Season That Was: 2007 (cont'd)

BEST POST-RACE QUOTE: After winning his first race of the season at Chicagoland on July 15, Tony Stewart said he fully intended to get to the bottom of a cardboard box full of Schlitz beer that night and then added to a roomful of snickering media: "You guys laugh at me like nobody drinks Schlitz anymore. The good thing is they stock it close to home and it's only about eight bucks a case, cold. And if you've got a couple of roommates and you've got seven in the fridge when you leave, you've got seven in the fridge when you come back. You're not supporting everybody else's drinking habits." (complete audio)

BEST POST-RACE MOVE: Take your pick. But it has to be Stewart again -- either attempting to climb the fence in front of the grandstand after one of his three victories or kissing the bricks after winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in Indianapolis on July 29. Seriously, how many post-race burnouts look exactly the same? At least Stewart does something different (and more physically challenging for himself than the backflips presented by Carl "3 Percent Body Fat" Edwards following his victories.)

WORST POST-RACE MOVE: Speaking of Edwards, what was he thinking when he interrupted Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth during a live television interview and "made him flinch" by faking a punch? (watch video)

BEST LUCK: Jimmie Johnson. Who else? Johnson and his No. 48 Chevrolet team arguably made their own luck during a magical season, but there were at least a couple of races -- during the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship, no less -- when he and Knaus were at least as fortunate as they were good.

Dale Jr. to No. 88

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WORST LUCK: Dale Earnhardt Jr. How many times did he lose an engine or get in a wreck that wasn't necessarily his fault when he had been running hard near the front? At least seven or eight by conservative count.

MOST SURPRISING MOMENT: The day it finally became apparent that Junior was not going to be able to work through his personal and professional differences with his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, which meant he actually was going to sever ties with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company founded by his father that he seemed destined to one day lead. Folks can say what they want now about seeing it coming, but most thought up until at least nearly the very end that something would be worked out somehow for him to stay with DEI.

LEAST SURPRISING MOMENT: The day Junior announced he would be driving for Hendrick Motorsports next season, followed closely by the day it was announced that he would be driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports next season. Two of the worst-kept secrets in the sport.

BEST LINE OF BS: This has to go to Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., for his bold proclamation that he was planning to move Lowe's Motor Speedway because of differences with city leaders from Concord, N.C., where the track actually resides just outside of Charlotte. What Bruton forgot to add was that he was only going to move if the Concord city leaders didn't give him exactly what he wanted -- and then some -- as he moved forward with building a $60 million drag strip adjacent to LMS. It took them only a couple of weeks to cave in and team with state officials to offer $80 million in incentives for Smith to stay (Complete story). Not only that, but they even agreed to rename Speedway Boulevard, which runs from Interstate-85 to the entrance of the track, Bruton Smith Boulevard. It will be called BS Blvd. for short.

REAL CREW CHIEF OF THE YEAR: Didn't think we would have to say this, but after learning that NASCAR gave the official Crew Chief of the Year award to Mike Ford of driver Denny Hamlin's No. 11 Chevrolet team during Champions Week, someone must go on record as pointing out how absolutely asinine it is to give such an award to anyone but Knaus during a season when his driver won a series-high 10 races, four more than anyone else, and captured the championship.

MOST UNDER-RATED MOMENT: The grace and class with which Gordon handled passing the late Earnhardt to move into sixth place on the all-time wins list at Talladega in April was phenomenal, but somewhat quickly forgotten as the season zoomed on ahead (watch video). While some misguided fans pelted his No. 24 Chevrolet with full beer cans following his 77th career win, Gordon took the high road and never said a bad word about anybody, least of all the legendary and revered Earnhardt.

MOST OVER-RATED MOMENT(S): Champions Week in New York. Is it just me? Or do you feel like you're being force-fed a steady diet of the same stuff you already knew when you left Homestead after the final race of the season? And if they have to do it in New York City, why does it have to stretch out over five days? Wouldn't two in any city be plenty enough? (Complete coverage)

BOLDEST PREDICTION FOR 2008: Former champion and current television analyst Darrell Waltrip said that Earnhardt Jr., who went winless in 2007 for the first time since he first began running a full-time schedule in 2000, will capture the next Daytona 500 and win a total of "at least six races" in 2008.

It will be fun finding out if he can do it. But first, let us all take a little bit of a well-deserved breather before heading down that path.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.