This year's Great American Race is in the history - and record! - books. What did you think of it? Do you agree with some early reports that it was one of the most unpredictable Daytona 500s to date, or are you a bit puzzled by some of the changes and outcomes?
Here are some of my thoughts:
Dale Earnhardt 10th Anniversary Tributes
By and large, I think the tributes prior to the race were very tastefully done. Fox devoted an amount of time to the memory of Dale Earnhardt that seemed respectful and not over-the-top.
I was floored by the depth of emotion that I felt during the 3rd lap when everyone had their three fingers up and the broadcast booth went silent. This will sound silly, but the four deaths that have saddened me the most in my life are my Dad, Princess Diana, Dale Earnhardt, and Ronald Reagan. In that order. I'm still sad about The Intimidator ten years later and can't get through any of his biographies with dry eyes. Forever #3.
I loved the Chevy black and white #3 commercial that added in red at the end. Wow!
I was also glad to see that there was one last tribute at the end during the recap. I cried. Nuff said.
The New Points System
Do you get the new points system? I've read the "rules" of it a few times and I'm still a bit puzzled on what happens after race 26 with points resets and numbers 11 and 12 and the whole Chase concept. Throughout the rest of the year, I'm not puzzled at all; having simplified points makes sense all the way around. But, uh, why do we suddenly go back to "Only An Actuary Would Understand Land" at the start of the Chase? Or...maybe that's just me?'
The Pre-Race and Fox
The TMZ spoof was hilarious!!! Loved it...and I've only seen TMZ like 3 times in my life!
Female sportscasters annoy me. Sexist? Maybe. but they'd be more believable if they looked like Coach Beast from Glee.
But DW...love that man. Boogity, boogity! Best quote of the race: "Forget the gauges; run it 'til it blows!"
Daytona
Congratulations, Daytona International Raceway, on joining the rest of us in the 21st century. I can't believe that the last time your track was resurfaced was THIRTY TWO YEARS AGO in 1979. It looked beautiful - ya'll did a great job!
I was far more impressed by the National Anthem, as sung by Martina McBride, at the Daytona 500 than the Christina Aguilera rendition at the Super Bowl. And I loved seeing Michael Waltrip mouthing the words. And then the USAF Thunderbirds flyover? Yes, please. Great job!
On the flip side...the "Gentlemen, start your engines" was terible. Not hating on the Transformers crew, but, well, stick to the big screen instead of the dashboard. And the three Transformers cars in the parade lap was an...odd stunt.
The Race
I was thrilled to see Jr. get the pole...and sad that he wrecked in practice and had to go to the back. Le sigh. But on his 400th career start, he sure did a great job...until the end. And even then, he wasn't the one not doing a good job.
I do love the concept the prerace chatter pointed to several times of Dale Jr. being the Pied Piper at times!
Seeing Kevin Harvick in Budweiser gear throws my mind right the hell off. See...I'm a Dale, Jr. fan. And have a lot of his former Budweiser gear. And my husband is a Kevin Harvick fan. And has no Budweiser gear. So does this mean I have to bequeath my Bud grubs to the husband?
Can't believe the Big One hit on lap 29! Nice to see the Hendrick cars had a team meeting there on the apron; glad Dale Jr. was late!
Mark Martin is still racing? Anyone else notice that he's beginning to resemble Yoda?
I realize that it's for a bigger cause (hunger) but I love AARP sponsoring the #24.
The drafting concept at play in Daytona today needs a lot of work. The deal making seemed shaky, at best, at times. The cars absolutely cannot go into turns three wide two deep and stacked up and expect to come out unscathed. And if you're gonna bump, make sure the bumpee is aware and you're positioned square. Yeesh! To be honest, with all of the two-car hook-ups, it looked a little bit like Lego cars linked together.
The spotter chatter sounded like auctioneers...although I can also see the comparison the announcers made between the spotters and air traffic controllers!
The Winner
This kid looks like someone signing up for driver's ed, not a professional racer. But boy can he drive! Heckuva 20th birthday present! And happy Daytona Sunday!
