The Frontstretch: Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Daytona 500 by Matt McLaughlin -- Monday February 16, 2009

I’d like to start a petition so that the Daytona 500 starts before 2:00 eastern and we’d actually get the whole thing in. 3 effing 40 was the race start! And another thing, do we really need to watch Digger cartoons during pre-race? What a bunch of BS.

I think Rick Hendrick needs to take Jr to the garage and beat his arse and some sense into him. I could not believe Jr yesterday. He sure seemed like his head wasn’t into the race. He will not win until his attitude changes. It’s not all about him.

I lost interest in the race about 15 laps into it. It was on tv, but I was off doing things around the house.

I’m convinced NA$CAR called the race because it just wanted off of tv. It had an hour left in programming when the rain came. I felt like they ended it just to get it over with. No fantastic celebration in Victory Lane for Matt or Rousch.

With next week’s race not starting until 6 pm (and I hope that’s true), I know I won’t see the end of it. Not like it will be worth staying up to watch anyhow.

They’re giving away tickets to AMS on the radio already here in Georgia.

I thought the 500 was a farce. All that hype…I was tired of it before it started.

Amen Chad! I’ve aleady sent my e-mail to FOX sports telling them Digger is useless and insulting. Of course I’m not a six year old.
And amen again to that BS mid-afternoon race start that kept them from running 500 miles. Oh yeah, Matt, you actually wrote this piece didn’t you. Good to see you in action again this year. I know we can count on you to tell it like it is, as always. I keep trying to hang on to racing; but it gets tougher at every turn. Your column is usually the highlight of the season for me.

I tuned in at 2pm to see the race. Who thought they would have a second interminable bs “pre-race” show? A couple of hours later I tuned in to see the race, muting of course the first lap so that my day wasn’t ruined by Waltrip’s silly yelling. They said it was a sell out, but all camera angles were conveniently placed so as not to show any closeups. I was amused that the commentators refused to comment on Jr’s imitation of his dad. If it had been anyone else, Waltrip would have been placing blame immediately. Afraid of Jr’s fans I suppose.

Anyone notice how “Ole DW” backtracked very quickly to cover his butt after his initial criticism of Junior causing the “big one?” I think he quickly realized that he had just criticized one of his favorites and had to make amends for that and do it fast! Anyone else (but Mikey) and DW would have been all over the driver the rest of the race.

Yep, and how he was kissing the butt of Kyle Busch too during the broadcast. Unfortunately, here in Atlanta, they’ve stopped broadcasting races on “local Atlanta station”. Station that has MRN feed is a small-town radio station in Rome Georgia. So reception is horrible. Guess I’ll have to hook up speakers on pc and try to figure out if I can get the MRN feed off the internet on raceday. I’m on a budget so I have slowest dsl connection at&t offers.

I’m surprised Matt, I figured you’d post a column with a lot more negativity than that.
The Digger segments in the pre-race just plain stink. They’re horrible and they serve no good purpose.
Dale Jr was totally at fault in that wreck. When he went below the yellow line he should have lifted or tapped the brake and fell back in line. I was surprised by Waltrip’s criticism of him at first, knowing how Waltrip swings from Jr’s anatomy, but then he quickly changed his tune after listening to Vicker’s account of it and realizing his (Waltrip) words might upset the Jr-Nation. I havent watched Wind Tunnel yet but I’m sure the fans were fired up. Any day that Jr screws up that bad just proves how overrated he is, and I love it.

Did anyone notice that, on Despain’s show last night, DW looked extremely pissed or like he just lost his best friend. It just seemed like he was under some sort of duress!!

Another restrictor plate race, another round of griping about who caused the “big one”. (No; I’m not a Jr. apologist. There’s a “big one” at most every plate race).

Point the finger at NASCAR, and keep pointing it there until they figure out that plate racing is an artificial conglomeration they call competition.
Fix the plate rule… and eliminate the “lucky dog” rule and any other rules that circumvent the natural actions of the race.

About the TV coverage… for some people, it sucked. For others, it was wonderful. Something tells me that the tiny faction of Americans called “racing fans” despised the TV production. For the huge majority of viewers that don’t know which way the engine spins, the TV coverage wasn’t an issue.

Janice… for the record; it was still raining at Daytona at 9:40 (local time). If the rain would have stopped instantly, two hours minimum track drying time… and the race would have restarted just before midnight. I watched the local radar from Daytona and the field of rain stretched 250-300 miles west into the Gulf of Mexico when NASCAR called the race.

To Kyle Petty: When was the last time you drove well, managed a racing team well, or put teams out on the grid consistently capable of winning? Kyle Petty needs to realize his ship has sailed.

Michael; I watched Wind Tunnel last night and thought DW was irritated. I know he missed all of his assignments Saturday for not feeling well and I think the guy needed his bed about 20 minutes after the race finished. He didn’t have any of his hyper energy whatsoever.

What a letdown this 500 was. Matt, I totally agree on the idea of reconfiguring the plate tracks, they are obsolete. Any track where a good handling car can be held wide open and run 190 needs to be changed. You would think that the car owners would press for that cause of the enormous amount of their budget that must go to the plate car/engine programs.

You know, the more I look at the final standings, the more I think this race sucked big bananas.
Plate racing is akin to a lottery…
The top ten poorly reflects the majority of the race.
I’ve often thought that too many plate races render finishes that have nothing to do with the quality of the cars or driving performances.

I second and third the start before 2 pm.

Correction,

The key moment was when Jr’s boneheaded stunt took out the cars that had been contending for win.

The only exception being Kenseth, who deserves the win as the sole surviving real contender after the Jr-caused carnage.

I would like to say congratulations to Matt Kenseth and Jack Roush. Everybody wants to talk about Jr. and forget about the winner. There were plenty of people who deserved better finnishes like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray. I hate they did not get the finsh they deserved. However I do not feel sorry for jerks like Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin or Brian Vickers. I am glad they were not injured but Vickers pretty much got what he deserved. Do you remember how he won his only cup race? It was by taking out Jr and Jimmie Johnson at Talledega. Also Matt, Tony was driving a Rick Hendrick car in the Nationwide race. It was not a Stewart-Hass car so Rick had every right to be in victory lane. I know it is popular to root for the “little guy”, but Rick Hendrick and Jack Roush got to where they are by a lot of hard work. They were not always the powers they are now. So I say go Hendrick Chevys and Roush Fords!! And once again BIG CONGRATS to Matt Kenseth, and Jack Roush! Good Job!

Well, after watching Daytona…sort of…. between sections of the Sunday Times,all I can say is its going to be a long season! Nascar is in danger of losing a lot more than the casual fan. The race was boring, the starting time was ridiculous, the broadcast quality abysmal. If it were up to me, Junior would be sitting out the next event after his petulant performance Sunday. God I hope things get better!!

Jamie McMurray was the class of the Fords yesterday and in fact all of Speedweeks. Today he’s looking at a 37th place finish and points ranking while watching his teammate celebrate a Daytona 500 win. Hats off to Kenseth for being at the right place at the right time… you make your own luck. As for Jamie, well… he has his own kinda luck…

I’m fired up about A.J. Allmendinger, but I want to see what he can do with that 44 car in a few non-restrictor-plate races before I call him the hottest thing in Nascar.

I feel for Kyle Petty. I have tremendous respect for Kyle Petty. One of my fondest memories of Kyle Petty was watching him tell an impatient reporter that she would have to wait for a interview until after he was done signing autographs for some kids. With that said, Kyle should keep his ill feelings about RPM out of the media.

I thought the race was decent and there was potential for an exciting finish had the rain not started. As for the Earnhardt-Vickers thing, in my opinion, that was two guys racing hard for the same piece of real estate. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Too bad some other drivers got caught up in their wake, but that’s how it goes down sometimes.

I’ve decided to only watch a few select races over the next few months. That won’t include California next weekend. I can only take so much Digger, DW, and all the other annoyances that comes with FOX’s race broadcasts. Vote with your remote, I say.

The situation with Richard Petty and the comments (and lack thereof) has disappointed me because of the lack of interest in the history of the sport. The comments by the older fans and the ridicule they get from the new fans makes me want to give them a glimpse into the past using a kind of history quiz, sort of “I remember when” deal.
I’m going to go way back and not-so-far back (I tell people that you Know you’re old when you’ve seen EVERY Super Bowl) and try to let you know about the early days. This is a kind of a true/false quiz. For convenience sake, a Cup race is any race that counts toward the the top-level championship.
The Cup season used to start in November and they ran a race at Riverside in January. Check out Dan Gurney and the Wood Brothers record. Why can’t they run California and Phoenix in January since the can’t do any testing (ha-ha)?
Lee Petty (remember him?) won a cup race in Toronto in 1958. It was run at the CNE track which was the same track that I saw my first race in 1966. I got a free ticket because I was a paper-boy for the Toronto Star. I went back about a week later for the last race there, It was twin-50s and both were won by Bill Rafter.
Another driver in the 1958 race was listed as Rick Petty. It was his first Cup race and he didn’t finish the race. He was punched into the guard rail by the leader Lee Petty who was lapping him (Google “Lee Petty” and Toronto)
He said after the race “Daddy put me in the wall”. Later on he signed in as Richard Petty (there’s that name again). I know he ran a race the week before but it was a convertible race and doesn’t count in Cup races.
There used to be two rounds of qualifying and all cars used to have to have to qualify on speed to make the race (what a concept!). None of this qualify tenth or eleventh out of fifty cars and go home because the drivers locked in don’t try to qualify as high as they can. If something happens on their first try, they have a second chance. If they don’t qualify fast enough, they go home. The idea of the top 35 was a good idea at the time but it is wrong now. There is too much sponsor money needed now to justify it and it might be easier to find sponsors if they knew they had an even chance to race.
There wasn’t always a “Hollywood Hotel” and the idiots therein. I think the problem lies in the use of “Hollywood”. It causes one to think of movies and special effects that don’t work. Maybe they should move it closer to the hub of racing. How about “Mooresville Motel” or “Mooresville Mansion”? Maybe they could get closer to home and call it “Charlotte Chapel” where you pray for the crap to end or “Charlotte Chateau” where you wait for the snow job to end? Get rid of the clowns in there and put Alan Bestwick and Dale Jarrett and anyone but DW and Larry Mac in there and I won’t say anythin futher about that. When I saw “Digger” again, I couldn’t help but think of the SPCA. Can’t FOX be charged with cruelty to animals for treating a poor defenseless critter like that? Where is Pamela Anderson when you need her?
The idea of Jimm-I-E winning four in a row saddens me. Anyone who watched Cale Yarborough race knows that comparing the two is like comparing a pit bull chewing on your arm to a kitten sleeping beside its mommy.
The 1969 Daytona 500 was on closed circuit TV. I watched it in a building on the CNE grounds. LeeRoy Yarbrough (watch the spelling) beat Charlie Glotzbach with a slingshot (yes it really does exist) on the last lap.
Cale tried it in 1979 and didn’t quite make it.
People tell me I have too much free time so I’ve been trying to imagine what Queen Brian’s middle initials might be and I have come up with Anthony Rob(b)ert. That makes it Brian Anthony Rob(b)ert France. B.A.R.F.
And try to remember “It was what it was”.

Shame on NASCAR and FOX for not using common sense when deciding the start time for a race – especially the Daytona 500. When you have (arguably) your biggest event of the season and it is subject to weather issues, common sense dictates you determine the window in which in can be run (let’s say 12PM to 10PM) you start at the beginning of that window to allow yourself the longest possible chance to get the race in. Had the race started at 1PM it would have been over before the rain.

They should get rid of those restrictor plates even if it means putting in a chicane on the front stretches of Daytona and Talladega. Yes these four races are crap shoots that allow subpar cars to stay up with the cream of the crop.

The digger cartoon is just another slap in the serious hardcore fans face by Fox. They are more interested in attracting casual fans (that won’t be watching next week) than hard core fans.

Kyle Petty sounds like a bitter disgruntled ex-employee. If he had been running good for the previous five years that would be expected but he couldn’t expect to be a “legacy” driver at this level. His day is done. Whether you like it or not this sport has become a young man’s game over the last 15 years.

Good to see your muses again, Matt. As for the 500, in summary, it appears that The Hindenburg Award For Foul Fortune should actually go to the fans – start the 500 at 1 p.m. guys – what’s wrong with you??? Concessions are more profitable AFTER a GOOD race …….there’s no real controversy after this Sunday drive – everything on track during this “race” was a “racing deal” as they say……Vickers’ only chance at getting his lap back would have been an orange construction sign on the rear of his car reading “KEEP BACK 200 FEET – THIS VEHICLE MAKES SUDDEN TURNS” – apparantly if he can’t win by driving expertise he thinks he can hold the whole field back by swerving all over the place….very unfortunate for the good horses taken out, but Jr. had nowhere to go and Vickers knew it…Vickers may be better off driving a Greyhound bus… as for entertainment value, ratings would have surely soared if there was coverage of Jr. beating Vickers ass out behind the barn after the race, IF that ever happened, and it should have. As for the broadcast, one can’t argue with the excellent angles and on-track coverage… but Digger should be reduced to one or two appearances and then kept in his hole, there’s already enough silly “entertainment” with their broadcasts… we’re saving our beers now for mowing grass on Sunday afternoons and getting the results in the papers…. NASCAR has again Red Flagged the sport for us.

yeah I know what the radar showed. But I was surprised they pulle the plug on the race after 15 min. They kept saying it was not a large rain cell.

Didn’t the 500 use to start around 1 pm?? I swear you use to get home from church, eat lunch and watch the race. If I remember correctly Fox didn’t have anything too important on tv at 1 pm Sunday afternoon. Heck start it at 2 pm, they had an hour show about making it to the 500. That was an hour they could have used, plus the hour pre-race show. And please…someone tape up Chris Myers mouth!

Concerning Earnhardt… To discuss anything about the Vickers/Earnhardt incident without recognising that Earnhardt screwed up 2 pit stops and put himself behind the 8-ball all day is to ignore that Earnhardt put himself behind the 8-ball all day.

When I hear Earnhardt say, “I was a lap down and desperate as a result of my mistakes…” I’ll know he’s manned up to his failings.

Well Matt, always enjoy your synopsis of the races. Howerever Goodyear put more cars on haulers this week than Junior did. Junior without a doubt caused the big one and only ten cars were involved meaning he only took out 1/4 of the field not half. Where is the outcry at Geoff Bodine for causing the big one at halfway when running 2nd and sending a rookie into the pack in fridays truck race?

Goodyear could cause more fans to walk away from the sport if they keep brining an inferior product to the races. How many races will we not be able to see full fuel runs and green flag pit stops because the tires give up the goodie in them?

Fox is a lost cause as long as Chris Meyers is in the booth. One more crack from him about Dick Bergren’s age and I’ll need a new TV. Dick Bergren knows more about motorsports than Meyer’s knows about tupees. Now if we could only get rid oF DW’s and Larry Mac’s manlove of Kyle Busch and Dale Jr we’d have a decent race call. They self annointed Kyle as the race winner the seconds that car went into the wall. There is a reason that people race until the checkers and don’t pull over because a car can run up front.

I know that Dale jr is going to get alot of attnetion this week and deservedly so, but AJ Almendinger definately derserves more! And Valvoline needs to hear from race fans that AJ should carry valvoline colors for the rest of the year instead of the 8 race package he has now.

Janice… If you know what the radar showed, and it showed rain 250 miles to the west headed right at Daytona, why question NASCAR’s call?
It’s not even a matter of hindsight and second guessing. The rain was coming all day, came, and stayed for hours and hours. I don’t get why NASCAR catches your criticism for rain.

Don Mei. I agree that Earnhardt seemed to have performed poorly on many accounts but don’t imagine for a second they’ll impose a sanction against Earnhardt.
Disregard that they’d enrage a popular fanbase, but by imposing a sanction after the incident implies they blew the call during the race.

DonInAjax. The top 35 rule is a controversy. It rewards teams for past performances and precludes opportunity for faster, more potent teams.
Kyle Petty ran a poor team, drove poorly, and ran out of “top 35” contention; his era ended. We all respect, the past accomplishments of former teams and drivers but that doesn’t allow them anything but the success they had years ago.
By the way… every car that started the 500 had a finish in the top 20 of their Duel, or a qualifying time in the top 43; the “top 35” rule was irrelevant. The entire field consisted of valid qualifiers.

Yes, Kyle Petty does not have much to gripe about, given his lack of being competitive for so long. Get over it already.

Nascar and FOX, I just really can not take anymore this year. Same things (comments) are said year after year. ‘How great is it 80 laps into the race we have 30 cars within 3 seconds’ Duh. Congratulations the dumba$$ rules even allow for this. I can’t believe the drivers are putting up with it – Carl on Saturday said it was a bunch of fun?? Driving a car half out of control for several hours is fun? Until the next fatality. Anyway, didn’t watch much, thank goodness turned the TV on for the 1st time during national anthem. Who needs 1.5 hours of prerace when the race is a matter of luck/fate on what is going to happen? Why can I watch 12 hours of football in one weekend, and can’t stand to watch 2 hours of racing?

Jr is a bonehead.

The race stated too late.

Digger needs to die.

Attention ESPN bashers: So FOX is still better?

From what I saw – commercials took away four laps. Commercials came every 11 laps. Damn, that sucked.

I really thought the 6:15PM EST time was wrong in the ‘Next Race’ section. Nope – this race really does start that late.

SO WAY TO GO NASCAR, FOX, AND BRIAN!!! Next Sunday is the Oscars – so all the casual fans that you have been trying to woo will be more concerned about that other event in CA!!! Seriously!! The bone-headed moves are actually becoming funny!!

Amazing how Dale Jr gets a lot of free passes from na$car. A few years ago he went under the yellow line and won a cup race and the explaination was that he was forced. Now he retaliates against Vickers and takes out the top cars in one fell swoop. While I don’t like the fact that Talladega and Daytona encourage blocking, there was no excuse for what Jr. did. And that God awful rodent, that has to go. And then they showed it three tomes in a row. Once was too much.

I can’t believe that I waited 3 months for THIS!? It is kind of like Lucy always pulling the football away from Charlie Brown. You know it is going to happen, but you some how think it will be different THIS time. The problem is the same with NASCAR as with a lot of institutions in America. They listen to no one because they have all the answers…too bad their answers are all wrong! Good Grief what an f*#!?*’ grease fire that race was yesterday!

What is the problem? Jr. took out a few cars, someone had to do it. Thank God the Daytona moving parking lot spectacle is over. Now the real racing begins. I think it was a good move of JR to take out Vickers, a little payback for Vickers taking out Jr and Jimmy on the last lap of the UAW Ford 500 at Talladega. Didn’t hear any whining from Vickers that day.WAY TO GO JR!!!! Now if we can stop in our pit stall this year we’ll be golden.

I have been watching racing on TV since the very late 70’s and early 80’s which really does not make me anything more than just a fan..

What they try to pass off as racing anymore is just horrible and yesterday’s Daytona 500 is no exception. The brutal pre-race show with cartoons and nonsense nobody cares about, to starting the race exactly when they had planned when a little flexibility by starting the race a little early probably could have given us a full 500 miles.

To the incoherant ramblings of DW, who have you noticed has now a full blown throat problem..he is at best gurgling his comments any more, which if that makes him less intelligable I am all for that.

To cartoons that I guess someone thinks are funny.. to a race with cars that provide no real excitement.. its all just horrible and sad for anyone who remembers what reacing was 10, 20 or 30 years ago.

Unless there are major overhuals in nearly every category this “sport” is doomed.

Hey DoninAjax, I was at that race at the CNE in 1958, it looked like a bunch of taxi cabs lumbering around in a parking lot. We were accustomed to watching the modifieds and later the supermodifieds running in Ontario and NY. I don’t know if the racing was better then or not. However, I’m appalled at the current state or motor sports. Racing seems like an after thought, money seems the object of the game. And guess what, these COT things look like taxi cabs doing you know what.

I have also watched every Super Bowl, that event has not become banal, the announcers seem to be able to lose their egos and the game is still the event.

Real Racing Fans watch USAC Midgets and Sprits or World of Outlaws…where the best racing in the world lives.

When Chris Myers announced that the race was final, I was waiting for a punchline that never came. Nothing like running the biggest race of the year without the payoff every announcer was hyping up all week (the final 20 laps).

I’m predicting Matt’s columns will become increasingly entertaining to read as the year progresses, especially once we get into the long summer stretch.

Ted, tell us how you really feel.

You could have made your point without all of the “toeing the line” print friendly cursing. I’ll paraphrase fro you:

The product was disappointing but no one at ISC will do a thing about it until corporate America starts pulling out in droves.”

Hey Joe, I’m glad you understood what T#d wrote. Thanks for the lucid interpretation.

First off I want to say I really am not a die-hard Junior fan. My disappointment Sunday started as soon as they began discussing the double-yellow rule. Yes, we have had it for a couple years now (wish they had it back when Rusty almost won the 500 but that’s another story) but now that they are stating you can basically block and force someone below the yellow with no penalty on you, the car out front can pretty much stink up the show as KB was doing for most of the afternoon. What fun it was watching him just switch from line to line, stalling each line so he could stay out front with no real way for anyone to really get around him.

Does anyone really think Vickers didn’t get what was coming to him? C’mon, running someone all the way down to the grass? Is this still NASCAR or Racing Etiquette School???? I think Dale Sr. would have parked Vickers just the same, if you have a slower car and you know it, you are asking for it by swervin all over the track trying to block.

As a fan of over 20 + years, I want to see a race, not a parade.

BTW – Matt, look forward to your column every week, keep up the great work.

hey i got an idea next weeks race is cal-if – fourneer ! when nascar, fox and the trash is there why don’t they stay there for ,say another 40 years and see how its works out. after all they’ve used up their welcome in the eastern states. they can start the race late like here in the east and nobody will be awake to be punised by this——
[ sorry don’t have a word for what we’ve been subjected to].

Start the race EARLY. Next week, 6:15. you already lost me.

Guess what? Next week’s race in California doesn’t start until 5:00 ET. That’s 2:00 PST. The races seem to be starting later and later. Instead of getting started at an earlier time, we have to watch that God awful rodent. Please! Get rid of that thing. And with a cartoon and song too boot. And cudos to Jr. nation to once again sticking their heads in the sand in regards to Junior ever making a mistake. Come on. Get over it. He was somewhere in between mediocre and terrible Sunday.

I was at the race yesterday and yes there was the big wreck, what else is new. If Kyle had done that all of you would have said He sure is a hell of a racer, but when someone else does it is always a big deal. Vickers got what he deserved! Don’t any of you remember the DEGA race when he took out Jr and Jimmie and won the race ? No one faulted him then so it’s fair play right?? I’m glad Jr is getting a little backbone in his racing. It’s about time after being the good guy so long and getting shoved around.

What caused the wreck, the big block or the ensuing bump? Chicken or egg? As far as Busch being taken out, who gives a fat rats behind?

So what if Junior had a bad day, GET OVER IT!!!

As for all you so called race fans dissing on Kyle Petty, he doesn’t owe any of you one da@$ed thing. There has been a Petty in the 500 for 50 years, up until now. He lost a son, one of God’s great gifts to this sport. He is one of the nicest and most benevolent people you will ever have a chance to meet. So lay off already.

Douglas you are right NA$CRAP is here to stay.

As a 30+ year NASCAR fan, I’m trying to get excited about the new season; hell, my favorite driver is even back full time in the 5 car. But I just can’t get pumped up at all. I watched the 500, and granted plate racing is not my favorite, but I just could not get into it. Is it me or is this whole NASCAR circus getting to be tedious at best?

Kyle Petty might be the nicest guy in the world but his comments sure seem like sour grapes from a guy who should have stepped aside ten years ago when he realized the crap he was driving was going nowhere fast.

Why should he have stepped aside 10 years ago? He’s out there doing what he loves, for his family team, and sponsors who liked being associated with him. The economy is not being kind to a lot of businesses – racing is no exception. I’m not sure how I’d feel if my family business could only survive by selling out to a large investment group in the current climate. But, if the choice came down to family pride, or sense of duty to those who worked for the team – I think the honorable decision was made. We’re all complaining about the current state of NASCAR and the ‘product’, why can’t he?

As far as the paint scheme goes, maybe he could have kept his dissatisfaction a little more in check; but, how many would respond favorably to a team running a black and silver ‘tribute’ scheme – no matter how honorable?