Braving The Minnesota Cold

December 12, 2007
By Chuck Abrams

Chuck Abrams

All the NASCAR series banquets are over and we are left with the harsh reality of no racing until February 2008. Here in Minneapolis, we have 10 inches of snow on the ground already, which hasn’t happened this early since about 2000. All across the plains states ice storms are wreaking havoc on people and property. Atlanta finally got some rain.

The holiday season is upon us, the hunting season is over and we are facing a long winter of skiing, ice fishing, snowmobiling and cabin fires. And cold, inclement weather.

And as much as we love to complain about our once beloved NASCAR these days, the countdown to the Daytona 500 is on. I know we will all be excited for the 50th running of the Great American Race. And it's only 59 days until the Budweiser Shootout.

Prior to that, the fabulous Grand-Am Rolex 24 at Daytona will run with Ganassi looking to make it three titles in a row. If anyone can do it, Ganassi can. He dominated the CART series the same way.

If you have never watched the 24-hour race, you need to put it on your calendar. Some of the best racers in the world will be there again this year and it is always exciting. It can be a but confusing if you are not used to watching the different types of cars running on the track at the same time, but once you get it figured out, it is a blast. The Daytona Prototypes (DP) steal the show and that is the car that most of the drivers you are familiar with will be driving.

This January, we will be buried with hype from the mainstream media outlets. It will be the 60th anniversary for NASCAR and the 50th for the Daytona 500. If you can weather the storm, the unique racing format that is the Daytona 500 will provide hours of racing entertainment as all three of NASCAR’s top series return to Daytona.

On top of that, the ARCA RE/MAX series returns to Daytona as the only series not changing its name. RE/MAX just announced their sponsorship extension of the series through 2011. So if you like to watch a lot of wrecks and see Frank Kimmel start his quest for his unprecedented tenth series title, tune into the ARCA race on Speed Channel.

And if all that weren’t enough, we get the 'old guys series' starting in May. The Old School Racing series starts this year so you can get a look at the guys that made the sport famous, and a few who did not. These drivers will be NOT be driving the new Cup car but the old-style car for all you Car Of Tomorrow haters. And they will be running on short tracks, not the superspeedways, which is not only better for the racing but more than likely safer for the drivers.

Drivers in line to compete include Harry Gant, David Pearson, Geoff Bodine, Phil Parsons, Joe Ruttman, Dick Trickle and others. For more information on the series check out their website at www.osrct.com.

Merry Christmas to you all and happy holidays to those of you who do not celebrate Christmas. And don’t forget all the men and women serving overseas. If you can, drop them a card at one of many websites that offer that service www.letssaythanks.com or donate at www.opgratitude.com.

Let me know your thoughts.

Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.

Feel free to send Chuck your thoughts on this and other race topics at Insider Racing News. The blog at www.turnleftracing.com is down now due to spammers. We will have that back up as soon as we can.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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