NASCAR Sprint Cup: The 25 Most Surprising Moments of 2011

The 2011 Sprint Cup season was riddled with surprises. How could it not be?

A new points system was inculcated to determine a champion. New heroes emerged in a glorious sunrise, while past greatness faded in the shadows.

Any season in sports is rife with surprises. The 2011 Sprint Cup season not only offered surprise and intrigue, but it was a quagmire of collective incidents that culminated in one of the most breathtaking finishes of a professional sports season in recent memory.

A dynasty was undone. An old hero emerged from the depths of defeat.

In between all that, 2011 proved to be one of the most interesting Sprint Cup campaigns on record.

In no particular order, here are 25 moments that gave us reason to pause and, sometimes, reflect.

Racing on a Tuesday in Atlanta

This had not happened in NASCAR since the '70s.

It is not unusual to have rain in Atlanta, Georgia in September.

The fact that the race was postponed was not a huge shock. However, what was a surprise was that NASCAR looked at the weather reports and cancelled the race for Sunday and Monday, simultaneously.

Perhaps it was the right call. As a result, this had to be the most sparsely attended race of the entire Sprint Cup season because fans just simply do not plan to attend races on Tuesdays.

Kurt Busch's Disappearance in the Chase

Kurt Busch looked like a strong contender during the first legs of the Chase. He entered it in seventh place. After the third race in Dover, he had climbed up to fourth place on the back of a solid win, holding off fellow Chasers Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards.

Everything went downhill from there. Over the course of the next seven races, he never finished better than 13th place. This included three finishes of 30th place or worse.

The coup de grace occurred at Miami Homestead, where, after blowing his transmission early, he was caught on camera delivering a profanity-laced tirade to ESPN reporter Dr. Jerry Punch.

It was not surprising to see or hear Kurt Busch cuss someone out. The surprise was just how much his high hopes had been squelched in a few short weeks.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Runs out of Gas in Charlotte

This was the longest race of the year and, coincidentally, in NASCAR history. If Dale Earnhardt Jr. had performed like this is in any other race, he would have snapped his long winless streak.

Unfortunately, he ran out of gas on the last leg of the last lap, allowing Kevin Harvick to pass him and steal the victory. Dale Jr. limped to seventh place.

As an attendee of this race, I can attest that the official mood of the crowd was shock, not mere surprise.

It seemed as though almost half the crowd had no idea that Kevin Harvick had won; rather, they were more befuddled as to what happened to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Both of Jimmie Johnson's Performances in Charlotte

Jimmie Johnson is usually a top performer at his sponsor's track, Lowe's Motor Speedway. In 2011, he was actually pretty weak.

The nearest mishap in most fans' memory is his hard wreck on the back straightaway during the Chase that, for all intents and purposes, essentially ended his title run.

Rewind back to the Coca Cola 600 on Memorial Day: His pit crew inexplicably left a wrench in the back of his car (made during a track-bar adjustment) that caused him to serve a penalty and basically ended any chance he had of winning that race.

Really, it did not matter, as Johnson's engine blew up very late in the race and left him helpless.

This was Jimmie Johnson's worst season. It was especially and surprisingly poor in Charlotte in 2011.

A. J. Allmendinger Did Not Get His First Win

Although 2011 was characterized with parity and a slew of first-time winners, it was a bit a of surprise not to see A. J. Allmendinger's name on that list of first place finishers.

Beginning in 2012, he has to be the overwhelming favorite among all drivers to notch his first win. There is no stronger winless driver in the entire NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit.

Joey Logano Wins the Pole at Sonoma

This should not be considered a huge shocker, but it was quite unexpected. Joey Logano is not a particularly great qualifier—not bad, but not strong. Somehow, he won the pole in Sonoma.

He is also very young and only gets two chances per year to run a road course (minus any testing).

The road courses are known for attracting "ringers," who are essentially seasoned experts on these types of courses. Additionally, some of the seasoned full-time Sprint Cup veterans have now run the courses at Watkins Glen and Sonoma many times.

None of that mattered in qualifying this year at Infineon Raceway. As an added bonus, Logano did not waste his pole position and ended up finishing a respectable sixth.

Denny Hamlin's Season: Yuck

It is difficult to say with exactitude how much losing the 2010 title influenced Denny Hamlin's performance in 2011.

Everything went right for him in 2010 until the final race. Hamlin seemed to have carried the results of that final race all the way through 2011.

He made the Chase, but just barely. He did not make any noise during the Chase and appeared to give up very early during the Chase season.

He surprised more than a handful of experts and analysts, who predicted that he would return as a strong contender again in 2011.

The Resurgence of Jeff Gordon

Anyone who thought that Jeff Gordon was on the downward slope of his career were proven wrong.

After a long draught, he won the second race of 2011 in Phoenix. Not finished, he also won at Pocono and Atlanta. The victory in Atlanta pushed him ahead to third on the all-time wins list with 85.

Judging from his results from 2008-2010, 2011 most certainly did not look to be the year when he would eclipse the 84-win mark.

He had one win in that three-year span from 2008-2010, but he tripled that in 2011.

Finally, he was on the short-list of serious contenders to win the title when the Chase began. Many considered him poised to win his fifth championship before the Chase commenced, but that hope faded halfway through the tournament in Kansas.

Paul Menard Wins the Brickyard 400

Winning is always special; however, to win your first race at such a classic venue as Indianapolis Motor Speedway is without comparison.

More surprising, however, was the fact that Paul Menard's victory came relatively out of nowhere.

At the time, he had no momentum to suggest that Indianapolis, of all places, was going to be his moment to shine.

The previous two races leading up to the Brickyard 400 saw Menard finish identically in 24th place. Then, he qualified 15th in Indianapolis and rode it to his first victory.

Cars do not know a thing about momentum.

David Reutimann Replaced at Michael Waltrip Racing by Mark Martin

This announcement came almost out of nowhere. It was not a total surprise that Michael Waltrip Racing jumped at the chance to get Mark Martin. Apparently, this deal came together very quickly.

Unfortunately for David Reutimann, it happened very late in the season. It left him basically helpless to find a Sprint Cup ride for next year.

Although Reutimann's results with MWR have not been spectacular, he has two career wins. He seems like a decent guy as well. He got shafted.

Brad Keselowski's Season: Nice

Aside from one other driver, nicknamed 'Smoke," Brad Keselowski had the biggest comeback of the year. After 12 races (more or less the mid-way point of the regular season), he looked awful.

He was not even in the discussion to make the Chase.

Then he pulled off a victory in Kansas. Still, he had much ground to overcome.

He then broke his ankle, but was still able to drive. What ensued after the injury was one of the stronger short-term runs of the 2011 regular season.

After being released from the hospital, he went on to win the next race at Pocono. Proving it was no fluke, he followed up by finishing second at Watkins Glen, third in Michigan and won the Bristol Motor Speedway night race to guarantee himself a wild-card Chase spot.

What started out as a failing campaign mutated into a season-ending fifth place finish in overall points. Nice!

Kevin Harvick Leaves His Car in Neutral with Kyle Busch Near

Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch do not care for each other. That they would have a post-race tussle is not in any way surprising.

The surprise here was that Harvick left his car in neutral after climbing out, giving Kyle Busch a perfect opportunity to make him look foolish.

Busch came off better from this incident, as he was the one who was trying to avoid the conflict but most definitely got the last laugh.

He finished ahead of Harvick and had the chance to damage Harvick's car after the checkered flag waved in Darlington.

Tony Stewart Wins Half of the Races in the Chase

Nobody saw this coming. Tony Stewart limped into the postseason with no wins.

This effort may be duplicated again in the Chase, but it will probably never be overcome.

Wow!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Goes to the Back of the Pack at the Daytona 500

2011 started off great for Junior Nation: He won the pole for the Daytona 500 for the first time in his career.

Then, in the second practice session, he was relegated to the back of the field due to an accident.

Accidents in practice hold a certain amount of surprise. That surprise is amplified when it occurs to NASCAR's most popular driver on its biggest stage.

Jeremy Mayfield's Arrest

This unfortunate story was not be surprising in the fact that the police found illegal drugs in the possession of Jeremy Mayfield. He had already received an indefinite suspension from NASCAR for failing drug tests.

The more shocking factor in the story was that the methamphetamines that the police found were only incidental to what they were truly looking for: stolen goods.

Jeremy Mayfield will be remembered as a substance abuser, but he will most likely be going to jail for a far more serious charge: burglary.

Ryan Newman vs. Juan Pablo Montoya in the NASCAR Trailer

The attached video gives the context of the history between these two racers.

Like Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, there is little chance that Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya will be exchanging Christmas cards this year, if ever.

The wrinkle in this saga is that (allegedly) punches were thrown inside of the official NASCAR trailer during a meeting to rectify the situation.

Fights happen, but probably one of the worst places to exchange blows is directly in front of officials, in their office, when both sides are trying to plead their case.

I do not know who was right or wrong in this situation, but fighting in the official's trailer was definitely wrong and flabbergasting from either viewpoint.

Regan Smith Wins the Southern 500 in Darlington

This victory had many of the same qualities as Paul Menard winning the Brickyard 400.

It was Reagan Smith's first career victory. It was also one of the most prestigious races of the regular season.

Smith had no momentum going into this race and was a complete surprise winner.

The only true differentiating factor between Menard and Smith is that Smith's one-car Furniture Row Racing team does not quite have the vast resources afforded to Menard as a member of Richard Childress Racing.

No Wins for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

There are two ways to view this: Either this surprised you or it is exactly what you expected.

Based on overall season stats, it was a little surprising. In 2011,18 different winners made the trip to Victory Lane, among them five first-time winners.

Based on these numbers, it seems befuddling that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not on this list and could not end his winless streak.

The surprise is more glaring in light of the fact that he made the Chase and ended up seventh overall without a single victory.

Jimmie Johnson Only Wins Once in the Regular Season

2011, by Jimmie Johnson standards, was forgettable. Most stock car drivers would be overjoyed with two wins and a sixth-place standing at season's end.

That is not the case for Hendrick Motorsports as an organization when considering the admirable streak of five championships that came to an end this year.

There was just something about the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet team this year that foreshadowed the inevitable end of a championship run.

One of those was his lone victory in the regular season: he won it by tying the smallest margin of victory in NASCAR history at .002 seconds.

Clint Bowyer Goes to Michael Waltrip Racing

By the time this deal was announced, it was the worst kept secret in all of NASCAR.

However, the initial rumours that proved true were surprising. Why would Clint Bowyer leave the success and prestige of Richard Childress Racing for the much less proven organization owned by Micahel Waltrip?

In the end, unsurprisingly, it ended up being a financial decision on the part of RCR. Still, it still feels strange that MWR will now have an equal number of drivers as RCR and Roush Fenway Racing.

Boris Said vs. Greg Biffle After the Conclusion in Watkins Glen

Boris Said is talking smack on Greg Biffle. What?

According to the video interview, these two have had problems in the past. Who knew or cared before this publicized incident?

The two have come to at least a lukewarm agreement since this incident, but this was one of the more random temper-tantrums of 2011.

It was surprising, to say the least, that Boris Said wanted to know Greg Biffle's address so that he could give him a  "whoopin."

Jimmie Johnson Did Not Win the Title

Tony Stewart capped off an incredible run in the Chase by winning the title. The finale at Miami Homestead was thrilling and hard-fought. Carl Edwards should be ashamed of nothing.

The surprise? Jimmie Johnson had no chance to even win the title.

As mentioned in a previous slide, it was surprising to see Johnson only win one regular season race; however, Johnson's win at the fifth race of the Chase in Kansas had heads turning as to whether he was returning to form and would yet again steal away a title.

It was not to be. The exact moment when any individual realised that Johnson was not going to win is a personal matter, but the end result that he is not still the champion still feels a little odd.

David Gilliland and Bobby Labonte at the Daytona 500

The No. 34 car is David Gilliland crossing the finish line third at the 2011 Daytona 500. Bobby Labonte is out of the picture, but he crossed the line next after Gilliland in fourth place.

I can only put it this way: If you placed a bet on David Gilliland, Bobby Labonte and a 20-year-old kid making his second Sprint Cup start all finishing in the top five at the Daytona 500, then I would like your name and email address.

In addition, I would pay decent money as to how you ever came up with that triad finishing in the top five at the most prestigious stock car race in the world.

Brian Vickers and Jamie McMurray in Martinsville

The picture shows the result of Brian Vickers and Jamie McMurray, No. 1, getting together in between Turns 3 and 4 in Martinsville.

Jamie McMurray received the raw end of this deal. After redirecting himself, his car was so damaged that it defecated its batteries onto the track, leaving the car a total mess.

McMurray, none to happy with Vickers, raced around the track with his damaged car. After a bit more than half a lap, he found Vickers on the back straightaway.

McMurray decided his best course of action was to to get alongside of Vickers and turn directly into him. He did make contact with Vickers, but the brunt of his revenge was exacted upon the SAFER barrier.

It did not really hurt Vickers and only ended up damaging the front of McMurray's already destroyed car.

This was an unusual show of aggression from such a normally placid driver.

Trevor Bayne Wins the Daytona 500

This had to be the biggest surprise of the season.

What else can be said that has not already been written?