NASCAR Sprint Cup's Stunning Flashbacks of 2011 Season

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season had many memorable moments, both good and bad, and as the year enters the final days, some of them were stunning and deserve a flashback.

Records continued to be set which is a natural part of any sport. High expectations for certain drivers turned to disappointment and other drivers seemed to hit their stride in the performance department.

The new points system NASCAR announced with the wild-card slot proved to be a winner that culminated with the most outstanding Chase we have seen since it was implemented.

NASCAR forced drivers to pick the series they intended to run in for points and a title. This eliminated the domination of Cup drivers in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.

Silly season started early and looks to continue until the new year with some of the silliest scenarios we have seen in some time. For better or worse, some of the stories became reality.

There are many changes for the upcoming season with drivers, teams and crew chiefs. So many storylines will be followed long before the engines roar during Speedweeks at Daytona.

Many more moments could certainly be included in this article, but some stand out and deserve one last look back as we proceed into the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

1. Trevor Bayne and the Daytona 500

It wasn't just the fact that Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 at the age of 20 years and one day, despite his lack of experience in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The story was so much deeper than that with the history of the Wood Brothers iconic No. 21 and the David Pearson tribute paint scheme ending up in Victory Lane with Bayne.

It was an emotional moment for the Wood Brothers who had not had a winning car since 2001. For Bayne, it was a dream moment becoming the youngest driver to win the Daytona 500.

The highs of his big win later turned serious with a health scare that took him out of racing for more weeks than he cares to count, but he returned in fine form.

2. Regan Smith Wins Darlington

Carl Edwards led the most laps, but it was Regan Smith who snatched a win at the track "Too Tough to Tame" in May.

Who would have thought the Colorado-based Furniture Row No. 78 driven by Smith would be in Victory Lane at the historic track known as the original superspeedway.

It was the first NASCAR Sprint Cup win for this driver and quite the feel-good moment.

3. Kevin Harvick Snookers Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Junior Nation was sure that at last their driver would be victorious after the long winless streak, but Kevin Harvick stole the show.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was leading the Coca Cola 600 in the No. 88 when in the last turn of the last lap his car faltered, as it ran out of fuel.

With a seventh-place finish, Earnhardt extended his number of races without a win to 105 at the longest race of the season.

4. "Smoke" Is on Fire

The 26 weeks leading to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup were not especially kind to Tony Stewart, owner/driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet.

Stewart was winless until the Chase that he almost failed to make.

He then won the first and second races of the 10-week stretch, with one other back-to-back set of wins and the fifth win in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Though he was tied with Carl Edwards in the point standings, Stewart won the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship because of his wins.

It was an amazing streak of wins in a Chase that will be talked about for many years to come. It was the third Cup title for Stewart.

5. Jeff Gordon's Hall of Fame Stats

It took until Tuesday to run the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway because of bad weather, but in the end Jeff Gordon took his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to victory for his 85th Cup win.

Gordon is a four-time NASCAR Cup champion and his 85th win takes him to third on the all-time wins list behind Richard Petty with 200 and David Pearson who has 105.

Many thought Gordon would be the one to challenge Jimmie Johnson for the title this year, but he ended the season eighth in the point standings.

6. Jimmie Johnson's Helper

Love it or hate it, tandem racing was in full bloom during the spring race at Talladega. Dale Earnhardt Jr. pushed his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, to a win that was .002 seconds ahead of Clint Bowyer.

Johnson was so grateful for Earnhardt's help that he gave him the checkered flag and the two hugged in Victory Lane.

The race also made history with 88 lead changes, the most in any NASCAR race.

7. New Winners

The 2011 season produced a variety of surprises one of which was the five first-time NASCAR Sprint Cup winners.

Trevor Bayne started off with his post-birthday win of the Daytona 500. It was the first time Wood Brothers Racing had a car in the winner's circle at that event since David Pearson did it in 1976.

Regan Smith followed with his Furniture Row Chevrolet taking the checkered flag at the history-rich track in Darlington, S.C.

David Ragan fumbled on a restart with his UPS Ford at the Daytona 500, but he learned from the experience. Ragan came back and won the Coke Zero 400 July race at Daytona.

Paul Menard made the move to Richard Childress Racing in 2011 and he earned his first Cup win at the prestigious Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. Menard's father sponsored many drivers in open-wheel cars at Indy, but was never able to capture a win.

Marcos Ambrose is always good on a road course, but the driver of the Stanley/Dewalt Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports finally got his first win at Watkins Glen in August.

8. Kentucky Traffic Jam

Traffic was no problem for Kyle Busch, who drove his No. 18 M&M's Toyota to victory at the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway.

Many fans were not so lucky as thousands sat in traffic gridlock for hours in an attempt to reach the speedway located between Louisville and Cincinnati.

Fans who had paid for tickets never made it to their seats and though every effort was made to find places to park the fans eager to see the first Cup race at the track, it was not to be.

Fans always get their patience tested in traffic at sporting events, but the traffic debacle at the long- awaited Kentucky Speedway Cup race was at the top of the list for NASCAR.

Bruton Smith, the track owner, has worked with Kentucky officials to guarantee better access to the track and additional parking space has been acquired. Fans are able to use last year's unused ticket for this year's event.

The 2012 event promises to have the problems solved.

9. Brad Keselowski Is Surprise of the Season

Brad Keselowski, driver of the iconic Blue Deuce for Penske Racing, was deep in double digits of the point standings when he broke his ankle in a testing accident at Road Atlanta.

Keselowski roared through the pain to come back and win a race the next weekend and garnered three wins for the season.

The driver of the No. 2 made his way to the Chase and finished in a respectable fifth place in the final points.

In an odd twist of fate, the young driver became the lead driver at Penske Racing with the departure of Kurt Busch and the addition of A. J. Allmendinger.

He and his former Nationwide crew chief, Paul Wolfe, have great chemistry and look to be a force to contend with in the 2012 season.

10. Kyle Busch Punished

Probably the worse thing for a racecar driver is to have to watch another driver behind the wheel of his car regardless of the reason.

Kyle Busch didn't play well with Ron Hornaday in a NASCAR Camping World Truck race at Texas. His retaliatory actions were far beyond "boys, have at it." He was immediately parked by NASCAR.

Busch nearly lost his M&M sponsorship and he did lose it as primary sponsor for the last two races of the season, but they will return in 2012.

Busch sat atop the pit box and watched Michael McDowell behind the wheel of the No. 18 that finished the day in the 33rd position.

Postseason, Joe Gibbs Racing has requested Busch to not drive in the NCWTS even though the truck is owned by Kyle Busch Motorsports. He will also cut back his Nationwide runs.

Busch issued many apologies for his actions and it remains to be seen if some of the fire is dampened within this driver, because he can't afford any bad behavior in 2012 if he wants to come back stronger than ever.