'Silly Season' Is Coming — What Exactly Does That Mean In The World Of NASCAR?

With the NASCAR Cup Series behind us, it's time to move on ahead to the next series — and to be aware until then, it's "silly season."

Many fans may have heard the term “silly season” used to reference the current media landscape surrounding NASCAR. But what exactly does it mean, and where does the term come from?

Well, the phrase sn’t specific to just NASCAR. In fact, although it applies to sports typically, Marriam-Webster notes its etymology was initially a term coined in the 19th century that applied to all media. It was a colloquial way of describing the time in the summer when Washington is on break and European governments are on vacation as well. With a lack of hard news to report, oftentimes the stories in that season would get… well, silly. 

Over the years, it was adopted in sports journalism to describe the time late in a league's season or even post-season in which rumors and wild speculation tend to materialize for lack of anything new and exciting to cover. It may seem easy and even smart to dismiss the silly season news cycle, but savvy NASCAR fans know that’s not a good idea. 

Although a lot of what’s coming out in the world of NASCAR during the silly season may not be fully verified or even seem like a legitimate possibility, now is the time when teams, organizations, and drivers are taking a look back at what worked and what didn’t in the NASCAR Cup Series season and discussing how to change things up so they can do better next year. So, while it’s often hard to tell which Silly Season stories are based in reality, the fact of the matter is that it’s also the exact time when big changes,, new ideas and potentially revolutionary things are born. Therefore, it’s up to diehard fans to pay attention and separate fact from fiction.

Or, they can simply wait to see what ends up being true next year when the Cup Series Season starts all over again. 

Catch up on past episodes of  “Race For The Championship”on Peacock now.