Daytona 500: Winners and Losers

Well, Speedweeks and the 51st running of the Daytona 500 are in the books. We saw many winners and many losers on Sunday afternoon. Here is a rundown.

The Winners

Matt Kenseth

Mother nature was on his side, and he had a good race car. Coming from 43rd to first, Kenseth methodically drove his way through the draft and avoided the big one with a friendly push from Kevin Harvick to the lead. The skies opened up late in the race, and Kenseth won his first Daytona 500.

Winning this race for every driver is the ultimate goal, and Kenseth, who suffered through a winless drought of his own going back to Homestead in 2007, kicked off 2009 with a win, letting the rest of the field know this team is back and ready to contend.

Richard Petty Motorsports

The newly-formed organization nearly shocked the garage with a win in NASCAR's biggest stage with a surprising third-place finish for A.J. Allmendinger, who is looking for sponsors, and the newly rehired Elliott Sadler, who finished fifth after leading the race late.

Reed Sorenson finished ninth. Only Kasey Kahne finished outside the top 10, in 23rd. A strong start for this team and hopefully a sign of things to come.

Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick

No, they didn't win the 500. But clearly these two were winners this week. Both scored non-point wins and theoretically ended their own winless streaks.

Gordon, who won the first of two Gatorade duels on Thursday, was one of the best cars in the field for most of the day until tire issues forced him to pit before the leaders.

A caution gave Gordon his lap back, but multiple cautions didn't give Gordon the opportunity to work his way back through the field when the race was called. He posted a 13th place finish. Gordon is clearly ready to get back to his winning ways.

Harvick struggled early on with a backup car. After pitting and working on the car, they began to come through the field. Harvick helped push eventual winner Kenseth around Sadler and left Daytona with a strong second-place finish.

Clearly, NASCAR's top three winless drivers are serving notice to the rest of the field that in 2009 they will be competitive and will win.

Tony Stewart

For Stewart Haas Racing, Speedweeks went well. Tony Stewart was forced to a backup car after a late practice accident involving his teammate, Ryan Newman. Starting at the rear of the field, he came home with an eighth-place finish at Daytona.

It was a good start for this team looking to carry this momentum into California.

The Losers

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

The end of the race couldn't have come fast enough. Earnhardt was on most drivers' list leaving Daytona. But it was what led up to the nine-car crash that irks many.

He didn't seem focused. He didn't seem like he really was ready for the race. Missing his pit stall on the first caution, then getting penalized a lap for pitting outside the  stall. He blamed everyone but himself for his pit road miscues, saying everyone has the same signs or the penalty was a little extreme, even though he knows the rules.

Then came the defining moment that changed the race completely. A block by Brian Vickers, who Earnhardt was battling for first car one lap down, and his attempt to blend back onto the track led to tapping the bumper of Vickers, which sent him into the front of the pack, ending the day of many drivers. 

From the look of it he was being aggressive, trying to make up for his own mistakes, and that aggressiveness cost many a  good finish if not a win. 

Joe Gibbs Racing

Kyle Busch was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had the best car on the track and led a race-high 88 laps. He looked like the man to beat, but other drivers' issues ruined what could have been for this talented driver.

Finishing 41st was not only disappointing but even more heartbreaking because his finish doesn't represent how well he actually ran. Once again, Busch leads the most laps but gets caught up in another driver's mistakes.

Denny Hamlin was the second of the three best cars in the field. He was running well behind his teammate Busch and was in contention to win when the late wreck began. Coming home 26th was not what he expected at Daytona.

Joey Lagono came into this race with so much expectation, but his goals were simple: to learn the race cars more and to earn the respect of other drivers. But lap 80, after checking up to avoid wrecking fellow rookie Scott Speed, he slammed into the inside retaining wall, ending his chances on Sunday. He came home 43rd.

I was impressed with how he handled the wreck and how he handled the disappointment. There will be big things to come for this driver, but he had to learn the hard way as many future great drivers have done coming to Daytona.

Polesitters

There was so much hype going into the Daytona 500. Martin Truex, Jr. had landed the struggling Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the front row of NASCAR's biggest stage, and Mark Martin was returning from retirement to join super team Hendrick Motorsports looking to finally win the Daytona 500.

But it wasn't meant to be. Both drivers struggled throughout the race and fell back shortly after the green flag. Neither were a factor in the race.  

Martin became the focus of the week: Could he finally end the long streak of never winning the 500? Unfortunately, the hype was fever pitch and the let-down somewhat disappointing.  

Mother Nature/Fans

We really got the short end on this one. This race was shaping up to be a great finish. After a major wreck that reshaped the race, few teams were in line to score a major victory.

But after getting nearly the entire race in, Mother Nature opened up and rained. 

Instead of NASCAR waiting for an hour to call the race, they only waited about 20 minutes and decided that the rain would be coming for a few hours and that it would take well into the evening to dry the track.

At the moment it seemed smart. It seemed like NASCAR really was on top of its game. But I was a little disappointed. I think if it was any other race, I would understand them calling it.

But this is the Daytona 500.

This is not like any other race. So for them to so quickly call the race instead of waiting it out for a few hours, it took away from the excitement of a great race.

Yes, I understand the safety for the drivers on track, but last year at California it took them well into Monday morning to call the race. I know they didn't want a repeat of last year's rain-soaked California.

I didn't expect them to wait all night to call the race, but the mood on pit road, even from the drivers, seemed like they figured the race was over.

To this fan the race feels unfinished.