2012 Member and Season Review
#1
11-25-2012, 10:44 AM
2012 Member and Season Review
Two seasons are now under our belts on MCF NASCAR Fantasy and it was a great season!
However, from a competitive stand point, when we look at close points battles, many people leading the points, and several members in the chase until the very end, teh season was actually a lot more dull than 2011. In 2011, 7 members led the points and the lead was swapped 11 times. This year, the lead was swapped twice and only led by three members!
We had more race winners this year. SIXTEEN (16) members won atleast one points payign race this year, and another member won a Gatorade Duel! Last year, 12 members won races! In that sense, the season was much more competitive.
Also, in terms of points earned, 2012 was a major step up in competition. 03JGMonte won the title with 3730 points, or an average of 103.61 per race. Last year, I won with 3522 points, or an average of 97.83 points per race. That 5 points average per race added up to a lot. In fact, anyone in the top 9 in points this year would ahve won the title last eyar wtih the same points total!! If that's a sign of things to come, next years champion will have to have a ton of luck and expertise to average 108 points per race!
Last year, only two members received poitns penalties over Pocono. This year, many members recevied penalties. lougreen03, bblackstone, and monte06ltz were penalized 6 points a piece for Tony STewarts qualifying infraction at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Members Leprechaun93, 77GP, and zjerry were penalized 25 points each after Jeff Gordon was penalized for his actions at Phoenix during an altercation on track with Clint Bowyer
With all of that being said, lets review each members season.... organized by championship rank...
#1. 03JGMonte
Race Wins: 5
Segment Wins: 2
Weeks Leading Points: 1
03JGMonte made the most Cinderella comeback that could be made. He picked Logano, Montoya, and Patrick at Darlington... and Carl's win taht week left him 176 points out of the points lead. What may make the comeback more impressive is if I point out that he was still 11th in points and 181 out by the time we reached the July Daytona race. When he left Charlotte with 5 races to go, he was 2nd in points but still had 58 points to go!! Therefore, he made up 10.55 points per week for the final 18 races to win the title. We may never see that kind of comeback again!
While he averaged 103 points per race, here is a more impressive stat. From the 19th race of the season at Loudon to Homestead, he averaged 110.16 points per race!!! Bad luck just couldn't seem to find that guy!
Although he won 5 races, only 2 of them were in the first part of the year, and 2 others were in the final segment as he traced down Carl Martin.
Mikes championship run can be symbolic to all members.. no matter how far down you are, or how where you are now... a little luck and a lot of perseverance could still get you a great run in the points!
Congrats Mike, 03JGMonte, for making a comeback run from July-November that I don't know will ever happen again on this league...
#2 carlm54stl
Race Wins: 4 (+1 non points win, All Star Race)
Segment Wins: 1
Weeks Leading Points: 25
Carl Martin put together one of the best seasons you could ever ask for. In the first 18 races, he won 4 points races plus the All Star Race in Charlotte. And although he maintained consistency throughout the rest of the season, he didn't win another race. His points lead expanded and contracting, even hitting, to my recollection, 3 figures at one point. His lead was drawn back down entering the chase but stretched back out again... only to be slowly eaten away by Mike.
But amidst what had to be a heartbreaker in Homestead, Carl still has many things to hang his hat on this year. He is one of only three segment winners from the season (since Mike won two), he won 4 races, the All Star race, and led the points for more consecutive weeks than any other member before. (Breaking my record of the final 14 last season.) Many of us sincerely believed even with 10-15 races to go that with the lead he had, he would be unstoppable.
What cost Carl the title is not what he did as much as just the impressive run that Mike together.
The last two seasons of NASCAR just haven't been friendly in that way to people named Carl. In 2011, Carl Edwards drove his heart out, led the most laps, yet that strategy by Stewart and an untimely rain shower cost him the title in the last race too....
For someone as consistent as Carl, there is always next season. Good luck next year, buddy!
#3 Leprechaun93
Race Wins: 3
It's hard to find a time when Keane was at his peak. In Segment 2, the Segment lead alternated between Keane and Carl for all 9 races. When the checkered flag fell on Daytona, I initially called Keane the winner of hte segment. However, a reshuffling of the finishing order by NASCAR due to a crash and the moment of caution having to be determined, Carl gained points while Keane lost some... and that meant that Carl won the Segment by 2 points.
However, Keane came back strong. Leprechaun93 won Indianapolis and Watkins Glen, giving him 2 wins in 3 races. He won Talladega late in the season, and managed to be in the top 6 in poitns in the last 3 segments.
With a little more luck in the opening races, Keane may have been a solid championship contender. Instead, he did go into Homestead with a hail mary's chance of winning a title. When one considers the competition level this season, third isn't too shabby!
#4 Cowboy6622
Race Wins: 1
Certainly for me, the highlight of my season was ending a 66 race winless streak in that chaotic finish at Phoenix! I was so full of joy I filmed a victory lane sequence and had a "press conference."
My season started out with successful frustration. In Las Vegas, I was 1 point shy of winning the race, and that was my 2nd consecutive 2nd place run of the year at that point! However, my **** poor performacne in the Daytona 500 left me 6th in poitns. From that point, my season was up and down, as I finished Segment 1 8th in poitns, finished top in Segment 2, then dropped way back to 13th in Segment 3, before rallying to a 2nd place Segment 4 run and a 4th place in the overall points. As an extra kicker, I did lead Segment 4 for a few races.
The second Michigan race every year has been my pinncale. Last year I took the points lead there, this year, I made a move to take 2nd in points after Michigan! However, two bad race runs at the night races of Bristol, Atlanta, and Richmond dropped me from 2nd to 7th in 3 weeks, and I was only 44 points from falling out of the top 10! I gained 40 poitns on Carl over the last segemnt to run 2nd in Segment 4 and rally back to 3rd overall going into Homestead, but still dropped one spot to finish 4th at the end.
But I did finally get that win to hang my hat on... that gives me a lot of confidence going into the off season and hopes that I can rebound next year to make another bid at a title run!
#5 JuniorCar
Race Wins: 3 (plus non points paying wins in Gatorade Duel 1 and All Star race Showdown)
Segment Wins: 1
Races Leading Points: 10
JuniorCar started out the season by earnign way more points than anyone in the Daytona 500. He earned 126 points, only other person to get over 100 only got 107. That gave him a major boost that helped him maintain a points lead for 10 races. Carl Martin's 1-2-3 at Darlington combined with his own 105 point run lost hte lead. However, he and Carl would run 1-2 in the points for much of the season. When Junior had the concussion after Bristol, Juniors performance fell off, and so to did Junior Car. After Dale Jr missed two races and Brent chose to stick with the team and pick Regan Smith for Charlotte, Brent fell all the way to 7th before rallying back to a 5th place run in the points.
Brent still has a great season to rest his hat on. In his own words, winning the Daytona 500 was the biggest thing. Watching Montoya hit a jet dryer and then going on to win the race on teh fantasy league made that a huge win for him. With his Gatorade Duel win on Thursday before that, he had a great speedweeks!
Brent went on to win two more times on the flat tracks and running 2nd for a big part of the season made it Brent's greatest year in the NASCAR Fantasy.
However, he did win twice as many races last year...
#6 monte carlo 3831
Race Wins: 2
Chris put together a solid season with an early win at Kansas in April and a late win at Charlotte in October. He was 4th in Segment 1 and 2nd in Segment 3, 47 points out, so he had strings of good races. Overall, he was good for sixth place which was solid for how crazy this year was. He was 2nd overall going into Bristol in March, only 11 points out, but faded from there. He is an avid Earnhardt and Harvick fan, and stuck by his guns all season long. Among members who are veterans of the league, he was actually among the better finishers....
#7 zjerry
Race Wins: 3
Last year, zjerry made a late season charge to the front. This year, he started out the season solid with the 2nd ever 1-2-3 pick at Las Vegas to win that race by just 1 point! He backed that up with wins at Chicago and Texas in the last 10 races of the year. His highest segment finish was 6th in Segment 3 this year, so there really wasn't a time when he was hot, but he was steady all year for a 7th place overall finish. His three wins demonstrate ability to excel at times.
Mysteriously, all of his wins were on 1.5 mile tracks!!
#8 SupplySgt
Race Wins: 1
Sergeant Drew won his one race at Michigan in August and was running rather well in the points at the time. In the summer months, he spent most of his time between 3rd and 5th place in the overall points. Military manuevers put him in positions where he was unable to pick for a race late in the season. With that extra race, he may have easily finished top 5.
Drew ran well here, running 4th in Segment 2 and 3rd in Segment 3. He was right there in championship contention and ran well for many races.
However, as we know, life comes before games. Drew, we thank you for your service to our country, and hope Uncle Sam will give him time to run all 36 races next year!
#9 02 Earnhardt
Race Wins: 1
02 Earnhardt joined up for the last two races of 2011 and stayed on for a season this time. It took him 34 fantasy races to get that elusive first win in the October Kansas race, but he did pull one off! His highest segment rating was 6th in Segment 2. He just couldn't seem to find the consistency for a long period of time to pull contend for a Segment or a Championship this year. But he does have a win to rest his hat on and a chance to run again next year!
#10 butch049
Race Wins: 1
Butch was a new comer this year who ran until the Loudon chase race before pulling off his first win of his fantasy career! While not winning races, Butch did have consistency, as he finished Segment 1 21 points out of first place and 3rd overall at the time. I believe he missed a race during Segment 2, but he still managed to run 8th and 3rd in Segments 3 and 4, respectively. Whiel not winning races, he was a consistent member who silently creeped along near the top of the Segment poitns and even the overall points for a time. With that kind of consistency, he was one of a handful of members who coudl easily go on a tear and win several races and could definitely be a contender for a Segment win or even the championship next year!
#11 77GP
Race Wins: 4
Jerry started out the season with a promising win at Phoenix, and also being the only person to win that spring Phoenix race on this league! However, the inconsistency of his favorite drivers, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, and apparenlty, Kyle Busch (OH YEAH I WENT THERE), plagued him all year. And when he didn't pick those guys, they won the race. Jerry, while making solid picks, just couldn't seem to do get the luck to fall on his side. His best finish for a Segment was 10th in Segment 3. His strategy of differing picks from everyone else several times may have gotten him 11th in points, but at the same time, it got him 4 wins, including Phoenix, back to back wins in Bristol and Atlanta in August, and, like his favorite driver, Jeff Gordon, a win in the final race of the year at Homestead.
With 4 wins, Jerry does have some runs to be proud of, plus, he was the only member all year to win back to back races this season! That's a feat that was only done a few times last year as well. With a bit of consistency, he'll be a title contender next year again for sure!
#12 lougreen03
Race Wins: 1
A returning member from last year, lougreen returned to be plagued with inconsistency. As a member who picked Harvick many times, he was often plagued with the inconsistencies of Harvick as well all year. He did get one win at Dover in May, and ran 10th in the first two segments. He may have ran higher in the points, except he missed a race late in the season to set him further back still.
#13 STUMPMI
Our unlucky #13 was a latecomer who ran hard all year since there were segments and races to be won. He ran well in the even numbered segments, finishing 7th in Segment 2 and 5th in Segment 4. To my own surprise, wehn I reviewed the season, he won no races, but he did run 2nd in his inaugural race at Bristol in March, Dover in May. With 3253 points scored this season, he averaged 98.56 points per race! If we extrapolate that out to a 36 race season instead of 33, he would have scored 3,548 points, which would have been good for 8th overall.
We thank you for your service to this country and wish you better luck on that quest for a championship and first win next season!
#14 bblackstone
Race Wins: 2
A returning member from last season, bblackstone showed again this year that he is the man on a 2 mile track, winning at Fontana under the rule of picking drivers multiple times, and backing it up by shwoing he could win with 3 picks at Michigan in Segment 2. He also finished 2nd 3 more times in Segment 3 and Segment 4. At the beginning of the year, he was very consistent, running 6th in Segment 1 and 8th in Segment 2 before fading late in the season and eventually missing a couple of races to end the year. The avid Stewart fan did win 2 races to hang his hat on, and did finish as his favorite drivers number in points position. Perhaps next year, with a bit of consistency nad a couple of wins again, he could return to Stewarts 2011 spot in points!
#15 silverfish33
Race Wins: 1 (Plus non points paying win, Budweiser Shootout)
Jerry's son Hunter joined us and won the season opener at the Budweiser Shootout (remember, 21 or older to drink!) and a big win with lots of crashes, yet he somehow survived the carnage for an early, non points paying victory! However, with the inconsistency and bad luck of his favorite driver and team, Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing, he found himself finishing inconsistent several weeks in a row and down in points. Kyle Busch blowing 3 engines and crashing in the month of June dealt him a hard blow, and put him out of points to the point where he dropped out for a time being. However, silverfish does have a Daytona win, which is something to be proud of, and one points paying win, at Richmond in April, to be proud of going ot next year! With the new personal changes at Gibbs and the momentum Kyle Busch carried out of 2012, perhaps Hunter can return and make a run at a title in 2013 with his man, Kyle Busch, leading the way!
#16 adgm2005
Race Wins: 2
adgm2005 joined us for the first 17 races of the year but seemed to have left us after believing he was out of the championship hunt. While with us, he won 2 races in Segment 2 (Coca~Cola 600 at Charlotte and the first Pocono race), but dropped out for the second half of the season. Perhaps by running a full season next year he could run well and be a big factor next time!
#17 MnteCrloSS47
MnteCrloSS47 started out his season by picking too late for hte July Daytona race, but his points would have been good for 2nd. After that ,he ran 7th in Segment 3 and I believe missed a race in Segment 4, although I can't find where in a timely manner. A win alluded him, but he did manage a 2nd at his first points paying race in New Hampshire (unofficially his 2nd 2nd place run in a row), a 3rd at Pocono. After that, his beginners luck wore off. Hopefully, he can stick around next year, get that first win, and be a solid title contender!
#18 RocknSS04
Wayne was a veteran of the series from 2011 who won 2 races and led the points briefly at the beginning of the year. This year, consistency alluded him and he dropped out mid season. Perhaps this is why he seemed to have resigned without explanation just befor ethe mid point of the year. We wish Wayne the best and hope he will return for next season!
#19 Ricks 2006 SS
Race Wins: 2
Rick was a moonlighter in the series who only ran a handful of races but won two, first at Talladega in teh spring, and the second at Richmond in the fall to win on two vastly different track types. Rick, we can only wonder what htat success would translate to if you opted to run every race, not just your favorites! We all have a track we dread
At this point, I believe I have covered all active members at the end of the year and those who made considerable contributions throughout the year. Through the rest of the overall points are members who started the season but fell off, some who just ran one race, nad several others who ran just the Daytona 500. A couple of other members who ran several races are there, but the time ti takes to do a rundown of what I have is substantial. If anyone else would like a rundown, I can do one. But for now, I will leave it at this. If you have any additions or disputes, please file them. I hope that all will find this above rundown satisfactory.
When doing this, I tried to address every members strengths, weaknesses, best moments, and sometimes, worst moments of the season. I beleive I did so as fairly as I can and hope that all members can appreciate it.
Thanks for the 2012 season memories and I hope all of you can return and bring a friend for the 2013 season!
-Duane Black
However, from a competitive stand point, when we look at close points battles, many people leading the points, and several members in the chase until the very end, teh season was actually a lot more dull than 2011. In 2011, 7 members led the points and the lead was swapped 11 times. This year, the lead was swapped twice and only led by three members!
We had more race winners this year. SIXTEEN (16) members won atleast one points payign race this year, and another member won a Gatorade Duel! Last year, 12 members won races! In that sense, the season was much more competitive.
Also, in terms of points earned, 2012 was a major step up in competition. 03JGMonte won the title with 3730 points, or an average of 103.61 per race. Last year, I won with 3522 points, or an average of 97.83 points per race. That 5 points average per race added up to a lot. In fact, anyone in the top 9 in points this year would ahve won the title last eyar wtih the same points total!! If that's a sign of things to come, next years champion will have to have a ton of luck and expertise to average 108 points per race!
Last year, only two members received poitns penalties over Pocono. This year, many members recevied penalties. lougreen03, bblackstone, and monte06ltz were penalized 6 points a piece for Tony STewarts qualifying infraction at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Members Leprechaun93, 77GP, and zjerry were penalized 25 points each after Jeff Gordon was penalized for his actions at Phoenix during an altercation on track with Clint Bowyer
With all of that being said, lets review each members season.... organized by championship rank...
#1. 03JGMonte
Race Wins: 5
Segment Wins: 2
Weeks Leading Points: 1
03JGMonte made the most Cinderella comeback that could be made. He picked Logano, Montoya, and Patrick at Darlington... and Carl's win taht week left him 176 points out of the points lead. What may make the comeback more impressive is if I point out that he was still 11th in points and 181 out by the time we reached the July Daytona race. When he left Charlotte with 5 races to go, he was 2nd in points but still had 58 points to go!! Therefore, he made up 10.55 points per week for the final 18 races to win the title. We may never see that kind of comeback again!
While he averaged 103 points per race, here is a more impressive stat. From the 19th race of the season at Loudon to Homestead, he averaged 110.16 points per race!!! Bad luck just couldn't seem to find that guy!
Although he won 5 races, only 2 of them were in the first part of the year, and 2 others were in the final segment as he traced down Carl Martin.
Mikes championship run can be symbolic to all members.. no matter how far down you are, or how where you are now... a little luck and a lot of perseverance could still get you a great run in the points!
Congrats Mike, 03JGMonte, for making a comeback run from July-November that I don't know will ever happen again on this league...
#2 carlm54stl
Race Wins: 4 (+1 non points win, All Star Race)
Segment Wins: 1
Weeks Leading Points: 25
Carl Martin put together one of the best seasons you could ever ask for. In the first 18 races, he won 4 points races plus the All Star Race in Charlotte. And although he maintained consistency throughout the rest of the season, he didn't win another race. His points lead expanded and contracting, even hitting, to my recollection, 3 figures at one point. His lead was drawn back down entering the chase but stretched back out again... only to be slowly eaten away by Mike.
But amidst what had to be a heartbreaker in Homestead, Carl still has many things to hang his hat on this year. He is one of only three segment winners from the season (since Mike won two), he won 4 races, the All Star race, and led the points for more consecutive weeks than any other member before. (Breaking my record of the final 14 last season.) Many of us sincerely believed even with 10-15 races to go that with the lead he had, he would be unstoppable.
What cost Carl the title is not what he did as much as just the impressive run that Mike together.
The last two seasons of NASCAR just haven't been friendly in that way to people named Carl. In 2011, Carl Edwards drove his heart out, led the most laps, yet that strategy by Stewart and an untimely rain shower cost him the title in the last race too....
For someone as consistent as Carl, there is always next season. Good luck next year, buddy!
#3 Leprechaun93
Race Wins: 3
It's hard to find a time when Keane was at his peak. In Segment 2, the Segment lead alternated between Keane and Carl for all 9 races. When the checkered flag fell on Daytona, I initially called Keane the winner of hte segment. However, a reshuffling of the finishing order by NASCAR due to a crash and the moment of caution having to be determined, Carl gained points while Keane lost some... and that meant that Carl won the Segment by 2 points.
However, Keane came back strong. Leprechaun93 won Indianapolis and Watkins Glen, giving him 2 wins in 3 races. He won Talladega late in the season, and managed to be in the top 6 in poitns in the last 3 segments.
With a little more luck in the opening races, Keane may have been a solid championship contender. Instead, he did go into Homestead with a hail mary's chance of winning a title. When one considers the competition level this season, third isn't too shabby!
#4 Cowboy6622
Race Wins: 1
Certainly for me, the highlight of my season was ending a 66 race winless streak in that chaotic finish at Phoenix! I was so full of joy I filmed a victory lane sequence and had a "press conference."
My season started out with successful frustration. In Las Vegas, I was 1 point shy of winning the race, and that was my 2nd consecutive 2nd place run of the year at that point! However, my **** poor performacne in the Daytona 500 left me 6th in poitns. From that point, my season was up and down, as I finished Segment 1 8th in poitns, finished top in Segment 2, then dropped way back to 13th in Segment 3, before rallying to a 2nd place Segment 4 run and a 4th place in the overall points. As an extra kicker, I did lead Segment 4 for a few races.
The second Michigan race every year has been my pinncale. Last year I took the points lead there, this year, I made a move to take 2nd in points after Michigan! However, two bad race runs at the night races of Bristol, Atlanta, and Richmond dropped me from 2nd to 7th in 3 weeks, and I was only 44 points from falling out of the top 10! I gained 40 poitns on Carl over the last segemnt to run 2nd in Segment 4 and rally back to 3rd overall going into Homestead, but still dropped one spot to finish 4th at the end.
But I did finally get that win to hang my hat on... that gives me a lot of confidence going into the off season and hopes that I can rebound next year to make another bid at a title run!
#5 JuniorCar
Race Wins: 3 (plus non points paying wins in Gatorade Duel 1 and All Star race Showdown)
Segment Wins: 1
Races Leading Points: 10
JuniorCar started out the season by earnign way more points than anyone in the Daytona 500. He earned 126 points, only other person to get over 100 only got 107. That gave him a major boost that helped him maintain a points lead for 10 races. Carl Martin's 1-2-3 at Darlington combined with his own 105 point run lost hte lead. However, he and Carl would run 1-2 in the points for much of the season. When Junior had the concussion after Bristol, Juniors performance fell off, and so to did Junior Car. After Dale Jr missed two races and Brent chose to stick with the team and pick Regan Smith for Charlotte, Brent fell all the way to 7th before rallying back to a 5th place run in the points.
Brent still has a great season to rest his hat on. In his own words, winning the Daytona 500 was the biggest thing. Watching Montoya hit a jet dryer and then going on to win the race on teh fantasy league made that a huge win for him. With his Gatorade Duel win on Thursday before that, he had a great speedweeks!
Brent went on to win two more times on the flat tracks and running 2nd for a big part of the season made it Brent's greatest year in the NASCAR Fantasy.
However, he did win twice as many races last year...
#6 monte carlo 3831
Race Wins: 2
Chris put together a solid season with an early win at Kansas in April and a late win at Charlotte in October. He was 4th in Segment 1 and 2nd in Segment 3, 47 points out, so he had strings of good races. Overall, he was good for sixth place which was solid for how crazy this year was. He was 2nd overall going into Bristol in March, only 11 points out, but faded from there. He is an avid Earnhardt and Harvick fan, and stuck by his guns all season long. Among members who are veterans of the league, he was actually among the better finishers....
#7 zjerry
Race Wins: 3
Last year, zjerry made a late season charge to the front. This year, he started out the season solid with the 2nd ever 1-2-3 pick at Las Vegas to win that race by just 1 point! He backed that up with wins at Chicago and Texas in the last 10 races of the year. His highest segment finish was 6th in Segment 3 this year, so there really wasn't a time when he was hot, but he was steady all year for a 7th place overall finish. His three wins demonstrate ability to excel at times.
Mysteriously, all of his wins were on 1.5 mile tracks!!
#8 SupplySgt
Race Wins: 1
Sergeant Drew won his one race at Michigan in August and was running rather well in the points at the time. In the summer months, he spent most of his time between 3rd and 5th place in the overall points. Military manuevers put him in positions where he was unable to pick for a race late in the season. With that extra race, he may have easily finished top 5.
Drew ran well here, running 4th in Segment 2 and 3rd in Segment 3. He was right there in championship contention and ran well for many races.
However, as we know, life comes before games. Drew, we thank you for your service to our country, and hope Uncle Sam will give him time to run all 36 races next year!
#9 02 Earnhardt
Race Wins: 1
02 Earnhardt joined up for the last two races of 2011 and stayed on for a season this time. It took him 34 fantasy races to get that elusive first win in the October Kansas race, but he did pull one off! His highest segment rating was 6th in Segment 2. He just couldn't seem to find the consistency for a long period of time to pull contend for a Segment or a Championship this year. But he does have a win to rest his hat on and a chance to run again next year!
#10 butch049
Race Wins: 1
Butch was a new comer this year who ran until the Loudon chase race before pulling off his first win of his fantasy career! While not winning races, Butch did have consistency, as he finished Segment 1 21 points out of first place and 3rd overall at the time. I believe he missed a race during Segment 2, but he still managed to run 8th and 3rd in Segments 3 and 4, respectively. Whiel not winning races, he was a consistent member who silently creeped along near the top of the Segment poitns and even the overall points for a time. With that kind of consistency, he was one of a handful of members who coudl easily go on a tear and win several races and could definitely be a contender for a Segment win or even the championship next year!
#11 77GP
Race Wins: 4
Jerry started out the season with a promising win at Phoenix, and also being the only person to win that spring Phoenix race on this league! However, the inconsistency of his favorite drivers, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, and apparenlty, Kyle Busch (OH YEAH I WENT THERE), plagued him all year. And when he didn't pick those guys, they won the race. Jerry, while making solid picks, just couldn't seem to do get the luck to fall on his side. His best finish for a Segment was 10th in Segment 3. His strategy of differing picks from everyone else several times may have gotten him 11th in points, but at the same time, it got him 4 wins, including Phoenix, back to back wins in Bristol and Atlanta in August, and, like his favorite driver, Jeff Gordon, a win in the final race of the year at Homestead.
With 4 wins, Jerry does have some runs to be proud of, plus, he was the only member all year to win back to back races this season! That's a feat that was only done a few times last year as well. With a bit of consistency, he'll be a title contender next year again for sure!
#12 lougreen03
Race Wins: 1
A returning member from last year, lougreen returned to be plagued with inconsistency. As a member who picked Harvick many times, he was often plagued with the inconsistencies of Harvick as well all year. He did get one win at Dover in May, and ran 10th in the first two segments. He may have ran higher in the points, except he missed a race late in the season to set him further back still.
#13 STUMPMI
Our unlucky #13 was a latecomer who ran hard all year since there were segments and races to be won. He ran well in the even numbered segments, finishing 7th in Segment 2 and 5th in Segment 4. To my own surprise, wehn I reviewed the season, he won no races, but he did run 2nd in his inaugural race at Bristol in March, Dover in May. With 3253 points scored this season, he averaged 98.56 points per race! If we extrapolate that out to a 36 race season instead of 33, he would have scored 3,548 points, which would have been good for 8th overall.
We thank you for your service to this country and wish you better luck on that quest for a championship and first win next season!
#14 bblackstone
Race Wins: 2
A returning member from last season, bblackstone showed again this year that he is the man on a 2 mile track, winning at Fontana under the rule of picking drivers multiple times, and backing it up by shwoing he could win with 3 picks at Michigan in Segment 2. He also finished 2nd 3 more times in Segment 3 and Segment 4. At the beginning of the year, he was very consistent, running 6th in Segment 1 and 8th in Segment 2 before fading late in the season and eventually missing a couple of races to end the year. The avid Stewart fan did win 2 races to hang his hat on, and did finish as his favorite drivers number in points position. Perhaps next year, with a bit of consistency nad a couple of wins again, he could return to Stewarts 2011 spot in points!
#15 silverfish33
Race Wins: 1 (Plus non points paying win, Budweiser Shootout)
Jerry's son Hunter joined us and won the season opener at the Budweiser Shootout (remember, 21 or older to drink!) and a big win with lots of crashes, yet he somehow survived the carnage for an early, non points paying victory! However, with the inconsistency and bad luck of his favorite driver and team, Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing, he found himself finishing inconsistent several weeks in a row and down in points. Kyle Busch blowing 3 engines and crashing in the month of June dealt him a hard blow, and put him out of points to the point where he dropped out for a time being. However, silverfish does have a Daytona win, which is something to be proud of, and one points paying win, at Richmond in April, to be proud of going ot next year! With the new personal changes at Gibbs and the momentum Kyle Busch carried out of 2012, perhaps Hunter can return and make a run at a title in 2013 with his man, Kyle Busch, leading the way!
#16 adgm2005
Race Wins: 2
adgm2005 joined us for the first 17 races of the year but seemed to have left us after believing he was out of the championship hunt. While with us, he won 2 races in Segment 2 (Coca~Cola 600 at Charlotte and the first Pocono race), but dropped out for the second half of the season. Perhaps by running a full season next year he could run well and be a big factor next time!
#17 MnteCrloSS47
MnteCrloSS47 started out his season by picking too late for hte July Daytona race, but his points would have been good for 2nd. After that ,he ran 7th in Segment 3 and I believe missed a race in Segment 4, although I can't find where in a timely manner. A win alluded him, but he did manage a 2nd at his first points paying race in New Hampshire (unofficially his 2nd 2nd place run in a row), a 3rd at Pocono. After that, his beginners luck wore off. Hopefully, he can stick around next year, get that first win, and be a solid title contender!
#18 RocknSS04
Wayne was a veteran of the series from 2011 who won 2 races and led the points briefly at the beginning of the year. This year, consistency alluded him and he dropped out mid season. Perhaps this is why he seemed to have resigned without explanation just befor ethe mid point of the year. We wish Wayne the best and hope he will return for next season!
#19 Ricks 2006 SS
Race Wins: 2
Rick was a moonlighter in the series who only ran a handful of races but won two, first at Talladega in teh spring, and the second at Richmond in the fall to win on two vastly different track types. Rick, we can only wonder what htat success would translate to if you opted to run every race, not just your favorites! We all have a track we dread
At this point, I believe I have covered all active members at the end of the year and those who made considerable contributions throughout the year. Through the rest of the overall points are members who started the season but fell off, some who just ran one race, nad several others who ran just the Daytona 500. A couple of other members who ran several races are there, but the time ti takes to do a rundown of what I have is substantial. If anyone else would like a rundown, I can do one. But for now, I will leave it at this. If you have any additions or disputes, please file them. I hope that all will find this above rundown satisfactory.
When doing this, I tried to address every members strengths, weaknesses, best moments, and sometimes, worst moments of the season. I beleive I did so as fairly as I can and hope that all members can appreciate it.
Thanks for the 2012 season memories and I hope all of you can return and bring a friend for the 2013 season!
-Duane Black
Last edited by Cowboy6622; 11-27-2012 at 06:32 PM.
#5
11-25-2012, 11:42 AM
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 5,611
Allow me to repost some of the trophies awarded this year. These are the close ups of some of the ones I made for myself and other members. I came up with this signature trophy idea to add fun. I've always made them for other members when they request it, but its not for everyone. I know Leprechaun always made his own trophies.
I always start with the same "blank", both this year and last
The first trophy of the year went to Silverfish for the Shootout. I made him an entire signature featuring Kyle Busch. Here's the trophy
I tried making them a little more complex by not just having a plain background. That one had a red Bud logo close-up in the background.
Then I won a Duel And made this:
I never made a trophy for the other Duel (which I didn't win), so whoever won that one must not have requested it.
Then, when I won the Daytona 500 I was especially excited and had to do something extra special for that.
Multi- tiered horizontal frame - just a little larger. But as the trophies amass, it is regularly resized and become less clear. But after this trophy design, I stuck to using pictures for background.
I made a few more for myself:
Martinsville:
NewHampshire:
...and a Segment trophy
77GP won this:
That went along with a signature redesign that he doesn't use anymore. Probably because it featured the Monte Carlo he sold!
zjerry won Vegas:
Anyone remember who won this one? Its unmarked in the file. I forget
I also made some other special trophies.
When 'Space won the Indy 500!
And for Duane's first win, the Better Half Dash!
Those are the only trophies I could find for this year. I know I lost some cause I couldn't even find one for the Spring Showdown that I won.
I always start with the same "blank", both this year and last
The first trophy of the year went to Silverfish for the Shootout. I made him an entire signature featuring Kyle Busch. Here's the trophy
I tried making them a little more complex by not just having a plain background. That one had a red Bud logo close-up in the background.
Then I won a Duel And made this:
I never made a trophy for the other Duel (which I didn't win), so whoever won that one must not have requested it.
Then, when I won the Daytona 500 I was especially excited and had to do something extra special for that.
Multi- tiered horizontal frame - just a little larger. But as the trophies amass, it is regularly resized and become less clear. But after this trophy design, I stuck to using pictures for background.
I made a few more for myself:
Martinsville:
NewHampshire:
...and a Segment trophy
77GP won this:
That went along with a signature redesign that he doesn't use anymore. Probably because it featured the Monte Carlo he sold!
zjerry won Vegas:
Anyone remember who won this one? Its unmarked in the file. I forget
I also made some other special trophies.
When 'Space won the Indy 500!
And for Duane's first win, the Better Half Dash!
Those are the only trophies I could find for this year. I know I lost some cause I couldn't even find one for the Spring Showdown that I won.
