How NASCAR Can Win Big at the Daytona 500

The Monday morning rain in Daytona may be a blessing for NASCAR and Fox Sports.

If the skies would have cleared on Sunday, and the Daytona 500 was run on Sunday night, it would have been a ratings nightmare for NASCAR. The Super Bowl of Racing would have been matched up against the Super Bowl of entertainment (The Academy Awards) and the NBA All-Star Game.

The race was moved to Monday morning which would have also brought down ratings. Most people could not skip a day of work to watch the Daytona 500. The rain on Monday morning pushed the race to 7 p.m. ET.

That is the best thing to happen to NASCAR and Fox Sports all weekend.

Monday Night Football receives huge ratings for the NFL. NASCAR may benefit from having the Daytona 500 in primetime on Monday night. Who knows, maybe it will lead to more Monday Night NASCAR in the future.

There is no doubt a Monday night race will be big for NASCAR, but the sport could explode if one of two things occur Monday night: Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins or Danica Patrick wins the Daytona 500.

The announcement of the move to prime time television will be reported on most local and national news media. Getting the word of the time change will not be hard for NASCAR. Some people may tune in to see what the hype is all about. If these casual fans tune in and see Earnhardt or Patrick win the race, they might become regular fans to the sport.

What would be a bigger win for NASCAR on Monday night: A win by Earnhardt or a win by Patrick?

Earnhardt has won NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award for seven consecutive seasons. He also has not won a race since the Michigan race in 2008. That is a span of 129 races. Earnhardt fans are hungry for a win, and if the No. 88 car is able to go to victory lane Monday night, it would be the best thing to happen to NASCAR in years...unless Patrick were to win.

Danicanation has been sweeping NASCAR since the teams arrived in Daytona. She has been the face of the sport since the conclusion of the 2011 season. People have been discussing how Patrick would fare racing against the big boys in NASCAR.

According to a Harris Poll, Patrick is the No. 3 most popular female athlete in the world (Serena Williams and Venus Williams are No. 1 and No. 2). She is one of the most marketable athletes in the world. Casual fans to watch the Daytona 500 Monday night will be able to recognize the name, Danica Patrick. If Patrick were to somehow find her way to victory lane, the sport of NASCAR could explode.

While the rain may have ruined the plans of many fans who made their way to Daytona, a primetime NASCAR race may be just what NASCAR needs to find some new fans. Especially if the No. 88 (Earnhardt) or the No. 10 (Patrick) win the race.

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