I know I said that I wasn’t going to blog on the Daytona 500 again. Well…. um… I lied. I just wanted to go through some of the surprises and disappointments of last Sunday's race.
Surprise
Richard Petty Motorsports had a fantastic race! I’m sure the rain stoppage helped them, but still it was a darn good showing. A.J. Allmendinger finished third, Elliott Sadler fifth, and Reed Sorenson ninth. At lap 143, all three drivers were in the top 5. Elliott Sadler had a shot to win before the precipitation.
Disappointment
Kasey Kahne being the one RPM car that had a bad finish. I mean who would have thunk it? Kasey Kahne is generally thought of as the strongest driver of the four, but having a tangle with Aric Almirola at lap 146 hurt Kasey’s chances.
Surprise
Matt Kenseth passing Elliott Sadler just in the nick of time before the last yellow flag. You talk about close - Kenseth made it by seconds.
Disappointment
The rain starting to get very heavy after the above mentioned caution flag. I am positive that Kenseth and Roush Fenway Racing is very pleased with the rain, but for the fans, it stunk.
Surprise
Seeing Brian Vickers throw a block like he did against Dale, Jr. I don’t know about you, but that really shocked me.
Disappointment
Yes, here it comes…..again. Junior’s lack of judgment during the episode. I know he was frustrated, but he still needs to mature. Not to mention his overly-talked-about pit errors that should not happen to a driver in his 10th Daytona 500. To be honest, I was more disappointed in his post-race ranting, raving and blame-gaming than I was the accident.
Surprise
After Tony Stewart won the Nationwide race on Saturday, I didn’t hear any more complaints about Goodyear. Hmmmm.
Disappointment
In Tony Stewart’s defense, I am very disappointed that Goodyear is still having tire issues. Albeit, not like the Brickyard last year, we still had a very good amount of tire problems through Speed Weeks. The only driver that I can recall that suffered a blown tire was Travis Kvapil at lap 55. The tires were still blistering very badly on most of the cars. I’m sure the testing ban did not help Goodyear prepare, but tire issues are as commonplace now as the COT.
Perhaps this is my last Daytona 500 post for 2009. Well..probably not…but it sounded good.
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