This might go down as the angriest season in NASCAR history.

Or perhaps the unhappiest, most disgruntled or perpetually annoyed campaign in the modern era. Pick your own vitriolic definition.

The point is that everyone is irritated and acts as if they would rather be doing something else.

On Monday at Michigan, some of that was surely the rain-delayed nature of the FireKeepers Casino 400, especially frustrating given its postponement further delaying a rare off week at the sport’s highest level.

So certainly, there were folks who just wanted to get the hell out of Dodge. There were also folks who just want to feel like actual race car drivers again.

Despite pleas from certain fans, a handful of reporters and a subset of the industry, we are not going to stop talking about the package, and what it means at each individual track, in addition to its larger implications about NASCAR’s future.

This is the story of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and it’s not going to go away simply because it’s annoying.

It’s necessary.

And some of those frustrations boiled over on Monday as drivers were once again tasked with driving wide open on the throttle around one of the sport’s largest tracks under the guise of a major league motorsport.

On one hand, we don’t have another juicy Kyle Busch quote this week, because per his request, no one asked him about the package.

Instead, Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. offered pointed criticism, using the zingers, "This isn't racing, I'm sorry, I'm biting my tongue," and "This is a frustrating way to race." And while partially encouraged by problems on pit road, Kevin Harvick once again provided his best Marshawn Lynch impression with "I just drive," "I don't know" and "I just did my job."

And the most frustrating element of this race is that it truly was undoubtedly the most entertaining Cup race at Michigan in quite some time.

Sure, Joey Logano was untouchable up front, leading all but 40 laps, but he clearly had the best car. He’s not supposed to be easy to pass.

Meanwhile, the middle of the field featured pack racing and three-wide action aplenty, which also led to some driver frustration. With this package, drivers were essentially penalized for completing a pass, drafting on the straights and running into a wall of air in the corners, which forced them to lose the position they had just gained on the other side of the racetrack -- all while just mashing the gas on what is essentially a one-groove racetrack.

It’s antithetical to everything they’ve spent their careers doing to make it to this level in the first place.

To that point, this is ultimately the biggest point of contention for everyone on both sides of the 2019 package debate: No one is having the same conversation with each other, creating the toxic environment in which we all currently reside.

NASCAR touts passing statistics each week as evidence that the high-downforce, low-horsepower formula is directionally sound. Its detractors point to the loss of traditional racing characteristics like throttle control, drivability and tire management.

The driver’s council dissolved after most of its members claimed they felt NASCAR wasn’t listening.

This package debate isn't going anywhere on a weekly basis because one side is trumping the virtues of entertainment while the other is lamenting the loss of sporting integrity. There is no middle ground with this formula as one has been sacrificed in exchange for the other.

And there’s undoubtedly a market for both, meaning one side is going to crash and burn out when NASCAR’s Gen-7 race car arrives in 2021.

NASCAR officials are in a thankless, unenviable position these days.

They have spent so long this decade trying to ensure a four-way championship tie each season, green flag race-ending shootouts and pack racing throughout the field that there comes a point where the fan base becomes insatiable.

In the process, NASCAR has lost its identity and is struggling to find itself in 2019. That breeds discontent from all corners of the industry and threatens to tear it apart in the coming years.

Ask the Indy-car community how this story ends.

That’s why this weekly narrative shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s not sustainable.

If those who work at the highest level aren’t having fun, how are the fans supposed to find joy each week?

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io