Track Damage, Red Flags Took Away From Fine Daytona 500
fanhouse.com
Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Daytona Int’l Speedway, NASCAR Tracks
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Daytona 500 had one heckuva finish — Jamie McMurray holding off NASCAR’s favorite son Dale Earnhardt Jr. in double overtime; team owner Chip Ganassi joining Roger Penske as the only two men to field Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500 winning cars; a record number of race leaders; and a near-record number of lead changes.
It was everything NASCAR could ask of its season-opener at Daytona International Speedway … except for a pesky pothole located between turns 1 and 2 that stands to cast a shadow on the spotlight the 33-year-old McMurray deserves to own all his own.
So often we hear of race car drivers battling the track. Perhaps not so literally.
NASCAR’s biggest race of the year was halted for two and a half hours for two lengthy repairs to the track surface — a super gaffe in the sanctioning body’s self-proclaimed Super Bowl.