So here we are with mere hours remaining in 2011, that time of year when it’s easy to succumb to the temptation of studying the past year and trying to figure out what it all means.

What’s going to happen in the sport in 2012? Will car counts be healthy? Will weekly racing regain some of the momentum lost over the past couple of years? Will the economy recover enough to bring us an uptick in corporate dollars? Will we still see plenty of cars following the traveling series?

Those are all MORE

There’s plenty to do in the offseason. But I have to admit that there’s a certain relief that comes along with not having to prepare a car week in, week out. For the guys who race 80 times a year, I’m sure it’s a much welcome break.

Despite the work that must go on around the shop during the very short down time — getting equipment refurbished for February races in Florida leaves little time for anything else — I’m sure it’s nice not having to load up the hauler and hit the road, MORE

My first thought was, “Man, I’m glad our guys don’t act like that!”

The big news rocking the racing world this week seems to the departure of Kurt Busch from Roger Penske’s NASCAR operation. Busch, frustrated with a DNF at the series finale in Homestead, launched into a profanity-laced outburst directed at veteran broadcast reporter Dr. Jerry Punch. Busch’s meltdown was captured on video by a fan and subsequently went viral on the web.

As I watched that footage from Homestead, as a MORE

During the offseason, topics are kind of scarce. Thank goodness for Thunderhill Raceway. It never fails, whether it’s midseason or mid-November, a trip to the high-banked quarter-mile oval in Summertown, Tenn., almost always sparks some kind of debatable subject matter.

Thunderhill isn’t a place we frequent a lot. In fact, we’ve probably only been there five or six times in the last decade. But each time seems memorable for its own reason — some good, others not so good.

Our team has had MORE