Tips for beating NASCAR's offseason blues
While NASCAR's offseason is relatively short compared with other sports, it can still drone on for the most ardent high-speed enthusiasts.
Yes, the 2010 Daytona 500 is just a little more than two months away, but that's an eternity for fans who sleep with a pillow featuring their favorite driver's face or car number.
So how can NASCAR fans beat the winter blahs?
Go visit the race shop of one or several teams. Most shops keep business hours throughout most of the offseason, so paying a visit to a Joe Gibbs Racing or Hendrick Motorsports, for example, will be time well spent.
While you're there, go by the gift shop and invest in some souvenirs of your favorite driver. If your favorite driver is going to a new team or set to take on a new paint scheme or number in 2010, it's never too early to get a head start and stock up on some new paraphernalia.
Most shops also have cars on display from races past that fans can peek in or get a picture taken with. If you're at a shop where fans can watch through a glass window as team members work - this is the case at Hendrick Motorsports - take a few moments to observe a little part of what goes into preparing for a new season.
If visiting teams' headquarters doesn't pique your interest, take a road trip to your favorite track - past or present.
I recently took a detour on the way back from the beach to drive by the North Carolina track now known as Rockingham Speedway, which hosted its last Cup race in 2004.
Seeing the historic facility in person for the first time gave me a deeper appreciation for the history of the sport and invoked a bit of nostalgia for days gone by.
If nothing else, go visit a NASCAR Speedpark and drive a race simulator in your favorite driver's car. If you're like me, you won't have a lot of luck staying off the wall, much less finding your way to the front.
But it's at least a good way to make the time pass before the real racing cranks back up with Daytona Speedweeks 2010.
