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