. Custer sits +36, so he might not be overly aggressive and he might not need to thanks his recent speed on 1.5 mile tracks.

But how aggressive will Tyler Reddick be? The defending Xfinity champion comes in to Saturday with a 30 point cushion, but anybody who has watched Reddick knows that being conservative is not his forte.

"Instead of being 130 percent aggressive, I think I'll just be 100 percent aggressive," Reddick said.

While Reddick, Bell and Custer come into Kansas with the mindset of just not letting anything bad happen, five other drivers will be scratching and clawing for every single position. Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Chase Briscoe, Michael Annett and Noah Gragson will begin this round with just 12 points separating them. If the "Big Three" do what they've done all year, that leaves room for just one of the aforementioned six.

So which one of those five drivers could be the one to watch to at Kansas?

Keep an eye on Chase Briscoe, who begins the Round of 8 four points below the cutline. The Stewart-Haas driver claimed a victory earlier this season at Iowa, a track, like Kansas, grip and tire wear usually plays a large factor. Briscoe, a dirt racer at heart, is keen to drive the cushion and attempt to make the topside work and Kansas tends to reward those who make the top side work.

"It's one of the places that moves around a lot, which is kind of my style. It's always a good racetrack because you have options and you can throw slidejobs here," Briscoe said.

Don't discount some of the non-championship contenders either such as Nemechek, Harrison Burton or Ross Chastain. Nemechek won last year's race and Chastain won the truck race at Kansas in May, so both know how to win in the Sunflower State.

Who will learn how to win here today?

The green flag for the Kansas Lottery will drop shortly after 2 p.m on NBC.

Xfinity Round of 8 Playoff Standings

1. 20 Christopher Bell 3062 (+48)

2. 00 Cole Custer 3050 (+36)

3. 2 Tyler Reddick 3044 (+30)

4. 22 Austin Cindric 3017 (+3)

5. 7 Justin Allgaier (-3)

6. 98 Chase Briscoe (-4)

7. 1 Michael Annett (-8)

8. 9 Noah Gragson (-12) 

Worst to First: Eckes overcome woes, claims ARCA title

(KANSAS CITY, KS) -- When Christian Eckes finally emerged from the confetti showered upon him, he emerged an ARCA champion. Eckes, the youngest series champion at just 18 years, 11 months and 8 days overcame a veterans' heap of adversity to claimehe 2019 ARCA Menards Series title with a second half surge in Friday night's ARCA Kansas 150 to win the race and edge teammate Michael Self by 25 points.

Missing a race earlier due to an illness? No problem for Eckes. Moving to the back of the field because of a post-qualifying engine change? That didn't phase him either.

"It's been a dream year," Eckes said, "We've been through some highs and some lows, but today has definitely been a high.

While Eckes wasted little time cracking the top ten, Self dominated the first portion of the race, collecting five bonus points. A Drew Dollar caution on lap 40 erased Self's lead, but a stellar pit stop put Self in front of Eckes' on the restart. Self once again checked out, only to have his lead erased, again, when Tim Richmond spun on lap 52.

Eckes' learned from his mistake on the previous restart and took the lead from Self with under 40 to go and never looked back en route to the title.

"I tried something different there at the first restart and it did not work at all. The second restart, I got through the gears really good, took the lead and never looked back," Eckes said.

Self settled for second, Ty Majeski finished third. Brett Holmes and Travis Braden also notched top five finishes. Tanner Gray, Drew Dollar, Hailie Deegan, Joe Graf. Jr and Gus Dean rounded out the top ten.

Self finishes his 2019 season just shy of his ultimate goal, but did compile four wins, 14 top fives and 15 top tens. Self hinted during his Friday afternoon media availability that his 2020 plans were up in the air.

 "I have a ton of respect for him and I really he races next year. He's a great driver," Eckes said of Self.

Eckes' finishes his championship campaign with four wins, 13 top-fives and 17 top tens. He also finished the season on a stretch of seven consecutive top-two finishes. Eckes' looks to be on the shorthand of candidates to replace Harrison Burton in Kyle Busch Motorsports' #18 Gander Outdoor Truck Series entry.

"I've got a couple things in the works, but nothing solidified yet. Hopefully this kind of helps that out a little bit, but you never know," Eckes said.

Results: 1. Christian Eckes, 2. Michael Self. 3. Ty Majeski, 4. Bret Holmes, 5. Travis Braden, 6. Tanner Gray, 7. Drew Dollar, 8. Hailie Deegan, 9. Joe Graf. Jr, 10. Gus Dean, 11. Sheldon Creed, 12. Harrison Burton, 13. Carson Ware, 14. Scott Melton, 15. Ed Pompa, 16. Riley Herbst, 17. Tim Richmond, 18. Eric Caudell, 19. Tommy Vigh. Jr. 20. Brad Smith, 21. Dick Doheny, 22 Wayne Peterson