Another Super Bowl ( 46 minus 2 ) is in the can.
Semi-chronological preseason observations:
Whatever our (my) current opinion of Ol’ DW is, his acceptance speech at the Nascar Hall of Fame induction ceremony was heartfelt and touching.
If the so-far-one-new-2013-car is any indication of what racing is going to look like, I’m in!
You ( I ) know when Bob Varsha is on Speed in January, good times are nigh.
Question: Is Michael Waltrip the first person to (not according to Nascar) buy a ride as an owner and (not according to Nascar) buy a ride as a driver for the same race?
I hear Ward Burton will be back on the track at Daytona. Nice.
So Kurt Busch is seeing a sports psychologist. I remember when he did a tremendous – at least public – personality redo. Did he fool everyone but Jack Roush? Jack says he would never rehire him. There may be other issues that just sports psychologists might not be able to help either K’s.
Speaking of K’s, can Kyle put a damper on the “Rowdy” image and still be as successful? The Shootout result seems to say yes, but he won. Will his demeanor remain acceptable when the victories don’t come as often as he would expect? Personally, I don’t care as long as he’s in the field. PS. That was one of the best – if not the best – performances in a non-points race ever. In the pushing the envelope category, whose idea was it to have the Busch Bros. together as owner/drivers? Must have been some sports psychologist.
In an article at SceneDaily.com, 1.12.12, Jeff Owens tried to make the case for Nascar to maintain the tandem racing at the restrictor plate races instead of trying to do better. Nice try. At least in light of the Shootout, he appears to be on the opposite side of prescient.
As to the General Lee: Nascar says sorry, Bubba. Others, of course, will still be able to bring their flags into the infield.
Back to the Bud Shootout. Does Richard Petty still refuse to carry beer decals on his cars, and will RPM once again not be eligible for next year’s Bud pole award due to the new (as in old) shootout rules?
I’m sure nobody has ever worked harder and deserved a vacation more than Chad Knaus, but doesn’t it say a lot that he would be absent for newly crucial pre Daytona testing?
By Gary Erdakos