Congrats to TOG for all of the great Dakar coverage this year. I know he works tirelessly to bring the story to the RG fans and it was very comprehensive. Welcome all of you who have signed up for the planet in droves in the last couple of months. Obviously the shout out from Jayski has brought a lot of you here, and I welcome you all to the discussion.

I just wanted to reintroduce myself for those who do not know who I am or why my blog is featured on the planet. I used to be an engineer for RGM from 2006 until I got fired last summer. I went to a bunch of races, lived the dream, and learned a lot about racing and the silliness of the buisness. I now work for Toyota running a 7 post machine as support for Toyota's NASCAR operations. I write the blog to give a little bit of insight into the technical side of the sport and some of the interesting cercumstances that arise when 200 (mostly guys) get together every week to race a bunch of taxi cabs.

There is a weird vibe in the NASCAR world just at the moment. Normally this is the weekend between the two Daytona tests. You used to come back from xmas break and scramble like crazy to put the finishing touches on the two test cars. The finish fab people would be hastily epoxying the windshields and making the quarter window braces. The body people would be staying late and working wierd hours to bondo the underside of the cars just right, and the engineers would be scrambling to get the data systems tuned up and calibrated. The payoff was always this cathartic moment when the first test car was pushed outside the shop and the metallic grinding of the starter provided a momentary preamble to the first engine of the year turning over and rumbling to life. There is something a bit sweet about the toxic exhaust scent that makes all the hours seem worth while when it finally hits your nose.

However, the NASCAR community is just a bit lost with the upset in the normal ruitine. There is a little bit of relief just because the tests were so boring. But there is also a little bit of panic that the first run of the year for a lot of drivers, or driver crew chief combinations is going to be at the big show. Everyone wants the season to start well, and the Daytona test allowed you to make some stupid mistakes before the curtain goes up at the 500.

Don't let the media fool you. Teams are still testing. But it will not feel real until they drive through the turn 4 tunnel and into the shadows of Lake Lloyd in just 3 short weeks.