Can you hear it?  Can you feel it?

The beginning of the season and the biggest race of the 2018 season is just a few days away.  It is Daytona time!

The haulers have rolled into the garage area at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for Speedweeks!  Alas, the deafening silence is over!  Finally, we will be hearing 800hp revving up in 8 part harmony!  At last my dreary winter depression has come to an end, and it is time to get a snoot full of gas or methanol fumes and burning rubber!

 

Our Daytona Selections

 

This year, without Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the field, our picks for this race are all over the board.  Over the past few years, there was always a large contingent of players who were willing to bet the farm on the “Pied Piper of Plate Races”, Dale Jr.  This year things have drastically changed.  The slightly favored driver this week is none other than “Young Money”, Kyle Larson.  After all, he was leading the race in the very late stages when he ran out of gas.  The memory lingers!

Obviously, with that in mind, there is a quartet of players who are putting all their marbles in the marble sack of the Elk Grove, CA native, Kyle Larson.  That quartet consists of Carole, aka Rudy, Bernie The Bay Area Bandit, Dan The Numbers Cruncher, as well as Leon Your Most Humble Sheriff.

Nearly as popular this year at Daytona is William Clyde Elliott, Jr., better known as Chase.  If you are a Chase Elliott fan you will notice that he no longer is driving the iconic HMS No. 24 Chevy.  Instead, Chase will be piloting the family number, the number that his dad “Awesome Bill From Dawsonville” made famous, No.9!  The trio rooting for Chase at Daytona is Lonna The Quilt Angel, Linda R. The Lemonade Lefty, and Karen The Highly Opinionated Southern Belle.  Hmm, there seems to be a sisterhood here.

Meanwhile, there is another trio, Jim, aka Chiefy, Zee, aka Sissy, and Jerry The Buschwacker are all riding shotgun for Kyle Busch.  Each is hoping that KyBu can be victorious, punch his ticket to the Playoffs, and win the “the Super Bowl” of NASCAR racing.

Carlton The Doorman and Snoopy Dawn are banding together in support of “Blazingly Bad” Brad Keselowski, the winner of the Advanced Auto Parts Clash last Sunday at Daytona.  His Ford looked very stout during that race.

Lastly, Edie The Las Vegas Super Star and Linda B. The Cookie Mom is backing the 2017 Cup champion, Martin Truex, Jr.  Both are really hoping that Truex can pull off a big win at Daytona to erase the loss in 2016 to Denny Hamlin by the closest margin in NASCAR history!

That leaves six players that are individual thinkers this week, and thusly are in bidnez for themselves!

So fear not fellow rednecks, it is time to dust off you racing T-shirts.  Things are heating up, ’cause we are bringing back the sunshine!

TIL NEXT TIME, PULL YOUR GLOVES UP,FLIP YOUR VISOR DOWN, AND LET’S GO RACIN’!