2014 NASCAR Fantassy League Final Results* Chonk and Beef are Co-Champions*

....And We're Back:

Sorry for the delay race fans, but we had to be careful in how we handled this very difficult scenario.  For those of you who haven't been paying attention, I need to explain what happened in Homestead.

• Team Chonk took Kenseth (non final round Chaser); Kenseth finished 6th, never led a lap and received 38 points for the race.  Chonk finishes with 2077 points.
• Team Beef took Hamlin (final round Chaser); Hamlin finished 7th, led 50 laps but only received 37 race points (No Bonus points for leading at least a lap).  Beef finishes with 2077 points.*
• Team Piston took Gordon (non final round Chaser).  Gordon finished 10th, led the most laps and received 36 race points (34 for 10th + 2 Bonus Points for leading the most laps).  Piston finishes with 2076 points.

* Based on our rules for 2014, Chonk and Beef would be tied for 1st and would have to go through the tiebreaker scenarios.  The tiebreaker scenarios would have awarded Team Chonk the Championship based on wins during the regular season.  However, we as a League needed to review the rules and investigate whether the lack of Bonus Point for Hamlin's lap(s) led was right.  If the Bonus Point was awarded, Team Beef would be Champion.

In the end, the decision was to crown Co-Champs this year.  It is the right decision.

I know that most League Members will have their opinion here... It may be a divided opinion or it may be a one sided opinion.  I will tell you that it was divided amongst the Rules Committee and the Commish...

The bottom line is all 3 teams kicked ass this year and should be celebrated.

...We Have a Champion(s)!!!

 Let's give credit to where credit is due.  The 3 teams that made it to the Finisher Round had incredible years and obviously had solid performances during the Chase.

2014 Co-Champion Team Chonk dominated all year, got his 3rd win by Fontana, led the League in points for 15 of 26 regular season races, and never dropped below 4th in points during the regular season after week 2.  In the Chase, Chonk navigated through to the end without securing a single win.

• Flirter:  Chonk used his Bonus Points and strong finishes to stay in the top 3 for the entire round. 
• Teaser:  Chonk was in the top 3 until the final race, when everyone but Skidmarks took Dale Jr.  This locked Chonk in for the Fluffer Round as Shepard was behind Chonk in points... when Jr. BSOTW'd... Chonk didn't care.  
• Fluffer:  Chonk started out hot with a 2nd Place Gordon finish and coasted into the Finisher Round. 
• Finisher:  Chonk was solid; he posted a pair of 6th place finishes to finish at the top of the leaderboard.  

All in all he had 6 of 10 Top 10 Finishes... including the top pick at Homestead.  Congratulations on a great year Chonk!!!!  You are now 1375 chips richer.

2014 Co-Champion Team Beef was locked in by the 1st Dover race.  He ran up front early on and fell towards the bottom of the standings for most of the Regular Season.  In the Chase, Beef secured 2 huge wins which powered him through to the end.

• Flirter:  Starting without a single Bonus Point and needing to be in the top 5 or secure a win, Beef secured his spot in the Teaser by way of a Logano win.  But Beef finished 5, 1, and 3 in the Flirter and would have made it on points as well.  
• Teaser:  Starting Logano for the 2nd time in 3 races, Beef locked himself in to the Fluffer early on.
• Fluffer:  This round was tough for Beef but much tougher for Skidmarks and Beef moves on to the Finisher.
• Finisher: Securing the best average finish of the 3 contenders, Beef was solid with a 4th and 7th place finish which locked him into the top finishing spot.

All in all he had 8 of 10 Top 10 Finishes... including those 2 wins.  Awesome job this year Beef!!!!  You are now 1375 chips richer.

2014 3rd Place Team Piston didn't get locked in until Michigan.  They started slow, but a strong rally from the back of the pack (actually led 1 week in points) had them in a great position to battle for the Championship.  In the Chase, Piston was strong using both a win and strong finishes to make in to the end.

• Flirter:  Piston started the Chase in great shape with 12 Bonus Points and grabbed a win and 3 top 10 finishes to propel him into the Teaser with a 10 point lead.
• Teaser:  This round wasn't as kind to Piston, but the big lead and the famous Jr. situation in Talladega ensured that Piston would be Fluffed.
• Fluffer:  Piston had the strongest Fluffer round of the 4 challengers and entered the Finisher as a favorite to take this thing home.
• Finisher: Did Gordon have to pit????  Would he have if he were battling for the Title???  Should he have battling for the title... if Newman didn't prison rape Larson to scam his way in???  So close amigos!!! 

All in all he had 7 of 10 Top 10 Finishes... including that 1 win.  Cheers to a job well done Team Piston!!!!  You are now 450 chips richer.


Final Thoughts:

So we made history this year by crowning co-Champs.  Congratulations again to Beef and Chonk!

We tried something new and it was a huge success.  Thank you Rules Committee for taking the initiative and making our League more relevant and comparable to the sport we love.  We will make some adjustments for next year, but I personally am proud of the fact that we as a League are open to changing up the format in order to make it more exciting.  Matching the changes that NASCAR makes in the spirit of competition is important for our League and will encourage new members to join as we get older and older.

Thanks for letting me be your Commish again this year... I made it 2 full years so far and look forward to continuing in 2015.  I hope to see you all back again next year!

Are we less than 3 months form the 2015 Daytona 500???  Holy sh*t!!!  But before that, I need to give out the final award...

2014 Top Pick Submitter Award:

This award goes to Chonk for the 2nd year in a row.  I am encouraging you guys to step it up and entertain me every NASCAR weekend, so I will keep this award going as long as I am the Commish.  Instead of telling you about them, I will post some of my favorites....  enjoy!

Have a safe and Happy Holiday Season!

Cheers!!!

For All the Marbles!!!! Homestead Drivers!!!

I'm sure there's only about 100 to go, but Good Luck Guys!!!   

1st Nut Busted - Three Teams All Within 1 Point of Each Other - Harvick Dominates Phoenix

Picks Review and Ramblings:

Piston and Beef take the early lead in round 1 of the Nut Buster with their 4th place Keselowski pick. 

However, it's only by 1 point over Chonk who chose 6th place Logano; Logano led the race at some point, so he gets an extra point to pull him closer to the Keselowski pick. 

Harvick dominated, but no one had him available.  The 2 drivers chosen finished too close to each other to give us any insight on which team will take home the Championship this year.  

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it will all come down to Homestead this week... just like the real Chase.  Even though it's our 2nd Nut vs. the real Chase's 1 pump chump round... it is still going to be exciting since no one fell out after the 1st Nut.

Chonk has Jr., Hamlin, Kenseth, Logano, Newman, Kahne left as his top tier guys.

Beef has Keselowski, Hamlin, Edwards, Kyle Busch left as his top tier guys.

Piston has Newman, Keselowski, Kahne, Gordon left as their top tier guys.  

Who will make the right choice?  You boys feeling the pressure yet???

I can't wait to see how it all plays out...

Cheers!

Phoenix Drivers

Sorry for the late post... About to watch now!  Good Luck!!!

Texas Race Results - Fluffer Round Complete - Nut Buster Round Begins!!!

Fluffer Round Results: Skidmarks Out; Piston, Chonk, Beef Move On!

Picks Review:  

Piston had the hands down top pick of Harvick this week.  They move into the Nut Buster Round on a high note, and most importantly, will be eating chips for sure this year!  Congratulations to team Piston!  You guys have had an amazing year!

Chonk and Beef slide into the Nut Buster Round with their BSOTW Gordon pick... Chonk was never in trouble thanks to his 2 point cushion on Beef and same pick of course.  Gordon was strong all day.  But on a late restart, he had trouble getting going on the outside lane, left a hole, and Keselowski filled the space; Gordon came back down the racetrack and cut a tire when he made contact with the #2.  Everyone is pissed at Brad K, but he needed the win and if I were the team owner... I would want my driver to do the same thing.  I like Gordon more than I like Keselowski, but I would have done the same thing... if I had any talent and could drive a race car.  But I'm also a dick, so there's that...  Congratulations boys!  You will be eating chips you lucky f*ckers!

Beef was in trouble if Skidmarks' DOOTW pick, Kenseth, could have rallied.  Kenseth's trouble started on pit road with about 100 laps to go.  A lug nut issue forced him back in the pack.  He made it back up front, but had to forgo tires and started dropping back.  Ultimately, contact with the 31 car hosed his day and Skidmarks' chances to move on to the Nut Buster Round.  We have to say bye to Skid for now.  Congratulations to Skidmarks for making it this far and for a very strong season!  

Nut Bustin' Time!:

  New Nut Buster Grid

Nut Buster Round Rules Refresher:

• Fourth round - (races 35 & 36) - “The Finisher” or “The Load Dropper” or “The Rope Spitter” or “The Nut Buster” or “The Wad Blower” or “The Pie Creamer” or "The Spooge Shooter”
• The three teams entering the Finisher Round will have their points reset to 2000; no bonus points, each team is tied to start the final round.
•    The team with the most points after races 35 and 36 is the NASCAR Fantassy Cup winner; same format for tiebreakers applies.

Other Ramblings:

Phoenix this week on Sunday.

Did I mention the Nut Buster Round begins this week?

All 3 teams start this round tied with 2000 points with 2 races to go.  Did they save the right drivers?  Will they choose those drivers in the correct sequence??  

Chonk has Jr., Hamlin, Kenseth, Logano, Newman, Kahne left as his top tier guys.

Beef has Keselowski, Hamlin, Edwards, Kyle Busch left as his top tier guys.

Piston has Newman, Keselowski, Kahne, Gordon left as their top tier guys.  

Having a good driver left should not be the issue.  Tiebreaker scenarios should not be an issue unless Chonk and Piston go Newman and Kahne in the same sequence.  

It all comes down to these final 2 races fellas!  Nice job getting to the end, but there is still plenty at stake as I am sure you are aware.  Good luck!     

Cheers!

The Great State of Texas - Drivers

Fluffer Race 1 Complete - Jr. Steals Win from Gordon/Chonk

Picks Review:

Chonk had the top pick this week; Gordon.  Gordon finished 2nd and ran well all day.  A speeding penalty put him behind the 8-ball, but he recovered and led again, but Jr. was the top dog in Martinsville.  Chonk would have loved to get this win, but he does jump from 4th to 1st and has a nice cushion from the 3rd and 4th place spots.  Good job Chonk!

Beef took Kenseth who also had his troubles, but a nice 6th place finish keeps Beef in the number 2 spot.

The DOOTW Award has to go to Piston's 16th place McMurray pick.  Piston is only 1 point clear of the bottom spot, but if this round ended today he would be in... but it doesn't.  

Skidmarks had the BSOTW pick with Johnson.  Johnson has disappointed this year when it has counted, but he ran well at Martinsville until he had to come in for a green flag pit stop... this put him way behind and he ended up crashing into Mears to end his day.  Skid drop 3 spots from 1st to 4th and would be the odd man out if the round ended today... but it doesn't.

Other Ramblings:

Texas this Sunday.  Yee Haw!!!

This week's Texas race will end the Fluffer Round.  The top 3 teams will move on to the Nut Buster Round, will have their points reset, and will battle each other for the "chips" over the last two races.  Sounds simple, but you have to be in it to win it... and one of these teams will not be in it.  

So what will these guys do?  Do you feel safe enough to save your best drivers for Phoenix and Homestead? Or do you treat this race like it's your last?  With only 14 points separating these teams... no one is safe.  A win and you're in, but have you saved the right drivers to navigate to the end of this thing?  

Get to the next round and you will definitely be munching on chips amigos!  Good luck to all!

Cheers!   

Martinsville Drivers

Sorry about the late post... Haven't watched the race yet... good luck in the Fluffer Round fellas!  2 races... points or wins or both???  

Teaser Round Complete - Skidmarks Takes the Lead - Goodbye to Shepard

It was basically Skidmarks vs. Shepard and Kahne vs. Dale Jr. to end the Teaser Round.  We knew it would be interesting and unpredictable, but the dust has settled and we lose another contender.  Skidmarks jumps to the top of the standings while Shepard falls out of the running.

Congrats to Skidmarks, Beef, Piston and Chonk!  You guys are now on through to the Fluffer Round!

Fluffer Round Rules Review:

    Third round (races 33 & 34) - “The Fluffer”

The top three teams based on points accumulated during races 27-34 will advance to the final round

Wins automatically advance teams; same format for balance of filling in the teams and tiebreakers applies

Other Ramblings:

Martinsville on Sunday.  This is Race 1 of 2 of the Fluffer Round.  
One more team will drop after the next 2 races are complete.  The final 3 teams will battle it out for the "chip" distribution.
Skidmarks has a nice 15 point lead thanks to the Kahne pick vs. Jr. BSOTW pick.  Remember: Points are still accumulating, so no one is safe.  Go for wins or stay conservative?  
Which team has saved the right drivers to move on?
Will they start those drivers at the right time?
Stay tuned...
Cheers! 

 

Talladega drivers... jr. fest - skid takes kahne

All Jr. Except for Skidmarks who chose Kahne.

Good luck!

Charlotte Results - Teaser Round Race #2 of 3 Complete - Shepard falls back from the main pack

Picks Summary:

2nd Place finisher, Gordon was the top pick this week by Skidmarks.  Skid jumps into 4th (only 4 points out of 1st) and has a slim 8 point cushion from Shepard.  

Chonk took Kyle Busch (5th) and moves to within 3 points of the top spot.

Piston took Edwards (8th) and moves to within 1 point of the top spot.

Beef took 10th place finisher Kahne and holds onto the lead, but has that sweet win in the Teaser Round and is basically locked in for the Fluffer Round.

Shepard drops to 5th with his 11th place Kurt Busch pick.  He is still 12 points back from 1st, but you can see he has dropped back off of the pace being set by the 4 other teams.  Hard to call this a BSOTW or DOOTW, but we'll have to say both for this week.

Other Ramblings:

Did I mention Talladega this week on Sunday???

Did I mention that it is the final race of the Teaser Round???

With Charlotte in our rear view mirror and one Teaser Race left to go (Dega), we still have 3 spots up for grabs.  Talladega will be very interesting and uncomfortable for all the remaining teams as they battle for points heading into the Fluffer Round... if they make it.  What we do know is Beef is in... unless the other 4 teams pick the same driver and that driver happens to win... meanwhile Beef's pick shits the bed and falls to 5th.  I can tell you this: Beef is moving on and preparing to be fluffed.  

What I can't tell you is who will go with him.  11 points separate the 4 other teams and Talladega has always been a crapshoot.  Will one of our teams not named Beef have a BSOTW???  What if Shepard grabs a win??? 3 points separate Piston, Chonk and Skid... 

Remember: Points are still important as they will still accumulate for the next 3 races, so you have to keep this in mind as you make your selections this week.  

All I can say is good luck to you guys and I am excited to see how it plays out!

Cheers!

Teaser Round 2 in Charlotte - Drivers

                             

                              Piston            - Carl Edwards

                              Skidmarks    - Jeff Gordon

                              Beef                - Kasey Kahne

                              Shepard        - Kurt Busch

                              Chonk            - Kyle Busch

Kansas Teaser Race 1 Results - Logano Continues to be a Top Contender - Beef not so bad either...

THE BEST:

With so many of our top teams eliminated in the last round, the championship is truly up for grabs.  However, Beef has made it very hard to leave his name out of the conversation of favorites to take the title with the Logano pick and win to start Round 2 - The Teaser of our postseason.

For the Teaser Round, we have Kansas, Charlotte, and the Talladega crapshoot... so Beef's win in Kansas is huge for more than a couple of reasons.  Since our rules this year state that we do not reset points at the start of each Chase round (Except for Round 1 - The Flirter and not again until Round 4 - The Finisher), the win also propels Beef up 3 spots and into the top spot.

So, Beef is locked in to Round 3 - The Fluffer... unless the remaining other 4 teams get wins AND he drops to 5th in points or a tie for 4th and loses the biggest penis tiebreaker*.

*not sure if he would lose.

Shepard took 5th place Carl Edwards and moves from 6th place (technically) up 2 spots and into the 4th place spot.  Short of getting a win... staying in the top 4 is key to surviving the Teaser round.


THE REST:

Piston drops 1 spot and is our BSOTW with his 15th place Biffle pick.  However, he only moves to the 2nd spot and is only 4 points away from 1st.

Chonk also drops a spot and is our EH... pick this week.  Harvick was the pole sitter and one of the favorites to take this race, but Logano was king.  Chonk was 10 points out to begin the round, and remains 10 out after race 1.

Skidmarks' 14th place Gordon pick qualifies him as our DOOTW Award this week.  Skid drops 2 spots to 5th and is our 1st team in trouble in Round 2.  What am I saying?  No one is resting easy except for Beef at the moment... we all know how things can change from week to week in this league.... especially with Dega looming.

Other Ramblings:

Charlotte this weekend on Saturday.

Talladega next week.

Good luck teams as you fight to get that win and/or top finish to stay ahead of 5th place

Cheers!

Teaser Race #1 in Kansass!! Drivers...

Final Flirter Race #3 - Gordon wins... 5 teams move on...

  Okay boys and girls... we have made it to a huge round of eliminations and I am shocked as to how it has played out...

The Teaser Round Finalists:

Piston Pumpin' Racing - Off to a rocky start this year early on... a furious charge over the final 18 races before the Chase has given this team the momentum to take the top spot and a 10 point lead into Round 2.  Piston had 22 bonus points to start the Chase if you add regular season wins and qualifying spot points.  However, a big win New Hampshire has kept this team at the top.  Showing that you have to be a top performer during the regular season and in each round of the playoffs to contend for the Championship under the new rules format.

Chonk Motorsports - Chonk has basically dominated the regular season and was never out of a Teaser Round spot during the Flirter Round.  However, I do not think any winless team could rest easy during round 1.  Think about it... a win by Kevin Harvick, 2 teams below him picking Gordon, or a Jimmie Johnson BSOTW would have doomed the Chonkster.  That did not happen, so it is meaningless to think about that now...

Skidmarks - What can I say about this team?  Skid was dominate early on and hung around the top for most of the regular season... then he dropped out of the top 7 and was in danger of entering the Chase without any bonus points.  But a nice rally at the end of the regular season and a strong 3 race stretch in the Flirter Round of the Chase has Skidmarks in a nice position to contend for this title.

Dr. Beef Motorsports - Beef started the season at the top with 2 early wins, but fell towards the back of the pack as the regular season continued.  A win in the 1st Dover race locked Beef into the postseason and a Flirter Round win in New Hampshire makes Beef the only non-Top 7 qualifying team to move on to the next round of our new Chase format.

Shepard Racing -  Shepard hung out towards the bottom all year and was actually in 17th place at one point.  He made an incredible run to actually qualify on points and collect the valuable bonus points.  A Keselowski win in Chicago (Flirter Race #1) was the difference in sending Ideal home in the 1st Round.

On to the Teaser round!  The next three races will be interesting.  The last 5 teams will just need to beat out one team to move on... Do you go for wins or try to accumulate the most points??? Both?

Good luck to the final 5!

Cheers!

Dover Drivers - Good Luck!

Flirter Chase Race #2 in New Hampshire - Logano gets a HUGE WIN for Piston and Beef!!!

Congratulations to Piston and Beef for the Logano pick and win!  Piston jumps up into a tie for the lead, and is in a great position to be locked in for the next round.  Beef jumps up 3 spots into 5th... this is important because the top 5 teams will advance in the event that 5 or more teams get wins.  If less than 5 teams get wins... Shepard, Piston, and Beef are locked in for the next round.  

Ideal hangs on to a tie for the top spot with the 4th place McMurray pick.  

Chonk is in the final qualifying spot at the moment; moving up 1 spot to 3rd with the 7th place Keselowski pick.

Skidmarks gets closer to safety moving up 2 spots to 4th with the 7th place Keselowski pick... but is still on the outside looking in if the Flirter Round was complete with this race.

Shepard and his win are sitting in 6th place... no worries for now, unless more than 2 teams get wins this week.

Graziano falls 5 spots with his 18th place Bowyer pick... he's only 9 points out of the qualifying spot, but the qualifying criteria keeps changing and will most likely change again after the Dover race.

The remaining teams will need to make up the points or grab a win in Dover... it is basically that simple.

If the Flirter round ended today,  Ideal, Piston, Chonk, Beef and Shepard would advance to "The Teaser" Round.  

The thing is, that doesn't mean sh*t... if two more teams get wins, it doesn't matter how many points Ideal or Chonk have (assuming they are not the team with the win).  If more than 2 teams get wins, we will go to the standings and top 5 (assuming the top 5 have the wins)... then tie-break scenarios where applicable.

Well done getting this far, but it is far from over... do yo still have that driver who can win in Dover???  Can you make it on points and stay in the top 2 non-win spots???  Even if you do that... will one of these other a-holes get wins and knock you out anyway????   

Dover on Sunday... it should be interesting to see who everyone relies on to get them further in the league this year.  Good Luck to all!

Cheers!