I’ve been following NASCAR for the last 6 or 7 years now, but this is the first year that I actually had a chance to watch the Budweiser Shootout. It was okay and a nice way to ease into a new season of racing. I’m hoping that the new car will make the racing a lot more interesting by putting the driver back in control rather than the engineers. And I think I saw some of that last night in the bold moves and incredible saves I saw that probably wouldn’t have been possible in the old super aero sensitive cars.
Another thing I’m looking forward to is a much better showing by the Toyota teams. Tony Stewart’s second place finish bodes well for Toyota which may see its first Cup victory this year. Now wtf is up with Tony’s new hair?! It looks like he got a perm! WTF! For now I’m going to guess that it has something to do with some new sponsor, or maybe Old Spice is getting into hair care products. I like Tony for the most part, but this hair is going to take some getting used to.
Finally, I heard someone say on the broadcast, I think, that NASCAR was going to let the drivers be more themselves this year. I hope so, because all of the fines and tape delays for people saying things or expressing less than positive emotions were getting annoying. Passion is, and must be, a part of the sport. Indeed, there is no sport without passion. So bring it on!