Another Daytona 500 has come and gone. And what a great race it was! The larger restrictor plate and the freedom to bump draft at the driver's discretion made the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 exciting to watch. For the most part, the cars stayed pretty close together. Of course they got strung out on the track during long green flag runs, but, it was still a good race. Here's how it played out.....

Only seven laps had been run when Brad Keselowski blew a tire and hit the wall, collecting five other cars in the process. After that, there would be a long green flag run, forcing the drivers to pit under green. The green flag run would end at lap 65 when Joe Nemechek spun and slammed the wall. A.J. Allmendinger ran a good race, even leading some laps. Unfortunately for him, that would end at lap 77 as the third caution of the race came out thanks to Mike Bliss' spin. A lugnut hung on Allmendinger's car costing him valuable time in the pits.

The next caution would come courtesy of John Andretti and the new paint job he decided to give the wall. Before the race could go back to green, Nascar officials went to check out an alleged pothole in turn 1. Turns out it wasn't just a pothole, it was a small crater, so the race is red-flagged to allow the track crew to repair the newly formed canyon. This red flag period seemed to never end! A normally 10 - 15 minute fix turned into an agonizing hour and a half thanks to the recent decent rainfall the track had, (or so they say). Finally, at about 5 pm, the drivers went back out on the track under caution.

On lap 142, Allmendinger's day continued to go downhill as he spun and redecorated some of the grass in the infield where he eventually got stuck. He had been running 5th at the time. When the green flag fell again, it wasn't to be for long. The crater decided to reappear in turn 1 forcing yet ANOTHER red flag period. Darrell Waltrip had an idea about the hole that I agreed with.....Just leave one of the track crew's trucks parked over the hole from hades and let everybody race around it. Not the safest idea, but oh well......

The second red flag period didn't last as long as the first thankfully, just about 45 minutes that time. At least I had time to heat myself up some three-day old chinese food.....

Then, the race got really good as the business of passing picked up considerably. Scott Speed stayed out during the last yellow, to lead the race. He led for a while, even on older tires, but eventually got pushed to the middle of no man's land and slid back. On lap 194, a small pileup happened on the backstretch when Elliott Sadler got loose, hitting Travis Kvapil and Ryan Newman. The green flag came back out on lap 198 with Bowyer leading. On the very next lap, another caution came out when Bill Elliott and Joey Logano got together. This set up the first green/white/checker run. The green flag fell with Biffle leading, followed by Martin Truex, Jr., Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin. Truex got the lead and had a good chance at winning the race. But Harvick had other plans. He got up under Truex, some paint was traded, and Harvick inherited the lead. Then another caution came out before the leader could take the white flag, so another green/white/checker was warranted. Harvick eventually brought the field back to green, but got held up by Carl Edwards, allowing Jamie McMurray to grab the lead spot. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. made a late race charge, partly in thanks to David Reutimann's drafting help, but still making moves reminiscent of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Another lap, and I believe Junior would have passed McMurray. Either that or a huge pileup would've occurred. But is was not to be. Jamie McMurray crossed the finish line not far in front of Junior, becoming the 34th different winner of the Great American Race. Here's how they all finished:

1 - 1 Jamie McMurray
2 - 88 Dale Earnhardt
3 - 16 Greg Biffle
4 - 33 Clint Bowyer
5 - 00 David Reutimann 
6 - 56 Martin Truex Jr.
7 - 29 Kevin Harvick
8 - 17 Matt Kenseth
9 - 99 Carl Edwards
10 - 42 Juan Montoya
11 - 31 Jeff Burton 
12 - 5 Mark Martin
13 - 98 Paul Menard
14 - 18 Kyle Busch
15 - 83 Brian Vickers
16 - 6 David Ragan Ford
17 - 11 Denny Hamlin
18 - 51 Michael Waltrip
19 - 82 Scott Speed
20 - 20 Joey Logano
21 - 71 Bobby Labonte
22 - 14 Tony Stewart
23 - 2 Kurt Busch
24 - 19 Elliott Sadler
25 - 26 Boris Said
26 - 24 Jeff Gordon
27 - 21 Bill Elliott
28 - 7 Robby Gordon
29 - 37 Travis Kvapil
30 - 9 Kasey Kahne
31 - 38 Robert Richardson Jr.
32 - 43 A.J. Allmendinger
33 - 55 Michael McDowell
34 - 39 Ryan Newman
35 - 48 Jimmie Johnson
36 - 12 Brad Keselowski
37 - 77 Sam Hornish Jr.
38 - 34 John Andretti
39 - 78 Regan Smith
40 - 13 Max Papis
41 - 47 Marcos Ambrose
42 - 36 Mike Bliss
43 - 87 Joe Nemechek

Now, you know I can't end this blog without talking about my man's team. Michael Waltrip Racing did GREAT Sunday. Martin Truex, Jr. ran up front all day long and had a chance at the win there at the last. And Reutimann came up to finish 5th. I wished Michael's car would've been better, but I'll be happy with 18th place. At least all three of his cars finished in the top 20, two on them in the top 10. I wouldn't doubt if you don't see Truex in Victory Lane at some point this year.

And so, the sun sets on another great running of the Daytona 500 for another year. As the lights dim, and the fans start to leave, one guy is having the time of his life. He truly seemed to appreciate what he had just had the privilige to accomplish. Jamie McMurray, you deserve to celebrate. You won the Great American Race and showed that real men DO cry when it comes to something meaningful.

And that's the Daytona view from turn two.....