Monday begins the 2008 campaign. No, I’m not talking about the Presidential campaign, but the campaign for the first Sprint Cup championship. While Daytona is still a little over one month away, Monday the engines will begin to rumble at Daytona for Preseason Thunder.
The Sprint Cup cars are set for testing the first four days of next week. The Cars of Tomorrow (CoT), which is now the Car of Today, will be the full focus as it will be making, not its debut at Daytona, its entrance into full time competitor. The drivers will have concerns and complaints, but the car is here to stay and they need to get it figured out before qualifying in February.
NASCAR has the longest season of any sport in America and the shortest off-season. The drivers of today hardly have time to spend time with the family before they must pack up the RV and head back to the track. How do they do it? They must love it. That alone separates NASCAR from every other sport in the world. Can you imagine a pampered basketball, football or baseball star spending as much as 11 months of the year in practice and participation well into their career?
As I look ahead to the 2008 season, there are many questions to be answered and some exciting changes. I’ll hold up on my predictions for the year until after the first full week of Preseason Thunder. Of note, it will be interesting to watch Dale, Jr., Kyle Busch and Gibbs Racing. Can they perform to the levels that are expected of them, in spite of the major changes they’ve made? Can Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Bobby Labonte return to the level of contention we have come to expect from them? Can Jimmie Johnson do what only one other driver has done in the history of NASCAR; win a third consecutive title? Can Hendrick stay leaps and bounds ahead of the competion?
I look forward to the start of the season, as usual, because each season has its own personality. This one will be no different. As it unfolds, I feel almost certain that it will be exciting. I also feel it will bring about some major changes for the 2009 season, just because there are things brewing that must be addressed. Ah, but those will have to wait for later in the season.
Cinch up those belts and let’s go racing. JR
January 3, 2008 at 11:28 am
[...] rebecca wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptMonday begins the 2008 campaign. No, I’m not talking about the Presidential campaign, but the campaign for the first Sprint Cup championship. While Daytona is still a little over one month away, Monday the engines will begin to rumble … [...]
January 4, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Are they gonna change the name of the old car to “The car of Yester year”?
I am all set for rooting for Jimmie Johnson again, I just can’t believe that Dale Jr and Jimmie Johnson are teamates now.
July 2, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I think you make a great point when you talk about one aspect of what separates NASCAR from other sports. Thanks for the post. I had fun reading it.
Mike Smith