The No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Caterpillar Chevrolet pit crew -- defending champions of the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge Presented By Craftsman -- perform a pit stop Wednesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The All-Star race at Charlotte will have a pit-crew challenge as part of the fun. (Photo: HHP Images)
As just about everyone in the world, or at least the NASCAR world, already knew -- but it hadn't been OFFICIALLY announced to those two mechanics in Poughkeepsie still mourning the fact that Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't have a lap or two more to win the Daytona 500 -- the spoilers are going back on the Sprint Cup cars for the first time since the cars got completely generic, and it'll be March 28 at Martinsville.
It probably won't make much of a difference until Texas in April. But there'll be a big media frenzy anyway. So we got that going for us.
It's already held in conjunction with the Pit Crew Challenge in Charlotte, but the Sprint All-Star Race will have a lot of pit-crew challenge in it, too. Before the fourth and final 10-lap segment, the order will be determined by the order in which the cars come off pit road after a mandatory pit stop.
When Jimmie Johnson wins, many fans give the credit to his crew chief, Chad Knaus. If he wins the All-Star Race, maybe they'll have to give it to a tire changer.
The revolutionary four-wide drag races at Charlotte Motor Speedway's Zmax Dragway are coming up. I'll be in Martinsville, but based on the exhibition last fall, I might be able to hear the engines roar in Virginia.
Never mind that Bristol is probably NASCAR's most exciting track. Never mind that there's always something to write about there. (Fans love drivers. Writers love stories.)
I'm mainly looking forward to Bristol because I really like the people there. And I really hope you'll remember Jeff Byrd, the track's ailing president and general manager, in your thoughts and prayers.
It's not just the action that brings fans to Bristol. It's the atmosphere. It's the quality of the people who work there. It's the fact that it's just a unique and pleasant place to be.