Dale Earnhardt

In NASCAR, it is also all about family. It was started by a family and has featured such families as the Pettys and Allisons. We were thrilled by their success and crushed by their tragedies. They were and remain a part of us.

Jimmie, and Kevin, and Dale, oh my. Jimmie, and Kevin, and Dale, oh my. Last Saturday night was a good one if you happened to be a fan of one of the above-mentioned drivers. Johnson was the class of the field, leading 128 laps, including the final one.

I landed at the track that day and tucked away my checkered wings, So much going on around me, I was looking for just one thing.

Watching the Cup finale was like watching most Nationwide races. Few of the participants actually matter. You have your winner, you have those who actually are competing for the prize, and then you have the odd spectacular, special moment. Sunday’s race marked the end of ESPN’s run, which meant no more Allen, no more Dale, no more Andy, no more Rusty, no more Brad, and no more Nicole. A special moment, indeed.

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet and the likely Rookie of the Year, took a moment to reflect on rookie lessons learned as he met with the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the site of the last NASCAR racing of 2014.

There are drivers you like and there are drivers you do not. If a driver should be a whiney revisionist weasel who does his best to avoid cashing the checks his mouth keeps on writing, I am not a fan. This is how I once viewed Kurt Busch, and it is how I presently see Brad Keselowski. For him to not make the Chase finale came as a welcome conclusion to the activities at Phoenix.

“Any driver is going to lose more races than he wins, White said. “You got to learn how to be a good loser and it will make you a better winner.”

Change where change is necessary is a good thing. NASCAR wanted us to keep watching, so out went the system that determined a champion based on season long performance. Winning is big, but it was not big enough, so in came the automatic Chase bye to race winners who at least put in the time to challenge Danica Patrick in the standings.

I look at my wall of autographs and I can almost feel the history behind the signatures. When I close my eyes I can remember walking up to drivers like Alan Kulwicki, Ken Schrader, Dick Trickle, Jeff Gordon and Michael Waltrip; getting autographs and talking to them.

Where is the passion? That is one area I have heard presented as to why NASCAR is not as red hot as it once was. There was a time a few members of my family would gather for some of the big races, or any race, to cheer and sneer at our favorites.