NOD AWARENESS MONTH 2015

IT HAS BEEN A ROUGH MONTH FOR ALL OF US. NASCAR OFFSEASON DISORDER, OR NOD, HIT HARD THIS YEAR. IT HIT ME, TOO. NOD CAUSED ME TO TWEET ABOUT MY TONGUE. MY TONGUE, YOU GUYS. I KNEW I HAD HIT ROCK BOTTOM WITH THAT TWEET. A LOT OF YOU TOOK TO USING THE HASHTAG #NOD WHEN TWEETING ABOUT THE VOID OF NOT HAVING NASCAR IN YOUR LIVES.

JANUARY WAS UNOFFICALLY-OFFICIALLY DUBBED “NOD AWARENESS MONTH.” IT FELT RIGHT TO CHOOSE JANUARY BECAUSE IT IS THE MONTH CLOSEST TO THE RETURN OF NASCAR. BUT IN THE TIME THAT WE DIDN’T HAVE RACING TO TALK ABOUT, TWITTER BECAME A DOCTOR’S OFFICE WAITING ROOM WITH NO MAGAZINES OR ELEVATOR MUSIC. EVEN THE TOP FIVE SUFFERED. ANY SNIFF OF NASCAR NEWS SENT THE TWITTER MASSES SWARMING LIKE PIRHANAS AT THE SMALLEST TASTE OF BLOOD IN THE WATER. IT WAS A TOUGH MONTH, BUT THANKFULLY WE HAD EVENTS LIKE THE CHILI BOWL, THE 24 HOURS OF DAYTONA, AND THE OREGON TRAIL TO TEMPORARILY QUENCH OUR THIRTS OF RACING.

I AM THANKFUL THAT NOD GOT THE EXPOSURE IT DID. WE ALL NEEDED TO KNOW WHAT WE WERE FEELING AFTER HOMESTEAD, AND I WAS PROUD TO DIAGNOSE NOD. MANY OF YOU OFFERED SUGGESTIONS FOR TEMPORARY RELIEF OF NOD. SWEARING UNCONTROLLABLY AND WATCHING OLD RACES ON YOUTUBE WERE JUST A FEW SUGGESTIONS. A GREAT VIDEO PSA WAS MADE. OUR FRIEND, JEFF GLUCK, WAS KIND ENOUGH TO EXPOSE NASCAR FANS TO WHAT THEY WERE FEELING. OF COURSE, THEY WERE FEELING THE SYMPTOMS OF NOD. WE’LL ALL SEE SPRINT CUP CARS ON THE TRACK RELATIVELY SOON AND NOD WILL CEASE TO EXIST

REMEMBER, YOU GUYS, YOU ARE NOD ALONE. BRING ON NASCAR.

-ARF