NASCAR redeems themselves with a Daytona 500 for the ages

The 2010 Daytona 500 is one that won't soon be forgotten. Despite two red flags to repair a pothole in turns one and two (caused in part because of the heavy rain storm from Friday), the race really showed how NASCAR loosened the screws on the drivers and let them police themselves on the track. It was also the first time NASCAR had to use its multiple attempts at a green-white-checkered to ensure the race would finish under green conditions. That rule was instituted just prior to the Gatorade Duel races on Thursdays. For the fans that were at the race themselves, they certainly got their money's worth today.

Let's start with the racing. First off, it was a good, safe race where NASCAR allowed the drivers to police themselves, which is the way it should be. Plenty of double-file, and sometimes three-wide racing. The race also had something that was missing at Talladega last November: bump-drafting.

There wasn't a real big one. The biggest wreck of the day only collected six cars, but it did knock two of Roger Penske's cars (Brad Keselowski and Sam Hornish, Jr.) out of contention on the eighth lap of the run.

On the final GWC restart of the race, Jamie McMurray had the lead and had to hold off a big horde of drivers. On the last lap, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who one day earlier had a wild ride during the Nationwide race, surged from nowhere with half a lap left and almost had a shot at passing McMurray coming to the checkered flag. But McMurray, from Joplin, Missouri, was just a little too strong and held on for his fourth Sprint Cup victory, and his third on a superspeedway (McMurray won at Talladega last November, in a race where NASCAR overly policed the racing to the point where the drivers and fans were less than happy with NASCAR's handling of things).

As a whole, NASCAR did a great job in putting on a great show. I bet that ticket sales for the next superspeedway race at Talladega this coming spring could pick up quite well after today's race at Daytona. By that point, the Sprint Cup car will once again have the traditional rear spoiler back on the car (NASCAR is dumping the awkward-looking rear wing from the Sprint Cup car sometime in late March).