Quiet Time Again

By Ron Lemasters Jr.

The engines have stopped roaring, the tires have stopped squealing and the fans have quit cheering--or booing, if you want to know the truth. 

It's the offseason in NASCAR.

Now, that means that they aren't racing right now. The shops are busy, busy, busy, especially with the new rules for 2014 still in the cooking-up phase. This is when the bulk of the work for 2014 is finalized and cars begin to roll out of the fab shops, so the crew guys are like Santa's elves.

Drivers? Unless you're in the Bahamas or somewhere else that's comfortably warm, sunny and sandy, you won't see much of them until testing starts. 

What they'll be testing will be interesting, based on which of the configurations that Gene Stefanyshyn and the guys pull out of the hat after the Charlotte test last week. I think a lot of the drivers will be back early from vacation to get a jump on the new specs.

One thing you noticed at the test last week was that all the teams were ready to go with cars decked in a different configuration. Changeover times were fast, the teams and drivers waiting on NASCAR to let 'em loose. Good racing, it looked like, along with some experimentation. 

You'd think that folks who travel 40-plus weekends a year would want to stay home for the holidays, wouldn't you? But this is the main time off they get all year, and who can blame them if they take off for places known for sun and umbrella drinks?

Catch up when I get a glimpse of one around the Concord/Kanapolis area!