NASCAR: Fake outrage over Coca-Cola 600 moment of remembrance is absurd

As usual, NASCAR fans have taken over social media with complaints about an announcement regarding a change that the sport has made, this time to honor our fallen soldiers.

Earlier this week, NASCAR and Charlotte Motor Speedway track officials agreed to hold a 30-second moment of remembrance during the Coca-Cola 600 at the track on Memorial Day Sunday. This moment of remembrance is intended to honor persons who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces, just like Memorial Day the following day.

Such a moment of remembrance was held during the Coca-Cola 600 at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Charlotte Motor Speedway oval in Concord, North Carolina back when the race took place on Memorial Day as a result of the fact that it was rained out the previous day and the race was in progress at 3:00 p.m. ET, which is the time for the official National Moment of Remembrance.

However, track officials wanted to bring it back for this year’s running of the race despite the fact that it is scheduled take place on Memorial Day Sunday, May 26 as opposed to Memorial Day itself on Monday, May 27 (assuming the weather cooperates).

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This 30-second moment of remembrance is scheduled to take place following the second of four 100-lap stages in the 400-lap race.

Despite the significance and meaning of this moment of remembrance — and the lack thereof when it comes to the actual effect on the competition itself — NASCAR fans have taken over social media, as they usually do when literally anything is announced anymore, with complaints.

I’m not going to be the guy to share 10,000 tweets of people complaining for no reason. But if you have any interest in seeing what, exactly, I am referring to, take a look at some of the replies the tweet made by NBC’s Dustin Long discussing this announcement.

Are we really all out of things to moan and groan about that this is what we sink to?

Truth be told, I’m pretty sure the people moaning and groaning would be upset if that was the case for the lone reason of no longer having anything to logically moan and groan about.

First of all, the race will already be neutralized because of the fact that stage racing now exists (unlike in 2009) and stage two will have ended before this moment of remembrance takes place.

So it literally means NOTHING in terms of competition. NOTHING.

Secondly, it’s 30 seconds. 30 freaking seconds!

Half of one minute. 1/120th of one hour. 1/2880th of one day.

30 seconds!

It took me more time than that to type this sentence.

Nobody is asking you to watch a three-hour World War II documentary as 40 cars sits in the pits waiting to complete the second half of NASCAR’s longest race. Nobody is asking you to watch a Super Bowl-like halftime show where everyone floods the track in their red, white and blue and sings “God Bless America” and 15 other patriotic tunes at the top of their lungs.

The truth is, from a negative standpoint, nobody in their right mind could possibly give a rat’s rear end about this 30-second moment of remembrance.

So for those social media warriors who insist on making a big fuss over absolutely nothing, grow up and stop whining for the sake of whining.

The reputation that NASCAR fans have as complainers is well-earned when you consider cases like these where fans, even if only a minority of them are making the entire fanbase look bad, are literally complaining just to hear themselves complain and taking over social media with their complaints, especially when we are talking about something such as honoring our fallen heroes.

That’s not even mentioning the fact that NASCAR has traditionally prided itself on honoring our men and women in uniform in a plethora of different ways, so these kinds of complaints make the sport’s fanbase look even worse.

The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled to take place in just over two weeks on Memorial Day Sunday, May 26, and whether you like it or not, the 30-second moment of remembrance is scheduled to take place after lap 200 of this 400-lap NASCAR Cup Series race around Charlotte Motor Speedway. Be sure not to miss the race itself, and for those of you who can afford to give up 30 seconds of your time without publicizing your disdain about it, be sure not to miss this special tribute.