10 Reasons To Be Happy This Holiday Season

With Christmas only a few days away, I thought it’d be a good time to list the reasons race fans should be thankful this holiday season as they look ahead to racing in 2008.

10.  The departure of Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish, Jr. to stock-car land may open the door for Danica Patrick’s first IndyCar win.

9. Tony Stewart could win another title in 2008, but this time as a car owner with two-time WoO champ Donny Schatz.

8. With the Frenchman (Sebastien Bourdais) gone, maybe someone else will win a Champ Car race.

7. Maybe, just maybe, the new leadership at USAC can turn things around.

6. So what if there’s no USGP in 2008? If the current trend continues, all of the good open-wheel drivers will be in NASCAR before long.

5. John Force’s 2008 campaign for a 15th Funny Car title couldn’t be any more trying than 2007, could it?

4. The epic battle of Concord (N.C.) city officials versus O. Bruton Smith and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. over a proposed dragway and the possible relocation of Lowe’s Motor Speedway will forever be remembered with the renaming of Speedway Boulevard to Bruton Smith Boulevard.

3. The inter-team cat fighting might have ended between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, but that’s not to say that the battle won’t continue on the track next season.

2. Now that Junior has moved to Hendrick Motorsports, fans will have to stop blaming his bad fortune on the evil stepmother.

And the No. 1 reason to be thankful this holiday season:

There are still more than 50 days until we have to hear Rusty Wallace recount how the boys used to give him a “fast hot rod” back in the day.

Craftsman Putting Tools Away, Going Home

When it comes to NASCAR’s top three series, all good things must come to an end.

NASCAR announced earlier this week that Craftsman, the longtime sponsor of the Truck Series since its creation in 1995, will end its sponsorship after the 2008 season. The tool brand’s contract ran through 2010.

BOWING OUT: Craftsman, title sponsor of NASCAR's Truck Series since its creation in 1995, will end its sponsorship after the 2008 season. (Autostock Photo)

The announcement comes on the heels of the renaming of both the Nextel Cup and Busch series for the 2008 seasons. NASCAR’s top series will have its third different name in the last four seasons since longstanding series sponsor Winston bowed out after the 2003 season. Anheuser-Busch, sponsor since 1982, ended its affiliation with NASCAR’s No. 2 series after the 2007 season.

I don’t want to sound like Little Cindy Lou in “How The Grinch Stole Christmas,” but why Craftsman, why are you leaving the Truck Series? You’re leaving a series that has arguably the best racing in NASCAR – possibly in all of stock-car racing – after one of the most dramatic seasons in the series’ 13-year history. The number of viewers has never been higher, and the series is the only place fans can see old-school racing between old-school drivers. Where else can two grandpas — Ron Hornaday, Jr. at 49 and Mike Skinner at 50 — be the headline acts duking it out for the championship? Not in Cup or Busch that’s for sure.

I’m sure everyone knows the real reason behind Craftsman’s decision to bow out after 14 seasons: money. It’s the reason Anheuser-Busch bid adieu and the reason NASCAR had a difficult time securing a sponsor for its No. 2 series.

But just like everything else in the world — especially in the realm of motorsports — the all mighty dollar controls the outcome of just about everything. Sadly, this time it means the end of an era for an incredible series of racing.

Here’s a word to the wise for whomever takes over as title sponsor for the Truck Series: Don’t follow the same trends as Sprint Nextel. True fans — the ones who tune into watch the Truck Series no matter who is driving — don’t need all of the glitz and glamour and hoopla that have become the norm for Cup events. Save your money and just give the fans the hard, old-school racing they crave.