Victory a royal triumph for independent owner Finch

When Rick Hendrick misses a Victory Lane celebration, skips going to the race track for a weekend, so what? It's old hat -- just another chapter of "been there, done that."

If this ain't your first racing rodeo, you know that same slogan could apply to Victory Lane and James Finch, whose cars have been there hundreds of times in a decades-long career as an owner.

But not for a Cup Series event, which is why I was damned glad when I saw James' quotes from Talladega on Sunday evening, and a day later witnessed Dale Earnhardt Jr. hugging the firebrand owner in a video clip from Talladega's Victory Lane.

But think about it -- Finch miss Talladega? I can hardly imagine that happening, given his history there.

Brad Keselowski's victory Sunday in Finch's Phoenix Racing car was absolute perfection -- a stunning triumph for the independent, by a fierce proponent of independence who's never done anything that wasn't done his way.

You'd never mistake young Keselowski for Jeff Purvis, who won dozens of high-profile, late-model dirt races in Finch's cars before the owner decided to dabble in asphalt racing, which has led him to racing full time in NASCAR's two highest national series.

But you had to cherish Keselowski's consistently brazen, unapologetic attitude -- and that kinda reminded you of Purvis, who back in the day fit Finch the owner as if he were his perfectly molded racing son.

The only troubling thing about Keselowski's entire performance was that he never once mentioned James' longtime sponsor -- but fear not, they got plenty of media exposure by the very nature of the win, and its exuberant aftermath.

That it happened at Talladega also was a critical element of perfection because Talladega, along with Finch's home-state track of Daytona, virtually became his trademark as he picked and chose his Cup appearances, always using the best equipment the successful Florida panhandle businessman could acquire.

For a time at the two superspeedways, Finch and Purvis ruled ARCA's Victory Lanes. But this was different. This was a Cup win, and Finch had wanted to be there for so long, and so badly.

For years Finch raced out of his Lynn Haven, Fla., home area. More recently, he's used the former Buckshot Racing shop complex in Spartanburg, S.C. He continues to support short-track racing and short-track racers. (Continued)