If it’s mid-January on any given year, chances are better than even that the new body styles of NASCAR stock cars are being aero-tested at the venerable Daytona International Speedway in Florida. 

In a ritual equivalent to geese flying north after winter, or the swallows at San Juan Capistrano returning to the monastery, the sound of high-revving V-8 engines returning to Daytona’s famed 2.5 mile superspeedway heralds the arrival of another new racing season. 

As race teams ready their new cars, and drivers renew their hopes for fame and fortune in the new year’s racing season, race fans begin to see light at the end of winter’s tunnel as well, and an excitement akin to Christmas morning for a five-year-old takes hold of their collective imaginations.