Hear that?
That is the sound of silence. For race fans, this is the last time for a while that we'll be spending a weekend listening to this.
Selfishly, most of us can't wait to see, and hear, cars back on the track. It's been way too long. But, let's also keep in mind, and take a minute to appreciate, the folks who work in the sport.
I'm sure that many of them are torn between getting back to racing (after all, they are racers), and wanting more time to fine tune what they have.
There is no other sport like this one. Between now and Thanksgiving, they will be at the track 38 weekends. That's only three off. The only sports I can think of that have longer seasons are golf and tennis; and virtually none of their competitors appears more than 20-25 weeks a year.
There is no doubt that the NASCAR season is a grind. Kudos to any team member who can maintain any semblance of a "normal" family life.
As the season begins, I want to thank, in advance, all the folks who will be making personal sacrifices so we can spend the next 10 months entertained.