Anticipation Builds For NASCAR Season Following Clash In LA

Anticipation is such a strong feeling. That feeling of longing and wanting something so bad it becomes emotional. Your heart beats faster, maybe a little bit harder. You can’t take your eye off what you are seeing in fear of missing the moment. It’s an emotion we feel every time we turn on a race on TV or see it in person at the track. Eleven rows of three, Back Home Again in Indiana, and the world’s fastest flying start. Forty-three gladiators running at over 200 miles per hour, common men doing uncommon things. The greatest sight in all of motorsports, the greatest show on dirt, the World of Outlaws. Three completely separate images, but every one of which you can picture in your mind right now. The greatest sport in its most exciting moments.

We got more of that last weekend in Los Angeles in a new venue, with a new car, and a new crowd. But people fear change not because it is better or worse, but because it is different. We hate everything new in the racing world, while being completely oblivious to the fact that everything is new every year. From microsprints and go-karts to 410 sprint cars and NASCAR, something is ALWAYS new. You just can’t see it. New parts inside and out. Cutting edge technology, and the ready availability of analysis tools has taken the development cycle from one of off-the-wall ideas to one of incremental gains. The law of diminishing returns is on full display.

NASCAR, and the rest of the racing world, has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. I’ve been around long enough to have seen Tim Richmond win at Pocono, even if that was as a toddler. Point is, been there, seen it, done it. I remember the good ol’ days. And what we saw this weekend in Los Angeles was a return to those days. A car that looks like what you can buy in the showroom. Old-time short track racing, with plenty of bumping, dumping, and being the man in the middle. It was fun to watch and a good show. Was it a test balloon for new ideas to come? I’d think so. A monster investment by NASCAR and Fox Sports in what the event of the future could look like.

No, you won’t see the Daytona 500, Coke 600, or Southern 500 change. But in a world of short attention spans, streaming taking over from traditional TV, and a multitude of requirements on our time, change is necessary. NASCAR has adopted the long successful model used by open wheel racing of taking its events to the people, versus the people coming to its events. More stadiums are likely coming… as is a return to some legendary short tracks like the Nashville Fairgrounds. Don’t be surprised to see events where heats and LCQ’s set a potentially smaller field. We’re likely to see as many pre- and post-race concerts featuring artists like Pit Bull and Ice Cube as we are Brooks & Dunn and Toby Keith. The fanbase is changing. The sport is changing. It is meeting the demand of the modern marketplace.

Job well done NASCAR. The bar is set incredibly high after last weekend’s Clash at the Coliseum. But it’s fantastic to have that sense of anticipation back for another year of America’s most popular racing series. Just don’t tell me you won’t be watching. The numbers don’t lie. You watched last weekend. You’ll be watching Daytona. And something tells me you’ll be watching more and more this season… anticipating what comes next.