As the field entered the 3rd turn on the last lap
of Sunday’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 in Talladega, Brad Keselowski was
sitting in 23rd spot and stood a real chance of seeing his
championship hopes slip away.However,
as Tony Stewart did what he does best and caused a massive wreck that collected
25 cars – Keselowski was able to avoid the melee for the most part and move up
to the 7th spot as the race came to an end.
In addition to the obvious benefit of finishing 7th
rather than 23rd, Brad Keselowski saw his NASCAR Sprint Cup
championship lead grow due to the impact of the huge race ending wreck on the
other drivers in the hunt for the 2012 Chase for the Cup.Jimmie Johnson, who continues to sit in the
second spot behind Keselowski in the championship Chase finished 17th
while Denny Hamlin (currently 3rd overall) finished 14th.Due to the difference in the finishing
positions between BK, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, Keselowski now holds a
14 point lead over Johnson and a 23 point lead over Hamlin.Coming into the race, BK and his Dodge
Charger led Jimmie and his Chevrolet Impala by 5 and he was 19 points up on Hamlin
in the Toyota Camry.
Had the “big one” not been caused by more of Tony Stewart’s
rock’em, sock’em racing antics and Brad Keselowski would have finished 23rd,
he would have been awarded 22 points instead of the 37 that he got for
finishing 7th.That, combined
with what could have been top five finishes for Johnson and Hamlin, would have
likely bumped Keselowski from the top spot. Instead, he was able to navigate the #2 Miller Lite Charger through the
traffic and claim a top ten finish to extend his championship lead.
There are now six races left in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series Chase for the Cup as Brad Keselowski tries to write his chapter of Mopar
motorsports history and win the only Dodge championship during their 10 year
span in NASCAR that will end after this season.
It will undoubtedly hurt Mopar lovers to see Dodge once
again quit the NASCAR ranks but the pain of seeing the Dodge brand drive off
into the sunset could be softened by seeing a Dodge driver win the
championship.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
