I found out last week that I’m not getting a NASCAR hard card (NASCAR-issued annual media credential) this year because I apparently didn’t attend enough races last year. I’ve never seen a list of conditions for keeping a media hard card, nor was I warned ahead of time that I was in danger of losing mine. I also wasn’t told this information until I emailed NASCAR to find out if my 2015 hard card application was in the mail. So if I hadn’t emailed them I would have never known any of this.

This was the last straw for me. I’ve been thinking about ending the blog for a while and this was the final confirmation that I needed to just do it. It’s not the easiest decision to make, I was looking forward to going to more races this year. But I feel like I’ve done all that I can do with this site. I’ve thought of every possible angle/idea to make this blog a full-time deal for me — from contacting/pitching race teams, tracks, NASCAR, sponsors, even you — I feel like I’ve exhausted all the options.

When the Kickstarter campaign I created last year failed miserably I was incredibly disappointed and embarrassed. There are so many things that I know now that I wish I had known over 8 years ago when I started this thing. But I can’t go back and do any of it over.

I’m sincerely thankful for all of the wonderful people I’ve met over the years because of The Fast and the Fabulous and because of racing. To everyone that regularly read this site and enjoyed it, to everyone that believed in me and this blog, to everyone that appreciated my point of view on racing and “got” what this site was about, I say “THANK YOU!” from the bottom of my heart. It really did and does mean a lot to me. I’m going to miss writing about this sport. I’m going to miss going to races. I’m going to miss meeting you guys.

The Fast and the Fabulous content will remain — the complete archives are listed below — and maybe one day it’ll come back to life, as this, or as something else. I could never shut the door completely. For now, though, I’m going to explore other ideas and figure out what’s next for me.

With gratitude,
Valli