End of an Era?

I really can't believe it myself but I think I may be reaching the end of my fanatic ways with NASCAR. I decided this year that I would not be as diligent in watching every race, every lap, and instead watch whole races only when I had the time. As it turned out, toward the end of the season, I had very little time. I missed the second Talladega race, I totally forgot about the second Charlotte race being at night, and I nearly missed the Homestead finale. I saw only about the last 40 laps when I caught the fact that it was still on when in Stew Leonards.

I guess that when I wrenched myself away from it, I found it somewhat liberating and I started to lose interest, believe it or not. I guess with Mark Martin retiring, I have finally lost most of the people who were in it when I started getting really interested back in 1989. I watched the races I could see with relish when I was a kid, lost touch during the Navy and college years, when I really watched very little TV, and did not pursue it when I had the time, in the 80's until I discovered that they carried nearly every race of the season on cable.


The first one I remember seeing was the finale race of 1989, when Rusty Wallace won the Cup. I started in watching the races regularly the next season, when Dale Earnhardt started his rise, winning in '90, '91, '93, and '94. Then Jeff Gordon came along and started his streak, winning 3 of the last 4 in the 90's. In the 2000's, Winston went away and Nextel came into the picture. Next year, Toyota enters the series and in 2008 the "Car of Tomorrow" will be used.


I will probably not stop watching completely, and might even change my mind completely by next February, but I think it may really be the end of an era.