Despite the endorsement of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Junior Nation was not willing to accept Alex Bowman as the heir to the #88 ride.  All they focused on was two full seasons in the Cup Series and just 3 top-20 finishes...none better than 16th. They ignored the fact that those years were spent in third-tier equipment.

There was the eight win season and the championship in 2017, but, beyond that, they ascension of Martin Truex, Jr. into NASCAR's elite has almost been under-the-radar.  With his second consecutive win at Sonoma, Truex, Jr. has now won 20 races in the last 3 1/2 years.

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asks me about NASCAR's attendance and why this sport is struggling so much.  I could have retired with a nice nest egg.

Never has there been so much angst over something that, in the grand scheme of things, means so little.e  I mean, outside outside of pit selection, what do teams really get out of qualifying?  The pole-winner gets a check and a nice starting spot.  Everyone else?  Bump-kiss.

It's been interesting to watch the back-and-forth since Kyle Busch won his 200th national NASCAR series race.  While many, including myself, have praised it as a once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment that will likely, never be duplicated.  Others have gone out of their way to nit-pick it to death, some venomously, to make sure everyone understands it's nothing like what Richard Petty did.

Every year has its moments that stand out.  The ones that we'll remember for years to come.  And the ones that we'll look back on years later and realize were watershed moments.

And, when the smoke cleared...we had exactly what we had expected since June: the Big Three Plus One.  In some ways, though, isn't that the way it should be?

It doesn't surprise me.  Its the way we are.  And, it's not just NASCAR fans, its any sports fans.

I know there are plenty of folks who are happy there will not be an 8th championship for Jimmie Johnson this year.  Many of them just because they don't want to see him pass Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

I have received much abuse in social media since saying that I don't think Darlington should have the Throwback Weekend every year.  I'm not a party-pooper, I'm not Mr. Glass Half-Empty.  I said not every year, NOT, not forever