My Transition from Casual Fan to Die Hard NASCAR fan and my Transition with Tony Stewart

Hey my fellow race fans sorry that it's once again been so long since I made a post I found this a very appropriate post to make in light on Tony Stewart making the news official that next season will be his last. It's so weird to think that after next season Tony Stewart will not be racing in the cup series. Seeing all the stars that were in NASCAR when I started watching now retiring  is very weird to see. It's weird to think that Jeff Gordon's career is almost finished and Tony's is a year from being finished. Tony is a driver that I've had a interesting story about. When I first got started watching NASCAR seriously in 2007 my favorite drivers were Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch. It seemed that Tony and Kurt were always getting into fights and disagreements (which is funny since there now teammates). I was so mad at Tony for in my mind wrecking my favorite drivers. It didn't matter wither it was Tony's fault or not I said it was Tony's fault and how much I disliked Tony and he was my least favorite driver. I knew nothing about Tony's personality I was basing it clearly off the fact he tangled with my favorite drivers multiple times. This dislike of Tony continued on until about 2009 when he became a owner and left Joe Gibbs Racing. I started to see Tony more as another driver and not just a guy always wrecking my favorites (it helped that he wasn't wrecking them any more).  However even when he and Joey Logano got into it after the wreck that broke Denny's back I wasn't mad at Tony I had fully graphed how in NASCAR they get mad and they show their passion but that the drivers probably get over it in some cases quicker than their fans. I didn't have to be mad that he was mad at Joey I understood it was part of what happens and I moved on quicker than I would have when I started watching NASCAR. However what truly helped to change my mind set about Tony was learning during those years just what it meant to be in NASCAR and more about NASCAR. When I started watching NASCAR both with my dad and then in 2007 when I started seriously following the sport I didn't truly understand what I was watching (I was mostly watching originally because it was something I did with my dad) I like most people originally loved the wrecks and any race that didn't have wrecks was boring. The restrictor plate and short tracks were my favorite tracks because they had the most wrecks. I didn't understand that NASCAR can be exciting without the wrecks that you can have great racing and lead changes which makes the racing exciting. I didn't realize how dangerous the sport was. I was 8 in 2001 when Dale SR, Adam Petty and all the rest were killed that lead to the NASCAR safety advancements I was having my 8'th birthday party the day Dale SR was killed so despite watching races with my dad in the years after and around that time I was unaware of the true dangers. When I truly tuned in it had been enough years since Dale and the rest had passed on that their stories weren't the current topic. I only became truly aware of the impact they had and of them as racers when their 10 year anniversary of deaths came up in 2011. The sport was high up on safety when I first started watching racing and had made many great improvements that have since saved a lot of drivers lives. I never saw a driver injured early on when I started watching. These days I'm well aware that lead changes and great racing make for exciting races. I've seen a lot of drivers injured or have wrecks that should have injured them and realized watching some wrecks that years ago the drivers would have been killed (many heroes and many of my favorites included). These days I still love short track racing it's still some of my favorite due to the amount of lead changes and close finishes it usually has however restrictor plate racing I liked a lot more until this year. After Kyle's injury and Austin's horrific crash I'm nervous about Talladega coming up I love the fact that anyone can win and it give the underdogs a chance but it makes me a lot more nervous for driver safety then it used to. Before Kyle's wreck I didn't think of drivers being injured in that racing it wasn't until I saw it firsthand that I let myself think about it. However heading to Daytona this July I was a little nervous for injuries but I knew the cars were safe. Watching Austin crash though I truly thought I had just seen my first death in NASCAR. All along I'd known death was a possibility and most weekends it doesn't cross my mind however after Austin's wreck it does when going to restrictor plate tracks. Through those years in NASCAR I also started to understand the family community involved in NASCAR. When I started watching I had no knowledge of that, I translated my other knowledge of sports (which was limited). I saw it as my favorite drivers vs. everyone else I had my favorites and they were good everyone else bad and someone who consistently wrecked my drivers was very bad. However once I started to become aware of the NASCAR community and how these drivers respect each other and help each other off track if someone is going through something personally it changed how I saw the fights. As I realized what a great community NASCAR has between its drivers, crew members and fans I truly became a part of the community. My views of NASCAR started to align more with the typical die hard race fan and I started to be proud to be a part of this community. To realize what this community stands for and the way they support each other has been truly eye opening and it's something I love about NASCAR. It's unseen with any other sports you don't see all the NFL teams doing what NASCAR does. It's one of my favorite parts of NASCAR and learning about the community.  I started to realize that I didn't need to like every driver but I needed to respect what they did because I was a part of this community by being a fan. I understood it's okay to have guys you dislike but to make those based off reasons other than the fact that my favorite drivers were wrecked by them. In learning to respect other drivers I became aware of just how talented off a race car driver Tony Stewart was. I also began to hear stories of the good he had done for others (many times behind the scenes). From 2009 to mid 2013 Tony was just a driver that I didn't really hate anymore but I certainly wasn't a Tony fan. I think my best friends and family can attest to the transformation in my views of Tony and they stopped teasing me about Tony when they saw that I didn't react like I once did. My best friends mom and I talked last year about how Tony was a good guy after his tragedy and that's when I saw she truly had realized my change. I wish more than anything that I could discuss this changing time of NASCAR with her and see if she'd still tease me about Tony with his retirement coming and me actually being sad that he's leaving (which is totally different then the cheering that I would have had when I first started watching NASCAR and disliking Tony) but unforcently I lost that opportunity in January and I miss her everyday but especially when these big NASCAR moments happen because without her I don't have a NASCAR buddy to talk this all through with. I often think that's why I don't make posts until big things happen in NASCAR. I can handle the races without talking to her but I think I started posting what I would talk to her about and I never realized I was doing it until I started typing up this post.  These last two years have taught me so much about Tony Stewart that I never saw all those years I was busy disliking him. Seeing Tony go through all his own struggles was hard to watch on a basic level to know that anyone was going through that much hard stuff at once. However it allowed me to see how much the NASCAR community loved Tony and the way they stood behind him. It also brought out the good side of Tony stories that I had never heard and made me realize what a great person he is. Hearing how he was the first driver to visit Kyle Busch after his accident was just one of those stories. Most recently seeing how he lended his plane to Justin Willson's family to get them to his side and how it wasn't public knowledge until the Indy Car drivers publicly thanked Tony. Those are the type of stories that learning about them really opened my eyes about Tony.  I will miss watching Tony race he's not my favorite driver but he brings a lot of hilarious moments in his interviews. I'm glad to hear that he's not leaving the NASCAR community. I hope after the last 2 years that Tony can win a few races before he hangs his helmet up in the sprint cup series. Tony has made a big impact in this sport and despite disliking him at the beginning I can now say that I fully respect Tony Stewart's driving ability and that he has one of the kindest hearts I've seen in my time in NASCAR. Tony it's great you're not leaving fully but your presence will be one deeply missed on the racetrack after next year. Thank you to everyone who read this post I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you all enjoy the race this weekend and the rest of the chase.

2015 Chase

Hey guys I hope you all have been good since I last posted. It really hit me know that the end of the season is approaching and that we only have 10 races left in the season. Joe Gibbs Racing has proven they have a real shot at the championship and I think Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano will be the other guys that have a great championship shot. It's crazy to think that Jeff Gordon is about to be officially retired however for me I like my chances in the chase with my drivers Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Obviously two of those have had a lot to overcome or currently have a lot to overcome.

I know there are a lot of people who disagree with the fact that Kyle Busch has a chance to race for a championship. I may be a little biased as a Kyle fan but I think if a guy can come back and do what he did he deserves a shot at the championship. When Kyle came back a lot of people doubted that Kyle would be able to make up the points and get in the chase. I always believed that Kyle could do it even though it wouldn't be easy. The first few races out didn't look very good for his chances but he hit his stride at Sonoma and never looked back. For him to win 4 races and do as well as he did not just on the cup side but winning the Xfinity and the Truck races as well. Kyle has a lot of talent and he has showed it again and again. He is an amazing driver and I am so proud to be his fan. All I have to say to the haters is that Kyle didn't choose to break his leg in a compound fracture and break his foot. Yes he chose to race that Xfinity race at Daytona but how many races he's raced and he never been injured in the race car before this February so why would he think this would happen. He rehabbed hard to come back and do what he did. I think if a guy wins four races he's clearly one of the best and he deserves a shot at the championship regardless of anything that happened. I would have been very disappointed if NASCAR didn't put him in the chase after he won four races when it was their lack of soft walls that caused him to get injured. I'm so proud of him and I'd love to see him go out there and win the tile because in the end to quote Taylor Swift "the haters gonna hate hate hate but I'm just gonna shake shake shake shake it off." I'd love to see the haters do what Kyle did considering that he came back a lot sooner than most people expected. In the end I Love Kyle Busch and I'm so proud of what he accomplished this season and I wish him all the best.

The next major challenge for the chase comes from one of my other favorites Denny Hamlin. He's racing with a torn ACL for the second time. I've seen the experts talk and other fans talk doubting Denny can race and contend for a championship. I don't doubt Denny he's raced with a torn ACL and the last time he raced with a torn ACL was 2010 and he won 8 races and nearly won the championship. He's had other injuries that he's over come including a broken back coming back quicker than was expected of him. He raced his rookie season after cutting his hand on the hauler in a footrace. So Denny is used to competing in pain and I believe he can block out what's happening and the pain he's going through. Denny talks about not wanting to be the weak link and that he gives an extra bit he doesn't usually. I know a lot of people doubt Denny and that's everyone's opinion but personally I won't doubt Denny because he's overcome a lot of odds before. As far as the experts questioning his ability I just have to look at the fact that a lot of people doubted Kyle could make the chase and he did it. I know a lot of the fans question why Denny would play basketball knowing what he had coming up and why would he risk it. All I have to say is they deserve to live their lives and do whatever they want on their off time. There's risk in everything they could get in a car wreck driving their personal car so why not let them do something to benefit their health and stay fit which ultimately helps their career. I know Denny can overcome and do a great job this chase. I don't doubt that Denny will have a shot and I know he's going to race his heart out trying to win a championship. He's been so close to a championship so many times that it's only a matter of time before he finally wins a championship. I love Denny and I want to wish him all the best.

I can't wait to watch the chase I love the playoff system it's so exciting with the eliminations as always there's moments you hate it. If it was a season like the previous years without eliminations my favorite Joey Logano would have won the championship last year so that part is hard to know. However ultimately I like the excitement that the eliminations bring and as Denny Hamlin said when they first brought it out that consistency would keep you in and Ryan Newman proved that last year nearly winning the title without winning a race all season. However winning kept Kevin Harvick in the chase and ultimately won him the title. I like that excitement and the challenge of getting my drivers in and knowing that there is a chance that I could have 3 of the 4 final drivers causing a chance for one of my drivers to win their first cup championship. There is a lot of stories in the chase I'm happy that Jamie McMurray finally gets a chance to race for the championship. I'm so happy to see Martin Truex Jr get a chance to race for the championship after the season he had last year. Jimmie Johnson has a chance to secure his legacy by winning a seventh championship and it would be appropriate after losing my best friend's mom who was like a second mom to me this January she was a big Jimmie fan and I know if he does win that she helped him to win that title. I've touched on Kyle and Denny's stories which would make me so proud if either of them could win the title.

I can't wait for the chase after a crazy season for my favorites with a lot of ups and downs Kyle started it off on a negative breaking his right leg in a compound fracture and his left foot in a wreck at the Xfinity series before the Daytona 500 started. Joey then turned it to the first positive of the season by winning the Daytona 500 and locking himself in the chase Joey's Daytona 500 was not only his first Daytona 500 but also the first Daytona 500 for any of my three favorites. Denny gave another positive by winning the Martinsville race and locking himself in the chase. Denny then just gave a mixed moment having to pull out of the Bristol race it was a low for Denny and there was concern about his neck however I was happy that Erik Jones my favorite up and coming driver got a chance to show what he was all about. He got his chance the next week at Kansas making a high for him which was cool for me. Kyle then came back in the all star race which was a positive and then Denny won the all star race which was cool because he responded to my question on twitter asking him where this ranked with his other wins and he replied it was the biggest win of his career because it was a total team effort. Kyle then had a personal high with the birth of his son Brexton on May 18, 2015 which was cool because he has driven the 5 car and the 18 car and his son was born on 5/18. He and Sam struggled with getting pregnant and had to turn to fertility treatments to conceive Brexton so I was so happy for them. The next high on the race track came from Kyle who got his win at Sonoma this meant that he was now eligible to get in the chase if he could crack the top 30. The next high came for Kyle when he got a win at Kentucky he then won New Hampshire. The run he was on was an amazing high for me after seeing how much he had been through. He then went on to win the Indianapolis 500 being the first of my drivers to win that historic race. I was pleased for him but despite all those high's he wasn't in the playoffs yet. I then had a slight down when Kyle ran out of gas while leading Pocono thinking it hurt his chances and Joey took over for him and then ran out of gas which was a bummer for me. My drivers had other success in the two lower levels of NASCAR mixed in between all this. The next high came when Joey swept the weekend at Watkins Glen giving him another win. The next high came last week at Darlington when Kyle clinched his chase birth giving all my drivers their spot in the chase. Obviously Denny tearing his ACL was a negative but as I discussed earlier I believe he still had a chance. Obviously I don't know how this season will end but my drivers have won the two biggest races of the season with the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 Joey won a big race Kyle won a big race it would be kind of ironic if Denny finally got his championship. I want to wish all the best of them. I love them all and I'll be happy for each of them if Denny, Kyle or Joey wins their championship.

I want to wish all my readers the best if you have a favorite driver good luck to your nation. The only downfall is my sisters driver Trevor Bayne didn't win a race so he is not in the chase however he has had a lot better races recently and so I'm hoping next year that he can have a chance to win the title. I'm hoping the best for my 3 favorites I'll see you all later and I'll try to keep the blog more up to date though out the chase.