How Bad Have You Got It? NASCAR

I am well aware of the fact that we are heading toward race number five in the 2008 Nextel (opps…oversight and correction number one) Sprint Cup season. However, this is the first I have had to actually sit and watch NASCAR since last August. NASCAR: I HAD it bad!

Some of you may know that I decided to do my patriotic duty and serve my country. I knew full well, of what I was giving up. Aside from the obvious (my yearly trek to ‘Dega in October), I also had to give up the entire “Chase” season for 2007.

Ohhh, looking back on it now it was a rather ho-hum last few races. Yet another frustrating year for me to sit through as I saw the master of manipulation thrust that Nextel Cup title aloft for a second consecutive year. Dang...he did not drop it. Wishful thinking I guess.

     In the time I was gone I had little family contact or outside world contact. No news, weather, sports or anything aside from military. It is nice to see that what I saw as the outcome, as dastardly as it was, was indeed the way I had seen it before my plane left for South Carolina on September 6.

     How bad do I have it you ask? Was that not a commercial slogan years ago? It might still be. I have not seen many commercials yet to see what new marketing gimmicks the powers that be have concocted for 2008. Nevertheless, how bad do I have it? I had it pretty bad I must say.

     Military is all about uniformity and precision during training. Much like NASCAR of today, aside from the obvious over sighting of the rules (**Cough**Hendricks**Cough**), which is all about uniformity of competition and exact template matches.

     Everywhere I looked, I saw comparisons to the sport I have followed for 25 years. Yes, I said 25 years. That was longer then most of the people I went to train with were even alive. I saw day-to-day operations in terms of NASCAR as well. Numbers I would hear or see would beckon me back to a driver or car number.

     Once word got out about my background and area of expertise, I was quizzed constantly on my knowledge of all that is NASCAR. Platoon mates as well as NCOs’ thought they knew there stuff. That was until they met up with me. How bad did I have it? I think they knew!

     The occasional news report would trickle down to us in the trenches of the rifle ranges and the road marches. I knew enough to puzzle place the rest of the story into the jig sawed tapestry of what was going on. All I had to hear was the race winners and I knew how the Chase was going.

     The events that became such huge headlines to us were of course the military ones. Junior’s defection was by then no secret. The number and sponsor were still in question until the Army decided to put advertising all over post about Junior in the National Guard #88 car. Gee, and they say NASCAR fans are back wooded and lack common sense.

     Then when it was announced that the U.S. Army sponsorship was staying with Mark Martin and moving to the #8, they all could not help but let me know. For I was now the accepted resident expert of the life known as NASCAR.

     I know Jimmie Johnson won his second title in a row. Excuse me if I do not get all tongue-tied with glee over the issue. What has me gleeful is that despite NASCAR’s brain trusts best efforts to make the chase competitive, there were two guys (both from the same team) that lapped the field in a mere five races.

     Gordon and Johnson were 200 points clear of the field with five races to go. So, did I miss anything? Ehhhh, I do not think so. I missed my Talladega weekend with the debut of the COT’s on a big super speedway. However, I recorded it to watch later so all was good. So did I miss NASCAR at all?

     When I got back home in February, I realized that yes I missed my NASCAR. I did miss my family and friends more then anything. NASCAR does have a place deep inside me that will not fade. NASCAR will keep going whether I am writing about it, watching or doing neither one.

     NASCAR, in a way, is a mirror of both life and the military. Life as well as NASCAR will go on regardless of where we are in it or how we feel about it. Not much I can do to change some of the stuff comes along in either one. Therefore, we all just cope with what comes our way and hope for the best.

     NASCAR! How bad do I have it? I had it BAAAAAD. Now, I can cope. Wait…what am I saying? I crave it. I need it. I am a NASCAR junkie.

     Welcome aboard Sprint and Nationwide, as 2008 will be a long and bumpy road. Nevertheless, I am back to ride it out and write about it as well. Therefore, greetings from the “Wise Old Owl,” and I will see you all down the road and at the track.

(Originally wrote in March 2008)