NASCAR Daytona 500 - Writers Saved by Bayne

Think of all those NASCAR beat writers as they were watching yesterday's Daytona 500. I'm sure they were thinking about what to lead their stories with. A record million caution flags, two restarts at the end, and most major name-value drivers were out of contention; but what's the lead.

They had almost finished their basic story line. Then it happened -Trevor Bayne, driving the Wood Brothers Ford with the iconic '21' paint job won in a close finish. They likely sat in amazement for a few minutes relishing in the fresh face of Trevor Bayne and the excited delight of everyone from the fans to the members of all the teams. They were all excited for the Wood Brothers and the Rookie, Trevor Bayne.

Most stories today are about Bayne and the Wood Brothers and their history. The writers didn't have to belabor the million cautions and obvious safety issues raised by the new paired-up racing paradigm; nor the fact that typical major NASCAR drivers were out of contention. Nope, 20-year old Trevor Bayne, driving for Wood Brothers Racing, was and is the story.

All the cautions caused it to be a long, drawn out race, and not at all typical of Daytona rolling-parking lot races. It actually became a bit boring at times for me. Even 200 mph tandem, paired-up teams became boring after they got strung out.

What does NASCAR do about RP (restrictor plate) races at Daytona and Talladega after this last week of racing at Daytona? Talk about being torn between euphoria brought on by the excitement of Bayne's 21 winning and the more serious issues concerning safety of bumpers tied up at 200 mph, I'm sure NASCAR will let the good feelings roll on for a while.

NASCAR competition leaders might be debating the tandem racing teams at 200 mph during their conferences the next couple of weeks, but they definitely will NOT look a gift horse in the mouth after the excitement of the 2011 NASCAR Daytona 500 finish.

Nope, the NASCAR writers had a fine day...

JD

PS - Trevor Bayne video below
PPS - I hope you don't think you can save gas with that bumper-bumper deal out on the road; the other driver just may not understand!!!