Greetings race fans! Welcome to my blog on the world of NASCAR racing. I hope you get a few laughs, learn some things, and can catch up on one of the most popular sports in America through this blog. The world of NASCAR is changing at a pretty fast pace these days and I hope I can provide a little insight into those changes and place them in their historical perspective and shine a light on the future of the sport.
A little background on me and why I’m qualified to write a blog you’ll want to read. I grew up in a household with a father who was a fan of racing that dated back to the beginnings of NASCAR. He remembered the early icons of the sport such as Freddy Lorenzen, Fireball Roberts, Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson and Lee Petty to name a few. He took me to local short tracks to stir my interest and when we moved to the south, we started going to races at Talladege and Atlanta. We watched every race, every weekend on TV.
I still remember the first race I watched on TV. It was the ‘76 Daytona 500. What could be more memorable than watching Petty and Pearson come out of turn four, side by side, racing for the win on the final lap. They touched, they spun. Pearson was able to limp his car across the finish line to secure the victory. Ahh, they just don’t race like that any more. Let’s not forget the Brawl on the Backstretch between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough, either. Honor was meant to be defended!
So, with the exciting things coming up this year, I hope you’ll check back here periodically to check out my take on this season. Juan Montoya as a rookie, changes in the Chase for the Cup, and the Car of Tomorrow all ensure there will be plenty to talk about. I look forward to your input as we discuss this most popular of racing sports.
Cinch up the straps and let’s go racing.
J.R.
