NASCAR Offseason Gives Fans To Do Lists and Too Much time

As the final award was given to this year's champ Jimmie Johnson, the long season that is NASCAR came to an end.

For the drivers, crew members, truck drivers, guys that work in the shops, and the families that are left behind each week, this is a well earned and much needed break away from the track and all that comes with working within a sport that leaves you on the road 36+ weeks a year.

Some drivers will take much needed vacations, Carl Edwards and his fiancee plan to travel to Thailand this offseason. Some drivers will fish or hunt. Others might get as far away from NASCAR for a couple weeks and spend time with their families.

Others who just can't get enough will only take a short break from their jobs and come back  sooner than others to prepare for 2009.

But for some fans the off season is just too long, and from the checker flag at Homestead, Daytona can't come fast enough. And for this racing fan, that couldn't be more true.

As soon as I told my mother that the season was now over she gave me a long list of chores to do. "Things to bide your time till Daytona" is what she said. The list included among other things:

- Yard work-leaves and gutters needed to be cleaned up.

-Cleaning up my closet, which, at this point, was so unorganized I couldn't shut the door.

-Everyday jobs that for the last 10 months I got out of doing on Sunday's because racing was on.

This list was not this short and it continues to grow every week. It was payback time for my mother who politely allowed me to watch racing uninterrupted and was quietly planning her revenge.

With the snows of December and with racing off the airwaves, it means I get to watch the Chicago Bears attempt to make the playoffs, which seems very unlikely. My Chicago Bulls can't seem to get out of the rebuilding stage, but at least it something. So, basketball will be a good time filler during the week.

The only thing I have to look forward to is the Bowl Games coming up in the New Year. Go Oklahoma!! And that is just to far off at this point to help me bide my time. I'll probably end up watching my taped races from Fox and ABC.

Analyzing every lap and every call and enjoying some off season racing in the cold winters of Chicago. Although seeing people wearing shorts and t-shirt might steep me deeper into my racing depression.

Come January, I will have football playoffs, and with my spring semester starting up for school, I will have homework and that takes me to late January. My mother's list of things to do will most certainly be growing at this point and she will try to get every last major project  she can give me done before late January.

This is when my sports universe starts in full gear; NASCAR writers begin their predictions and their analysis on who did what in the offseason and with the uncertain economy and automakers pleading with Washington for a loan, this will only fuel this talk.

We have the Super Bowl and The Rolex 24 hour, and the newly revamped Bud Shootout. By this point, it's a week before Daytona and Speedweeks, and we are gearing up for a week packed with action.

Just talking about it gets me in my happy place as the snow falls outside my window. But like they say "good things come to those who wait" and I will have no choice in that. 

I know the crew guys and the drivers and their families relish this time of year. They sacrifice all year long so their loved ones can do what they love the most. But as a fan the off season only makes me want racing more.

Back to my expanding chore list, just think only 67 more days to the green flag at Daytona and I can't wait!