A few random thoughts as we head into the first weekend of March…..
I recently mentioned that open wheel phenom Kyle Larson had been signed as a NASCAR developmental driver and was sharpening his asphalt Late Model skills during Speed Weeks at New Smyrna Speedway actually winning on his first night out in the Pete Orr Memorial. I should also point out that a couple of other youngsters actually had a better week than Larson visiting victory lane more than once in the Super Late Models. Larson finished as a runner-up to fourteen-year-old South Carolina driver Kyle Benjamin during two of his three wins on the week, and Travis Cope, the son of Mike Cope, capped off the week with two straight victories. Perhaps all three of these young men will eventually earn their way to the big time at Daytona and beyond.
Monday Night NASCAR drew the highest TV ratings ever for a Daytona 500 on Fox and so now we are seeing media blurbs with titles like “Should NASCAR Consider Weeknight Racing?” Absolutely, as long as they are okay with only selling out half of the tickets, or less, for the grandstands. Heck, the viewership will pick up right there when 50,000 people stay home and watch it on TV rather than burning up additional vacation days to actually attend the event. NASCAR should stand tall and proud and proclaim that the Monday night telecast was, by far, not the primary reason for the record ratings. A spirited chase that went down to the final lap between two charismatic drivers has provided a nice carryover of interest into this season. The rule changes that brought back “pack racing” had produced some very watchable preliminary events during the week and, of course, there was the Sprint Cup debut of Danica Patrick. Like it or not race fans, Danica is enough of a recognizable figure outside of the sport that her presence will make people who would otherwise have no interest tune in to see how she does. And, if by chance you show those people some great racing including something out of the ordinary, perhaps like a huge bonfire being fed by jet fuel, some of those folks might just start tuning in to watch the races whether or not Danica is involved. I am still amazed by the naysayers who insist that Danica is not good for the sport. Seriously?? And I’ll admit that I used the phrase “recognizable figure” above on purpose since I would recognize her figure anywhere.
On a similar subject any mention of Late Model driver Jill George on one of the Iowa-based forum boards always leads to a multi-page debate as to whether or not she is worthy of racing with the World of Outlaws. Geesh, give it a rest people. When I visit the eastern-based forums I don’t see multiple discussions on whether or not John Lobb should be out on the tour or not, and you don’t see him running in the top ten yet or qualifying for all of the races either. If a driver has the resources and the desire to race nationally instead of locally or regionally, then good for them! Of course the fact that Jill is an attractive woman has a lot to do with generating the discussion. Or is it the fact that the forum’s resident lightning rod has to either bring her up in the first place, or always weigh in that makes the thread go on wayyyyyy longer than it should? The last time that I saw Jill she was officiating a women’s college basketball game. She is multi-talented and I can only guess that she wishes she could just race without all of the extra critique. Hint, hint, lightning rod.
I’m old, so I do not understand the fascination with Twitter. And someday when I finally do catch up with the times and open an account of my own you will be able to say that I flip-flopped on this issue just like a politician. So Brad Keselowksi had a special holder built so that he could have his phone in his car with him and when Juan Pablo’s Barbeque stopped the race for two hours, Keselowski was able to tweet a picture from inside his stopped car. Plus I can only imagine the fascinating stories that he was able to tell, 145 characters at a time, during the delay. It was reported that his followers grew from 65,000 to 230,000 this week and, in two separate headlines, I learned that first NASCAR and then Penske Racing determined that Keselowski could continue to use Twitter during a race. Before making these decisions I would guess that Brad promised to not attempt to tweet while he was actually driving the car, so at least there’s that. My disdain for Twitter started when ESPN’s Sports Center started using random thoughts from unknown “pundits” during its telecast. Do I really care that #heatr4real thought that “Lebron’s dunk was the best ever, Heat all the way!!” When did media come to this? My friends Brian Neal and “fasttrackfan” have used Twitter to send out race results as they happen from events that they are attending. I can understand that fans would find that valuable, but the rest of it? I’m just old I guess.
Racing season gets closer to home each week as the Springfield Raceway starts things off on March 10th with the rescheduled Turkey Classic featuring Late Models, USRA Modifieds, B-Mods and Legend Cars. Race time is 4 p.m. and the results of state tournament basketball games next Wednesday and Thursday will determine if I make the trip or not. If I do go, I will be a sad basketball fan, but a happy race fan and I hope to see you there!
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