OBSERVATIONS (AND HUMOR) FROM THE DAYTONA 500

Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon lead the field to the green flag to start the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)by Matt Panure
As cliché has it has become, indeed, the Daytona 500 is the Super Bowl (trademark, all rights reserved – whatever keeps me out of trouble with the NFL) of the NASCAR season. No, it doesn’t determine the champion and yes, it is odd to have the biggest event of the year as the opener. However, this is the event that even the “casual” fan will lock into.

Although I am an avid racing fan, I would consider myself a “casual” NASCAR fan. In fact, ROL columnist Jordan Kuehne will stop by later this week with a column recapping the 500 and foreshadowing the 2011 season. But as a casual fan, I did watch the 500 rather intently yesterday and could feel the adrenaline pumping in the final laps.

Love it or hate it, the 2011 Daytona 500 had a little something for everyone. Personally, I enjoyed the storylines that were away from the track (or in the infield afterward). Some of my observations from the 500:

It Takes Two to Tango
Where was Gecio with their newest commercial to cash in on this? You know, the commercial where the man asks, “does it take two to tango?” then provides footage of three people trying to tango. The awkwardness from the Geico commercial was exactly what we saw when three cars tried to hook up in the draft – a pretty wild contrast from what we’ve seen in past plate races at Daytona.

“Will You Dance with Me?”
At some point this whole Daytona 500 looked like a high school dance. Shyly, drivers would contact one another over the radio and request a drafting dance. Some were rejected and some received the answer they were hoping for. Trevor Bayne was that nice person who would never turn down a dancing partner, no matter what they looked like. In the end it all worked out for him, he got the hot girl.

My Bad
What was with everyone accepting blame for getting wrecked? Kyle Busch wouldn’t place the blame on Michael Waltrip; Matt Kenseth wouldn’t place the blame on Gregg Biffle and so on. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that those drivers are still in the “off-season spirit.” If this situation resurfaces in July, we may see more finger-pointing and blame-placing.

Not Mt Fault
Fair or foul, I felt one driver should have accepted some blame. Yet after making contact and sending two different cars spinning, he did not. You would have though Michael Waltrip might have been a little more careful drafting his teammate (and employee) in the 00. Perhaps the most humorous part of the situation was David Reutimann’s interview, where he refused to place any blame on the car owner – probably a smart career move.

David Ragan Gets Black Flagged – And Doesn’t Know Why
Did you catch Fox’s interview with David Ragan immediately after he climbed out of his mount? Ragan proclaimed that he held his position ahead of Bayne and did not go out of bounds (over the twin yellow lines) on the restart. I would imagine NASCAR gave Ragan a proper explanation. He seems to understand now.

Mrs. Kasey Kahne, Joey Lagano, Trevor Bayne
How many Facebook posts did you see from female NASCAR fans proclaiming their love for Trevor Bayne? I saw more than a few. Sorry Kasey Kahne and Joey Lagano, I think you’re both yesterday’s news. Justin Bieber might want to watch his back.

Hindsight is 20/20 or Maybe 21/21
I found an article from the Associated Press’ Mark Decotis titled Biggest Race of the Year is Unpredictable as Ever. Decotis, of course, went ahead to make his predictions saying, “It would be so easy to throw up your hands and walk away, but what fun would that be? …Here is our breakdown of who has a serious chance at winning…and who doesn’t.”

I applaud Decotis for going out on a limb and making some predictions, but it’s always fun to go back and take a look after the fact.

“Jeff Gordon: Won the 500 three times, most recently in 2005, but there is a 66-race winless streak. There’s no better race to end it than right here.”

Better make that 67.

“Jeff Burton: Won his 500 qualifying race and has fast Richard Childress teammates."

Kevin Harvick: Another RCR rocket…Perfectly capable of winning again.”

Fast cars, tough breaks. RCR better bring those rockets back to the shop and back to the drawing board.

“Carl Edwards: Pay attention. His Ford is fast and can draft. Can be a factor on the final lap.”

Great call on this one. After being quiet for most of the race, Cousin Carl almost swiped this one on the last lap.

“Bobby Labonte: Making laps.”

Yep, all 200 of them, and the 199th lap in second spot pushing Trevor Bayne to the lead. Say it was because of attrition if you wish, but Bobby Labonte was a factor at the end of this one. Period.

“David Ragan: Not a realistic chance”

If not for a black flag on the green, white, checker, we might all be singing the praises of David Ragan today. Even though he’s only won the 500 once, you can’t count Jack Roush out, no matter whom he has behind the wheel.

“David Gilliland: No”

Correct, but who would have thought he’d be in contention in the end just like Bobby Labonte. If not for Bayne winning, this may have been the feel-good story of the 500. (For the record, prior to the race I would have been with Decotis on this one).

And finally…

“Trevor Bayne: Perhaps someday”

He could have got away with, “Perhaps Sunday.” Who would have seen this coming, a 20-year-old driver in the Wood Brothers car winning his first Daytona 500? Not Decotis, and not me either.

So that wraps up another Daytona 500 and kicks off yet another season of NASCAR. To me this week marked a different milestone…less than 2 months until the Spring Classic at Rockford Speedway. By the way, there are many great events taking place even earlier in April. So let’s all hope all of that brand new snow melts fast so we can get our short tracks opened on time, because we all know – short track racing in the Midwest is short track racing at its BEST!