The 500

Not much of a race fan, but watched the Daytona 500 Sunday.

A few thoughts...

No denying the talent of the drivers, running 3 wide at 165 mph through turns at following distances of a few feet. Amazing there isn't a wreck around every corner.

They need to make a rule so what happened yesterday is less likely to occur again.
Brian Vickers and Dale Jr., both a lap down, started a chain reaction wreck knocking out several of the leaders. It was, other than the rain storm, the most significant event of the day.

Vickers and Jr. were fighting to be the car in the so-called 'lucky dog' spot (for NASCAR novices- the lucky dog is the leading car among those a lap down- if a caution flag comes out the 'lucky dog' gets back on the lead lap) when Jr clipped Vickers, the accident that ensued wrecked, among several other top performers, Kyle Busch, the day's best driver.

Quick tangent...
A friend of mine, a former D1 collegiate football offensive lineman, went to the race this year, as he normally does. Haven't talked to him since he got back, but last year he saved his beer caps for statistical purposes.
At the '08 version of the 'Great American Race,' this former Thundering Herd O-Lineman threw back 46 barley pops. I wait on him often at my bar, seeing him 'at work' often, I don't doubt for a second his ability to crush nearly 2 cases.

On the topic of beer, it's hard to tell if NASCAR fans are genuinely passionate about their favorite racer or if they're just really cocked and screaming belligerently. Give 'em credit for at least being able to see straight enough to know when the 88 (Dale Jr.) car took the lead briefly yesterday.

Matt Kenseth won the 500 this year, I'm pretty sure he led only 1 lap, the one preceding the red flag brought on by the string of thunderstorms rolling in from Florida's west coast.

Was he the day's best driver? Certainly No...

The one thing standing out in my mind from Sunday is that NASCAR seems a bit like Diving and Olympic boxing. The race's winner is determined too much by happenstance and technicalities that are noticed only by race officials.

Dale Jr. was penalized a lap yesterday because his front tires were on the white lines that separate his pit box from the next on pit row.
The race leader was determined, at least once, by the car that was, in a photo finish, the first to clear pit row during a caution flag.
As mentioned earlier, the day's best racer was knocked out of the race in 9 car crash caused by 2 guys who were 30 or more spots back.

The race's 2 most significant events yesterday were undoubtedly...

1. A thunderstorm
2. A wreck caused by 2 guys 30+ spots off the lead

Is this how NASCAR's premiere event should be decided?

As I mentioned in the lead, I'm not denying the talent of the racers... and clearly it isn't all luck.

For one guy (Jimmy Johnson) to win the Nextel Cup series 3 years in a row, it can't be all luck.

Clearly Johnson and his team have developed superior tactics and skills to the competition.

I just wish, on Sunday in Daytona at least, it were a bit more apparent how the winner demonstrated his skills and earned his victory.

Fight On,

Nate