Tonight was the opening salvo of the NASCAR season — the Bud Shootout at Daytona. For the record, Dale Jarrett pulled off the win.

For me, though, the opening of NASCAR season (the Nextel Cup — that’s gonna be hard to get used to!) marks the awakening of the world from winter, and hints at the arrival of spring, and Sundays spent watching 43 drivers turn left a lot (except at the road courses) at exceeding high speeds (except at Bristol).

It also means that Frank and I need to figure out what race we’re gonna hit this year. It was ‘Dega last year. My vote is for a night race at Bristol (if there is one this year). Something about the night races that just appeals to me. However, it’d be a better photo shoot at a day race.

And I’ll need a bigger lens. At ‘Dega, I shot with a 75-300 slooooow Canon lens, and for the overcast days we had, it wasn’t a great shoot.

So c’mon NASCAR — I’m ready!