Let’s see if I can put into words how excited I am about the upcoming Toyota/Save Mart 350 race weekend at Infineon Raceway.
Mmm. Okay, yea I can’t. This weekend means a lot to me for reasons I can’t specifically describe to you in this post. Let’s just say that I need this opportunity, now more than ever, to be immersed in the world of NASCAR and to think of nothing else for three whole days. NASCAR is my escape. It’s funny, this weekend I watched “Into The Wild,” a film based on the true story of one man who got rid of all material possessions except for a backpack and clothes and headed to Alaska to be with nature. I also read the Vanity Fair article about Johnny Depp (on newsstands now) and learned all about how he escapes (in short, he owns islands in the Caribbean and big boat). After taking all of that in I realized that I use this blog and NASCAR as my escape from all of the trappings of “the real world.” This blog isn’t work, it’s fun.
So for this weekend my only worries will be whether I should attend Kyle Busch’s press conference or ditch him in favor of Matt Kenseth or Juan Pablo Montoya who all have conferences scheduled at the same time. Ah, such simple decisions. I can’t wait to figure that all out. I’m leaning towards Kyle just because you have now idea what he’ll say, but I’m guessing it’ll include some lame remarks about Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans.
Besides all of that there is the matter of double-file restarts. On this road course it’s going to be tricky to say the least. It’s going to be good people, for once you won’t fall asleep watching this race. It’s gonna be fun which is why I zeroed in on this quote from Jeff Gordon this week:
“I’m anxious to get through it and see how it works out,” said Gordon. “I think Pocono and Michigan were two good tracks for NASCAR to try out the double-file restart rule, but I think it’s going to create some havoc here.
“The drivers may need to rethink how we’ve raced in the past. We’re going to need to figure out how to get through the first set of corners on each double-file restart. But, at the same time, we’re going to be battling even harder and more intense for each position. And sometimes that leads to more mistakes and more accidents.
“Then off the track, our crew chiefs are also going to have work through some interesting scenarios with pit strategy.”
Mistakes? Accidents, you say? Sign me up! I’m all in. 🙂
