I have not posted a blog in years. Have not watched NASCAR in years. I think I want to come back and watch something I used to enjoy. Last blog I posted was in 2012. It has been years since I actually watched a NASCAR (Now Monster) Cup racing. I was disgusted. You can either run off and give up on something you have loved or give it another chance. Alot has changed since 2012 since I gave up. Some for the better I admit. Yes I used to complain alot on here. Today I say, NO MORE!
Oh Toyotas are in NASCAR, BOO HOO!! Big deal, they got four wheels, a naturally aspired engine. All that matters to me. The Chase system? I will always hate and despise it. It has flaws but it is just a work in progress. I would love to see them go back to the old system. But is that really realistic? COT? Well the ugliness and blandness of the cars in 2012 are over. They now look more like the cars they represent. Drivers have left the sport and replaced by very young drivers now. Gordon, Stewart, Martin and even Edwards are now forever gone from racing. They were mature drivers, but lets not forget the immaturity and inexperience of the greats like Stewart, Earnhardt and Irvan showed when they first started too. We can just give up when our favorites leave the sport or embrace new drivers starting out. I think I want to embrace the new drivers coming in and not all of them are just glorified go cart drivers. There are guys racing with stock car backgrounds still.
The racing has gotten better is what I am hearing from my friends. Thank god two car tandem racing is gone too! This new format system sounds crazy at first. But those races that used to put me to sleep in my previous posts I complained about, could be coming to an end. The fake yellows to break up the field and manipulate the race could be coming to an end to. I like how the Truck Series is running on dirt at Eldora. This could be a catalyst for things to change there. So with the success of that, I would love to see the Truck Series or K&N Series run on dirt. I look at those schedules, would be neat to add some dirt tracks to the mix.
I have heard other fans say, "if Johnson wins the 7th cup, I am done watching" Well I am here to tell you, Jimmie Johnson may be a 7 time cup champion and I have no ill will or hatred for him for that. He did what he had to do to get it done in the Chase era. Does not mean he is less of a Champion compared to Petty or Earnhardt. I think he is in that same category as those two. Regardless of old system or not, I think he would have won a couple too.
One of the beauties of motorsports is that there is not just NASCAR to watch. If things in NASCAR tick you off, can always watch something else and is not the end of the world. Since my absence from watching NASCAR, have watched alot of other forms off racing. Be it F1, Sports Cars, Supermodifieds, DIRT Modifieds, local racing, short track racing, rally, indy car, lawn mower racing, drag racing etc and the conclusion I came to is that all these forms of racing have negatives of their owns and it is not exclusive to just NASCAR with the kind of politics we have seen in years past. You got think past the negatives and look to the positives of the sport. Can't be too negative about things. Got to be optimistic.
Sure alot has changed, but the one thing I can take to the bank is, we can always remember and cherish the great times from years past. But we should not stay too stuck in it and think of the future of NASCAR and motorsports as a whole. Tearing it down and mocking it does no good. The crowds at the once great Brickyard 400 was sad this past year. We can keep joking and laugh about it or we can work to make it better. We know what the problems are and I am sure the drivers feel it too. Lets support the drivers and I think that is all we can do. It is what I will do now. Finding a new favorite is now my biggest challenge since not watching for so long. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for reading. I tried to be brief. But this is a sport I love and continue to love.
