There's a whole lotta nuttin' going on in racing at the moment, with the exception of the Dakar Rally if you're into such things. Which not that many people are, sad to say.
In what little news there is, NASCAR's equivalent of a pre-season, a/k/a NASCAR Preseason Thunder, takes place Thursday January 20th through Saturday January 22nd at Daytona International Speedway. This three-day session provides teams with the opportunity to test out the repaved track, learn how the new nose on Sprint Cup cars makes them handle, accumulate data for when racing begins in earnest at Daytona in February, and work on their sound bytes about the tremendous advances their team has made from last season and 2011 is their year for sure. Sure…
In NHRA, all is quiet until the season kicks off in Pomona February 24th through the 27th. No one is presently working on their sound bytes with the exception of John Force, who's a walking sound byte 24/7/365. God bless him, the grandest personality in all of motorsports.
The Series Formerly Known As IRL But Now Desiring To Be Referred To As IZOD IndyCar Series And Where Danica Is In All The Races lays low until the end of March, when things kick off in St. Petersburg. In the meanwhile, fans can occupy their time with wondering how many 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 collectibles they want, how the new car and manufacturers entering the series in 2012 will affect things, and will anyone not driving for Ganassi or Penske win a race in the meanwhile.
Thankfully, there is some actual racing to look forward to this month, albeit on the final weekend: the Rolex 24 at Daytona, season kickoff for the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. Given how a sprinkling of NASCAR and IndyCar names usually find a ride for the weekend, even though it's a road course and a tad difficult to follow at 3 AM unless one is an expert at differentiating headlights at least it's racing. And not a minute too soon.
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