Madness…? Really…? It is still amazing to us at Missed Gear how people get so worked up over “ball” sports. Just a month or so ago it was football. Now it is basketball.

When did a basketball last have any affect on your daily routine? Well, beyond pouring over stats to fill out a bracket in your pool that you know is going to be won by the office assistant who filled it out blindfolded…

You are in your car every day yet the connection to that drive and motorsports is constantly overshadowed by a bunch of guys playing with balls. We don’t get it…

This weekend may be the first weekend of “March Madness” but we’ll focus on the schedules of auto racing. NASCAR is at Bristol. Bristol, for race fans, is almost as much a start of the season as Daytona. When the haulers head to Bristol, NASCAR fans know all is right with the world as the short track in the Appalachian Mountains roars to life.

Greg Biffle has the pole for the Food City 500 with A.J. Allmendinger and Ryan Newman rounding the top three spots. Nationwide Series racing is on St. Patrick’s Day with Mike Wallace on the pole.

The folks in Martinsville look on as their day is just two weeks away. NASCAR is on!

However, stock car racing is not all that is on for the weekend!

Formula 1 starts their season this weekend. The Australian Grand Prix is the 18th. Speed is on down under with McLaren in the first two slots to start. Lewis Hamilton has the pole and Jensen Button right beside him in the second slot. How is that for St. Patrick’s Day…? McLaren as one-two in Australia! (OK – Technically, “McLaren” is a Scottish surname but the name is listed in Ireland, as well)

Back in the USA, check out American Le Mans at Sebring! St. Patrick’s Day marks “12 Hours of Sebring” getting underway in the morning and rolling the twists and turns just a couple of hours from Daytona, the start of NASCAR and Grand-Am. Audi has the top 3 spots to start in P1 while Ferrari has the top two slots for GT. P2, PC, GTE and GTC are all thrown in the mix for 12 hours of colorful, high speed sports car fun.

Grand-Am Rolex restarts following their 24 hour opener at Daytona with their 2nd season race on the last weekend of March at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.

With all of this racing going on, who can give boys and their balls any thought? Is that a basketball in your lap on the way to work or a race-tested seat belt…?

We thought so.