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Earlier this afternoon I was surfing through major news Web sites checking on the day’s happenings. As I scrolled down the page on MSNBC.com I got to the ‘other top stories’ section. About halfway down was the headline ‘Opinion: NASCAR In Trouble.’ Next to it was a separate article that said something like ‘But Danica Could Help.’

Turns out the opinion piece was written by Scene Daily’s Jeff Owens, he called it “Five things NASCAR needs to happen to rekindle fan interest.” The piece was nothing ground breaking, or earth shattering (if not for the point about the spoiler the Five Things piece could have been written a year ago) but it’s just another example of a marginally negative piece that got a lot of attention.

(Before I go any further, let me say this is not a knock on Jeff Owens he’s a good and talented guy. It just happened to be his story that sparked the idea for this. It really could have been anyone.)

Over the last year I have gotten so tired of these doom and gloom stories. I don’t personally want anything to do with them. Sure things aren’t great, but do we need to make it a constant talking point? No.

I wonder too if anybody has considered that these negative stories and negative comments on mainstream sports and news channels are hurting the sport, and driving people away. It’s becoming a self-fulling prophecy.

Larry McReynold’s last year while talking on the subject quoted Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip compared it to people telling you over and over how bad your favorite restaurant is. Eventually your probably going to start to believe it. You’ll probably stop going. I think Waltrip makes a good point.

Now I’m not saying you need to drink the “kool aid,” or become mouthpieces for the ‘all is fine’ line from NASCAR (it’s not), but can we start focusing on whats good? There really are a lot of positive things to talk about (like this).

I know the lawsuits and penalties and economy talk are all very topical, and it’s fun to examine all of NASCAR’s problems, but at the end of the day it’s all irrelevant. They’re at best distractions (at worst they’re hurting the sport) to what is important and that’s what happens on the racetrack.

Stock car racing returns to Daytona this weekend with some highly anticipated storylines. Please, have fun, enjoy the racing, and don’t get bogged down in all the background noise.

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The state of traditional media, print, broadcast or otherwise, throughout the United States is at best rocky right now, at worst, it’s at death’s door. While many would argue the reports of the demise of traditional media are overstated or exaggerated, one thing is for sure, it ain’t like it used to be.

The number of “traditional” media covering NASCAR every weekend are rapidly declining. The use of AP wire stories and advent of Internet news sites has made the costly coverage of NASCAR unnecessary. The death of newspapers and cost cutting in media has aided that decline and become the new normal.

That new normal became disturbingly clear on Tuesday as Street and Smith’s shut down the venerable NASCAR Scene. The weekly publication which had been around since 1977 under one name or another was a standard among fans and a mainstay in the garage.

Unfortunately Street and Smith’s could no longer make NASCAR Scene (or turn SceneDaily.com into) a profitable product for their business.

This move left some of the most experienced and well-respected journalists in the garage without jobs and the sport without a few of its biggest advocates. While certainly some will find jobs elsewhere, nothing on the horizon will fill the void being left by Scene.

Last spring I wrote on here about the Future of NASCAR Media. What that future is, is still hard to say. We lost David Poole last spring and his spot at the Charlotte Observer was never really filled. While Jim Utter has become the lead motorsports reporter for the paper, he has other responsibilities, including covering the UNC Charlotte 49ers. Now NASCAR Scene is gone and SceneDaily.com will no doubt become a scaled back version of its former self.

Though some traditional media in the form of ESPN and FoxSports among others remain entrenched in the sport, the burden is increasingly falling to new media. The problem that medium faces though is a familiar one to those trying to keep traditional publications afloat: how to monetize them effectively. It’s a shame Street and Smith’s couldn’t find a way to make SceneDaily.com their profitable vehicle.

Tuesday was a sad day for the sport. The NASCAR Scene reporters were/are among the best. They brought experience and expertise and a consistent outlet for news and information. Here’s hoping they all land on their feet (preferably somewhere in the garage before Daytona).