The Mayans say this year, 2012, is the last year. Or that there will be some kind of great shift in civilization. Or the world will flip like a tossed omelet.
It all sounds very exciting. However, if you are a racing fan, you might have to ask yourself what it all means. We are just a few days into the new year and 2011 is still fresh in our minds. There is so much for the fans to reflect on, pour over and chew on, before the first checkered flag flies this year. We also need to prepare and pack as much as possible into every race in 2012 in case the Mayans are right.
NASCAR, for example… Tony Stewart winning the championship on a last lap run with Carl Edwards was just the strawberry topping on an eventful season. Kyle Busch kept things interesting with on and off track static. Jimmie Johnson gave an appearance of grasping the title yet again. Dale Jr. drove into the top 12 with his best results in years. *It is possible the world would have stopped a year earlier if he had actually won a Cup points race… Jeff Gordon seemed to have kicked some spark back into the driver seat. An Aussie won a Cup event (Marcus Ambrose). A very young rookie in a Cup car won the Daytona 500 the day after his 20th birthday putting one of the oldest teams in racing back on the front pages (Trevor Bayne / Wood Brothers). That alone shed a much needed spotlight on NASCAR which had become somewhat predictable. Danica Patrick managed to keep the fenders on her Nationwide car. Richard Childress’ grandson won the Camping World Truck series. Lead changes, first time wins, and enough crashes and smashes to keep wrestling fans’ eyes open. 2011 was a good year for NASCAR.
The IRL saw a excitement and setback. Dario Franchitti won a fourth title. Danica Patrick was trading seats running Indy and Nationwide/NASCAR. Dan Wheldon lost his life. It was the last race of the season and Franchitti held a slight points lead going in. The race was looking to be an open wheel chase for every possible position and point to challenge Dario. It all came to destructive sudden stop on lap 11 as Dan Wheldon could do little to avoid driving into the mayhem that became a race-stopping, and heart stopping, 15 car smash-up. Wheldon was an IRL champion and 2 time Indy 500 winner. Off the track, he was personable, liked, admired and will be greatly missed. IndyCar will start in 2012 with a cockpit very difficult to fill.
Formula 1 had to skip the season opener as the world watched a meltdown of Arab nations. The Bahrain Grand Prix was to be the first race but politics took the checkered flag instead. Red Bull took the championship with Sebastian Vettel for the second year which is also, like the 2011 Daytona 500, a young person milestone. Vettel became the youngest driver to win two F1 championships. Two of the most known names in F1, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, drove well enough but nobody came close to Vettel’s 11 wins in the season. It is an easy statement that 2012 has some benchmarks to meet which were set in 2011.
Sports Car racing paced well in 2011. Superb fan access, track variety and speeds of racing in series such as GT1, Le Mans, Grand-Am, Trans-Am, SCCA, etc. combined for exciting contests. The Rolex Grand-Am series actually sets a pace for the entire racing season as Daytona opens up in January with the Rolex 24. All eyes searching for speed can focus on Daytona as drivers from other series such as NASCAR join forces with Grand-Am teams for a solid 24 hour, round the clock, speed festival. Testing and such get underway even earlier for the “Roar before the 24”. Following the run of the 24, Daytona roles right into NASCAR as prep races turn the laps into the season opening Daytona 500. All said and done, Daytona hosts over a month of racing series, drivers and speed.
Where does all this leave the racing fan, the auto enthusiast and the world for 2012? If the Mayans are correct, every driver in every race should be “in it to win it” on every single lap. After all, how cool would it be as the “Last Champion” of the last year of civilization? Then again, what do the Mayans know? They may have built giant structures and developed atrological achievements… but they apparently did not have the wheel! They obviously had the circle. Their calendar is a circle, after all. However, they apparently did not bolt it to anything and issue a challenge. “Ancient Aliens” makes mention of the Mayans all the time but never in the context of motor racing so how much of a real impact can they have on the season?
Perhaps we should, however, give them a “Thank You” for allowing us the courtesy to get the racing season run and done. The Mayan calendar points to December 21, 2012. ( 12/21/12) By then, we will have the garages closed. Let’s make it a good year. Football, however, gets blown up smack in the playoffs. We know it is impolite to laugh… But we can’t help it. Gentleman, and ladies… Start your engines!
Cool blog!