Daytona 500 Recap..

NASCAR, NASCAR, NASCAR.....why do you make it so hard for me to love you? I try. I really try. A few things to discuss post-Daytona '500'.........'380'?...someone check my math.

Show-itus Interruptus
Aside from the Kennseth fans I suspect most of us are grumbling right now. Someone please compile some stats and get back to me. Has NASCAR always upset fans this much/have fans always been this suspicious of NASCAR or is this just a new trend growing since NASCAR's big growth spurt? Admittedly without any kind of fact or stat or study, I think the grumblings are growing louder. A quick scan of a few comment sections show some angry people out there tonight. However a lot of the people commenting state they have been fans of NASCAR for less than 5 years. That begs the question for me has NASCAR now not only alienated its original fan base but also the new fans?

No one likes a rain-shortened race. After huge hype it is just a colossal let down. Some amount of pouting is expected. I'm guilty. I think it shows we care. And there does come a point where it's time to throw in the soggy towel and call it a day. But I've seen Coca-Cola 600's go on way into the night after rain delays (...I think Kenseth won that too). Other less prestigious races have resumed after lengthy rain delays as well. Why call this one so early? I didn't look like it was raining in Victory Circle. The commentators were downplaying the rain for the longest time. You want a legitimate rain-shortened race and undercover victory celebration? Ron Fellows in Montreal last summer. Why not go back to starting these races earlier? I'm parroting a line here from a few writers this week but the West Coast business push plateaued. And I'll forgive this one because it's the 500 but these pre-race shows go on forever. The drivers allow themselves to look foolish as well.

The cynic in me points to network pressure to call it a day and not run afoul of sponsors who bought time for shows later on in the evening on FOX. I'm trying my best not to listen too much to the Conspiracists but I really, really don't get a good feeling from Brian France, Jr. I think his appeal to fans during the interminable pre-race show was less than sincere. In the pecking order fans are not number one. Anytime they make this much of saying they love you, it's business. And that is fine. Big time racing has always been a business. What bothers me is that the scene is so far removed from what drew me to the sport to begin with. They have succeeded in many ways but at what cost? NASCAR has lost that certain charm that is once had. That hokey, quirky, sometimes awkward but ultimately entertaining friend of ours won the lottery and despite what they promised before they moved out of the old neighbourhood, they've changed. Trying not to fall into an easy "oh, those stupid Americans" trap, NASCAR represents what is great about the US and, sadly, what can go wrong. Of course, greed is universal. They say that's progress but I liked the old version better.

They've fiddled with rules over lapped cars and brought forth the Lucky Dog. (Discuss) They've fiddled with races ending under caution and brought forth the Green-White-Checkers finish. (Discuss) Is the half-distance/official race rule written in stone or can we expect a change?

Ultimately it's NASCAR's sandbox and we have it easy as critics. Brian France made a less-than sincere appeal to fans during the interminable pre-race show.

The Winner*
Congratulations Matt Kenseth. You have officially won the 2009 Daytona '500'. (I hope I didn't jinx this race when I started writing the 500 in old timey quotations.) You kept your nose clean and were ahead of everyone else when the race was called official according to, and this seems odd for present-day NASCAR, time-honoured tradition. But I think you'll look at that big ol'trophy in the years to come with mixed feelings. You will always be a junior member of the Daytona 500 winners club. Equal but not quite equal. Still, 185 points and lots of cash. The season rolls on.

Another Big-Time First-Time Car Owner Winner
Jack Roush wins* his first Daytona 500 title. Odd. Two years in a row a major owner wins their first 500. Last year Penske. This year the Cat in the Hat. No doubt he complained that the race should have been called sooner.

FOX
DW and Larry Mac and the rest get slagged for being Hendrick/Earnhardt sycophants. Normally I say 'malarkey' but even if, who cares? But they came off looking foolish condemning Earnhardt, Jr. in one breath and then giving him a pass in the next. And they were quick and emphatic when the wreck first happened. Score one for the Conspiracists.

Still, the best team at it these days. Enjoyable chemistry.

Earnhardt, Jr.
Wow. Ok. So assume he didn't do it intentionally. It still is poor driving from a professional driver. I think Kyle Busch said it best: "Some guys having a bad day made their bad day our bad day," Pretty calm considering he looked like he was going to walk away with it all. My take is that Earnhardt was off his game because of those two boo-boos in the pits and it showed on the track. You could view it as a bit of karmic retribution for Vickers. It wasn't exactly the same thing but he clipped Johnson at Talledega a few years back. I think Earnhardt will admit to this incident not being a shining moment for him.

Kyle Busch
Tooting my own horn I did say yesterday that Busch was a more mature driver. He hung on to that lead tenaciously all day. No wonder he didn't want to fall back in the back. Bad things happen there.

I was expecting a lap penalty or something. The conspiracists will have a field day.

Tony Stewart
Tony looked strong. Had the race continued he would have been right there. He's an owner now, he'll take the points and start thinking about California.

Michael Waltrip
The man that made the unfortunate decision to put himself forth as the unofficial clown of NASCAR can run plate tracks. Too bad it's all downhill from here until Talledega.

Elliot Sadler
Hissy fit. Shut up and drive. I don't see you up at the front that often. And when you do you cry? I'd be the most miserable excuse for a driver but if you don't want to do it, I'll have a go.

Jeff Gordon
I'd be interested to hear the explanation for the apparent camber issue with the 24 car. That could have been nasty for him.

Marcos Ambrose
Feel good story, no? He was out there and got experience. Did alright for himself.

Carl Edwards
It's not really fair to be ranking these guys. The full story never got to play out. Crummy points day for this lot.

Jimmie Johnson
Rotten luck + restrictor plate + other driver error + rain = 31st. Looked like he had his hands full all day.

Joey Logano
Ouch. Who hasn't had a first day but in front of a bajillion people? For scientific purposes only, I would love to see the in-car footage from these hard crashes. Apparently it's too graphic for us delicate flowers. He walked away didn't he? Show it.

He's going to have a rough go this year. But whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. At this point he looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

Mark Martin
Alas. On the surface it didn't look as if Martin had anything for the win today but I like to think he was being wily. Either way, 16th. Meh.

A.J. Allmendinger
I thought he'd do alright. It would have been interesting to see how they would have done over the full distance

Ryan Newman
I think he's already in California.....

All in all, a disappointment. I think that NASCAR, had they been unimpeded with broadcast network business commitments, should have held on and tried to get the race going. If it was being carried by a network that could accommodate it it would have made complete sense to try to finish. Don't you pull out all the stops for the biggest event of the year?

I suspect David Poole will go along with the decision. The man isn't a fool like some of the commentors on his blog. I think he just knows when to waste his words and when to not. Me, I'm new.

Next stop:
California. ZZZZZZZ Don't plan to watch it. I hope for the best but so far the races have been awful. Expect the hype machine to be in overdrive.