All that talk about resolutions and the year in reflection is hard to avoid. I did some new stuff last year. Got to see more races without having to work them than I have in a long time, and I am going to do some new stuff this year (I hope). The first official event for me will be the bar stool races at the Wild Horse Saloon in Kellner, to raise money for the Tri-City Children’s Dream Foundation. The group does nice things for sick kids, the facility is nice, and the last two years the days have been brilliant and not too cold. Beyond that, winter time for me is a good way to catch up on business repairs and bookwork, home improvement, reading, all kinds of thing I have no time for in my busy summers. The creep of age has claimed too many family members, and keeping the ones still with us out of the hospital is nearly a daily struggle. Take your vitamins and your walk daily, we all have reasons to stick around as long as possible.
We all hoped at the beginning of the year for good weather for racing, and we got it (mostly). We always hope for safe racing, and this last season was perhaps the safest. I was amazed at the level of competition this last season that took place without silly skirmishes or retributive crashing. Also, the level of talent in very young racers was clearly evident, and that is truly the hope for the upcoming next few years. Most tracks have had to modify schedules to accommodate the stretched wallets of fans, and we have yet to see if it really works well that way. Season passes are affordable and are nice gift for the inveterate fan.
It is 2012, let’s predict some things. Carl Edwards will win the Cup Championship and at least 8 races. Paul Menard will win at least a race. Kyle Busch will fail to win. The truck series will again be a 3 way possibility at the end, proving that “let em race” works best for competition, but not safety, lots of trucks will be wadded up this year. I think Chris Wimmer will get a look, possibly by a cup team but Nationwide for sure. Matt Kenseth will again vie for the title, and if he is in the chase again, will have my pick as a favorite.
It is white outside, it is cold, and racing is 19 weeks away around here. Warehouse 13 and catching up with NCIS is distracting me from that, and the Rose Bowl is this afternoon. I predict Badgers 24, the Ducks 20. Go Bucky!
