Bring On The Big Apple

For thirty-six excitement filled weeks I have watched Denny Hamlin qualify for the pole at short tracks, intermediate courses, superspeedways and road courses. I have watched an estimated 18,000 miles of left hand turns and a few hair pin road course turns cheering him on to the checkered flag. There have been exciting finishes and heartbreaking disappointments. Engine failures, accidents and penalties that cost a coveted win that left me reeling and scratching my head. I've seen an ambulance take my hero away on a stretcher and witnessed the grimmace of pain on his face instead of the smile that lights up my entire world.

Now it's all but a distant memory. It has been recorded in history books and can only be remembered by rewinding the DVR and pressing play. It has been such an amazing season and I miss it already. It's been a short two weeks since the series finale in Homestead but I am already lost without my boys. I feel like something is missing and the truth is it is. The excitement, the pageantry and the barrel rolls down the back stretch at Texas that left us all with our hearts in our throats are over until next season. It admittedly stings a little.

For nine months, Denny Hamlin and the other Sprint Cup regulars have traveled from race track to race track, town to town, endless hours away from home and family, sacraficing the things they love the most to do what makes them happier than anything else. To get in a race car and drive. To go at insane speeds, two inches from concrete with nothing but sheet metal and metal tubing to protect them. And to look like the hero when they capture the trophy at the end of the day.

Now it's time to celebrate the shining moments and the accomplishments of crews that have given their blood, sweat and tears to make it all possible. It's time for the ten greatest of the sport to have their moment in the spotlight and thank the people that made it all possible. No more firesuits, no more helmets and seatbelts. It's time to don the tuxedos, bow ties and throw a little extra gel in your hair and wash behind your ears and spritz on your finest cologne.

Speeches, emotions and humor. Who could ask for more? I love the chance to see my favorite driver and his fellow competitors just being who they are and putting themselves out there for the fans and showing a side that we rarely get to see. These are the greatest of the sport. The guys who have been consistent and excelled and they earned this night. I can't wait to sit back, grab a Coca Cola, gotta support my boy however I can, and laugh. And there may even be a few tears shed, but that's okay. This is the night for it.

I must admit that I wanted to see Kyle Busch sitting on the stage with Joe and JD Gibbs as the 2008 Champion. He had the most amazing season of anyone in the entire racing world and he deserves his props. While his Chase wasn't what he or anyone else imagined it would be, he has no reason to hang his head. I'm not at all happy with the winner of this year's trophy. I can't celebrate the accomplishments of his team or the ability of the driver. What I can do is be thankful that the majority of the other 9 guys that will grace the stage on Friday night are true gentlemen and the epitomy of good sportsmanship.

So bring on the banquet with all it's festivites and the penguin suits that make my heart beat a little faster. Showcase racing's finest and celebrate the genius that keeps us all hanging on for 500 breath taking miles week after week. Give them their night and let them shine like the stars they are. Not all heroes wear capes. They don't all leap buildings in a single bound. Instead some wear firesuits, don helmets and defy death just to go fast. And some are just badass. I can name two and Denny Hamlin just happens to be on the top of my list. New York City will never be the same. And the Waldorf Astoria will surely be turned on it's ear. I can hear the rumble now.