Daytona 500 - Kenseth Reigns over Weathered Field

Happy Belated Valentines Day out there bloggers.

My career as a NASCAR fan is 152 laps strong, but I really wish it was 200. The 51st running of the Daytona 500, and the 1st NASCAR race I’ve ever watched, was cut short on Sunday and surprisingly enough, I was annoyed by it. Articles across the internet agreed. Ending the Daytona 500 in lap 152 would be like ending this year’s Game Five of the World Series after 5 innings. With weather like the stuff brewing in Daytona, Sunday’s race had to end though and in the end the threatening rain just added an intriguing twist on the day.

Commentators were checking in on team strategies throughout the day as drivers raced hard continuously. Their thinking: “The rain could come at any moment so I better be in first if that red flag drops”. Lucky for Wisconsin native Matt Kenseth, he was in position to dart out to the lead when said flag reigned over the field. Many other drivers would have been in such auspicious positioning if not for the Earnhardt, Jr./Vickers crash in lap 124 that derailed 10 fellow drivers. Although my eye isn’t as trained as most NASCAR enthusiasts, it seems like Earnhardt wasn’t right. He was missing pit stops, and had a penalty called against him…everything seemed a little out of control and then the crash with Vickers. Earnhardt was one of the drivers I had heard of before the race = my second favorite driver behind my statesman Kenseth.

From a distance, Kenseth always seemed like a very cerebral driver. He was never the flashiest “pedal to the metal” guy, but his conservative style netted the Series Championship in 2003. Matt’s quiet demeanor probably doesn’t win many points with NASCAR fans, but he sure has made me a fan of the number 17 car. I always rooted for the Larry Birds, David Ecksteins, or Mugsy Boogs of the world and that’s what Kenseth bring to NASCAR. (If you find more beauty in a bounce-pass than a dunk, check out CJ Lee of the Michigan basketball Wolverines. The senior co-captain plays relentlessly and intellectually.)

As for the rest of the race, I was intrigued by ESPN’s lead-in going into the race on Sunday morning: “What other sport would face off a 53 year old with an 18 year old?” I think that’s a beautiful question to pose to new NASCAR audiences that might be drawn into the Daytona 500… “The Great American Race”. While FOX was the main carrier of the race, ESPN did a great job covering the race, keeping tabs on story lines as they unfolded while constantly running a “Who’s in What Place” tab at the top of their main page.

The excitement of the Daytona 500 was mildly unexpected in my eyes. I watched the NBA All-Star game a few hours after the Daytona and while flashy, it lacked the intensity and grit of the NASCAR race. Despite almost a quarter of the race washing down the drain, the Daytona 500 was a joy to watch.