NASCAR roundup

News:

• Sources: Sadler set to return to No. 19
• Petty, Gillett Evernham to merge
• Chevy to remain Daytona sponsor
• Owner reaches deal on fraud charges
• Logano to defend All-Star title
• Baldwin to debut Cup team at Daytona

Analysis:

• DW: Teams spend too much
• Owens: Where were the fireworks?
• DW: Petty cash, not enough
• McReynolds: It all starts here
• Mondaca: Nine stories for '09

Looking back at 2008:

• Sprint Cup
• Nationwide
• Trucks

Blog:

• Check out the NASCAR community

It was nice going into the weekend with all three of NASCAR's series up in the air. I mean it couldn't have been any closer in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The Nationwide Series champion wasn't a foregone conclusion going into it either. Sure, the Cup series was a stretch but as long as there was a chance, there was a chance.

Back to the truck series, you really wished you could have two champions because both Ron Hornaday Jr. and Johnny Benson earned it, but naturally there can only be one winner. I was so happy that Benson earned the championship and especially happy for his owner, Bill Davis. Bill has been in our sport for so long and has come close before but never been able to close the deal. On top of that, Davis is going through some tough times lately as he is without a sponsor for his Cup team and Benson is leaving the team this year, so it was good to see him get that big trophy and celebrate.

On the Nationwide side of things, Carl Edwards did everything he possibly could to win that championship. However, Clint Bowyer and his team weren't flamboyant in winning the championship — they only won one race this season and they didn't lead lap after lap like previous champions. But they did do something unbelievable, completing all but 29 laps of competition the entire season in that Nationwide car. To me, their championship defining moment was Phoenix. Bowyer's car was all torn up; they rallied, fixed it and finished in the top five that night. I know they had 35 races to win or lose it, but I still say Phoenix is where they won it.

In both series I think it showed that this is a team sport. It was a pit call in the truck series that made the difference for Benson and it was the team fixing Bowyer's car at Phoenix that saved their championship. I have been proclaiming for 26 years now that if there ever was a team sport in all of sports, NASCAR is the leader.

I also have always believed that the entire championship team should sit at the head table at the awards banquets. The way it is now, it's the owner, driver, sponsor, crew chief and their wives that get to do that. I know the drivers are our stars, but it needs to be the whole team. I just wish our sport as a whole would do a better job of promoting the team and not just the driver.

Look at that No. 20 Nationwide team from Joe Gibbs Racing. They won the owners championship as a team. Talk about an effort. They won that championship with four different drivers behind the wheel this year and every one of the four won races.

Speed Mail Larry McReynolds
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Last Sunday you saw Edwards do what we all said he would and he didn't let us down. He and that No. 99 team swung for the fences all weekend long. They had a great qualifying run. They were very good in all the practice sessions. During the race they were very dominant in different stages, which is what we sort of anticipated.

They have no reason to hang their heads. Carl Edwards had a championship season. Carl says that he has learned in this Chase format that every lap of every race is ultra important. Additionally he also said he has learned that every single point you can accumulate is ultra important.

Look at last year's Chase. Jeff Gordon had a championship season, but that No. 48 was just that little bit better. It's the same this year, too. Carl easily could have been the champion but Jimmie and the No. 48 were just that much better to make the difference. The No. 48 has just moved the bar so much higher these last two years of our five-year Chase format. Everyone now knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can't bobble an ounce during the Chase if you want to beat that No. 48 car.

That's what I love about this new points and Chase format. It puts the emphasis on winning and that's what our sport has always been about — winning. To me it's great that you can no longer just click off top-10 finishes and win the championship. It should be about running up front and winning. Certainly you can say that Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and that entire team followed that format better than anyone else these last three years.

FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.

"How to Become a Winning Crew Chief" is on bookstore shelves, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.