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How do you not finish the Daytona 500?

An Opinion



February 19, 2009

By Chuck Abrams

Chuck Abrams
NASCAR has a rule that once you pass the halfway mark in a given race, it is an official race. Baseball has a similar rule that once a game goes through six innings, it is an official game.

On Sunday, we sat through hours of prerace garbage (an interview with Keith Urban???) while we all knew rain was forecast for Daytona late in the day. In NASCAR’s past, expected rain has caused races to be run sooner than the scheduled time. And while 95+% of the viewing audience was wondering why the race was not starting earlier and I have to think that same number of those in attendance were wondering the same thing. I am sure they would have gladly given up a lame Keith Urban mini-concert for a full Daytona 500. Just think what another 60-90 minutes of racing would have done for us.

When the Daytona 500 is billed as “the Super Bowl” of NASCAR, then you better do all you can to ensure that it is a full race. By the way, I hate that television-coined descriptor of the 500. Sure, it is a big race, perhaps the biggest. But it is because race fans know how to celebrate the start of the season in prime fashion. To me, it is more like opening day for baseball.

And if you consider what the Monday forecast was, I see no reason why the race could not have been finished on Monday.

You may claim that with the cars needing to travel west for the California and Las Vegas races, you have a point. But I don’t buy it. NASCAR sets the race schedule. It is not made up by someone outside of NASCAR. If you have your “biggest” race of the year scheduled on one coast and the next race on the opposite side of the country, then you may need to have your head examined. Reschedule the races to allow for a Monday finish of the Daytona 500 just in case you need it.

I don’t care if FOX wanted the 500 to lead into their prime time schedule or not. This is the race we have been waiting to see for a year. Do it right next time.

Outside of the Dale Jr. / Brian Vickers wreck, I thought the race was pretty subdued. There was a fair amount of cars getting into each other and some good driving to not cause wrecks. But even with the rain in the forecast, most drivers seemed content to not charge to the front. Perhaps the final laps would have been more interesting had there not been a big wreck and had the rain held off.

I guess I was more than a little surprised that I did not see Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson battling with Kyle Busch a bit more. Everyone seemed content to follow the leader and not get out in front to see just how their cars would handle.

At one point there were four Hendrick cars lined up behind Busch and they pretty much stayed in line making laps. What the heck was that all about? That was not racing, that was playing follow the leader.

But in the end, Matt Kenseth pulled out the most important lap – the one that led to a win. Kudos to his team for making it through and being in the right place at the right time.

Let me know your thoughts on the timing of the race.

Feel free to send Chuck your thoughts on this and other race topics at Insider Racing News.
You Can Read Other Articles By Chuck Abrams

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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