This just adds another layer to what seems like the weirdest offseason I can remember, and as someone who's spent most of my life as a diehard NASCAR fan, I'm finding myself less and less interested in the upcoming season.
I grew up a Labonte fan, first Terry, and later Bobby, too. I actually started rooting for Tony Stewart back in his IRL days, then he came to NASCAR and started out driving in the Busch Series out of the Labonte's Busch shops (deal with Gibbs), then Bobby's teammate once he moved to Cup...so naturally I rooted for him as well, especially after Terry and Bobby both retired. FF several years, and with Smoke being out a bunch in recent years, I kinda gravitated towards Harvick. My Mom was already a big fan of his, then Kevin kinda took the baton @ SHR as Tony backed off, plus them being best buds. Just made sense to follow Kevin after Tony retired. On the flip side, I've also grown up a fan of Chevy/GM, and despise Ford. SHR had to throw a monkey wrench in things and switch to Ford. I know rooting for a manufacturer in the days of common template cars doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but after years as a Chevy guy, it still seems bizarre to find myself rooting for a Ford, even with Kevin driving it and Smoke owning it. Seeing the first images of the new SHR Fords turned my stomach the first time I saw them.
Add to all that, Monster Energy coming in (for pennies on the dollar) and suddenly rumors of format changes, halftime breaks, mandatory cautions...uggh. Then you have healthy long-time drivers like Carl just up and deciding to walk away (and Biffle, too, to a lesser extent), and Junior's Concussion Issues. Odd times in the sport in general, and in my interests in the sport. Odd times.
(Sorry for the personal rant...first-world problems, for sure.
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