It’s time for my end-of-season clearance of my mind and computer as I ramble about a few things that happened this year and what may happen in 2008.
Racing must be stagnant when the biggest story of the year is Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s switch to the Hendrick Motorsports team.
Most have forgotten what a great race the Indy 500 was. The old speedway saw more dicing than it had in years. There were also lots of outside groove passing. Even though it was rain shortened, it was the best major race of the year.
I’m trying to figure out whether NASCAR’s disqualification of Michael Waltrip’s Toyota at Daytona or the strange change in relationship between Mark Martin and Jack Roush was the biggest mystery of the year. The “substance” found in Waltrip’s car was never revealed.
NASCAR had its share of violators again and tossed out fines and suspensions like they were Nextel stickers, but it was outdone by Formula One, which docked McLaren a cool $100 million and took away all of its manufacturer’s points. Formula One doesn’t really appeal to me, but it sure makes a great soap opera.
Kasey Kahne going from six wins last season to none this year had to be the biggest disappointment of the year.
The best TV came from Tony Stewart’s benefit race at Eldora Speedway and from The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway. It was great to see sprint cars on TV without a bunch of flips. The late models were superb to watch.
Speaking of Stewart, with his contract at Gibbs Racing ending in 2009, one wonders what will happen if their switch to Toyota lays an egg.
Will NASCAR ever have a good idea? Busch and Sears Craftsman are leaving its second and third divisions. Its answer to its oldest division, the modifieds, which is eroding, is a “bargain priced” engine, at $25,000 a copy.
With a lot of us unhappy with NASCAR Cup racing, what will next season give us with the CoT running in every race? The CoT appears less racy than the previous car.
Ricky Rudd hanging up his helmet leaves racing without one the classiest guys ever to grip a wheel.
There seems to be a chance that the internal-combustion engine will one day be shelved. What will this do to racing? There’s still a lot of years before this will happen but it’s something to think about.
Indy car racing still isn’t going anywhere. Once again, Roger Penske hired a foreign driver, Australia’s Ryan Briscoe, to replace Sam Hornish, Jr. on his team.
America’s hottest prospect, Bobby Santos III, is headed for a stock-car career. The Indy car fraternity refuses to wake up and hire drivers who fans will pay to see.
After a couple of scares, it looks like 410 sprints are secure for awhile. The World of Outlaws are drawing good fields, but some of the weekly tracks are hurting because it’s so expensive for owners to maintain these cars.
We managed to churn out more columns this year than we have in a long time. I enjoyed it. I appreciate the many E-mails and comments I’ve received.
Have a Merry Christmas and a healthy New Year and let’s hope all of us can be here to hash it out a year from now.
Avoiding mistletoe poisoning at 25 Emerson Place, Valley Stream, N.Y. 11580. E-mail to Racewri771@AOL.com.