Daytona International Speedway. A race track with a tradition of excellence, speed, and craziness. This weekend marks the 52nd annual running of the Daytona 500, and so many epic milestones have or will be reached by the end of the race on Sunday.
To begin, history was made in the Nationwide Series in two ways. We'll start with the female addition to the male-dominated sport. The Daytona Nationwide race was the first race with a female participant since a few years ago, but here's the kicker: all the media grabbed on to Danica Patrick, but no one remembered that Chrissy Wallace was also making her first start in this series. It particularly rubbed me the wrong way when the ESPN ticker only mentioned Danica's history-making start and conveniently forgot about Chrissy. Then, while watching the Speed Channel's Nascar Live coverage, none of the commentators mentioned Chrissy either. Apparently all the media was too absorbed in Danica-madness to remember the other female entrant. Did Chrissy have a pre-race interview to ask her about her start? Nope. Did Danica have a pre-race interview? You betcha. She also got in-race video and audio feed, as well as about a katrillion interviews after she got caught-up in a wreck. It would have been horrible to be completely overshadowed when both of them were almost equally skilled drivers making their debut. Danica's debut lasted more than Chrissy's, but still - both of them need to have coverage; not one or the other.
As some of you know, I haven't jumped on the Danica Patrick bandwagon and don't intend to. Yes, it's awesome to see a female driving; however, I'm not really a fan of how she markets herself. Participating in provocative GoDaddy.com commercials and posing in Playboy and Sports Illustrated apparently is a way to get fans, but let's think about this for a minute. Nascar is one of the only sports that allows every family member to root for a different team without having to flip channels to find that team. This means that lots of little kids will watch the races, oftentimes choosing a driver and idolizing that particular individual. So, would you want your little girl to see Danica's suggestive commercials or posters and think it's perfectly fine to do that? I know I wouldn't. Say what you want - I'm not jealous that she's successful or is making a name for females in Nascar, but I just think that talent should get you fans... not your half-naked body.
Anyway, the second historic event was when Tony Stewart won the Nationwide race earlier today. This marks his 5th win in 6 years. Spectacular. His car was pretty much unstoppable all day long, so he was definitely the most deserving winner. It was definitely a crash-filled race, especially with the huge wreck involving Dale Jr. and Harvick that almost touched Stewart, but that's just racing. That's how it should be.
The possible entrants for the Daytona 500 seemed even more stressed this year than in the past. There were many different individuals who geared for the last few 500 qualifying spots from the Duel 150s, including Michael Waltrip and Max Papis, so it would definitely be a Cinderella story if any of those teams won the race. It was very emotional for Waltrip when he found out he was in the race, but it was so awesome to see that passion in his eyes. You can tell that he's a racer for the right reasons. I also watched Max Papis' interview on Nascar Live earlier today, and he is definitely one admirable guy. He seems so humble and appreciative to have the opportunity to race, so he's definitely gained a lot of respect...or at least, a lot from me.
Before the 500 begins tomorrow, we've got to hit the truck series really hard. It's just about time for the start to the 2010 Camping World Truck Series, so let's see how it goes. If it's anything like the Nationwide race, it'll definitely be interesting.
To begin, history was made in the Nationwide Series in two ways. We'll start with the female addition to the male-dominated sport. The Daytona Nationwide race was the first race with a female participant since a few years ago, but here's the kicker: all the media grabbed on to Danica Patrick, but no one remembered that Chrissy Wallace was also making her first start in this series. It particularly rubbed me the wrong way when the ESPN ticker only mentioned Danica's history-making start and conveniently forgot about Chrissy. Then, while watching the Speed Channel's Nascar Live coverage, none of the commentators mentioned Chrissy either. Apparently all the media was too absorbed in Danica-madness to remember the other female entrant. Did Chrissy have a pre-race interview to ask her about her start? Nope. Did Danica have a pre-race interview? You betcha. She also got in-race video and audio feed, as well as about a katrillion interviews after she got caught-up in a wreck. It would have been horrible to be completely overshadowed when both of them were almost equally skilled drivers making their debut. Danica's debut lasted more than Chrissy's, but still - both of them need to have coverage; not one or the other.
As some of you know, I haven't jumped on the Danica Patrick bandwagon and don't intend to. Yes, it's awesome to see a female driving; however, I'm not really a fan of how she markets herself. Participating in provocative GoDaddy.com commercials and posing in Playboy and Sports Illustrated apparently is a way to get fans, but let's think about this for a minute. Nascar is one of the only sports that allows every family member to root for a different team without having to flip channels to find that team. This means that lots of little kids will watch the races, oftentimes choosing a driver and idolizing that particular individual. So, would you want your little girl to see Danica's suggestive commercials or posters and think it's perfectly fine to do that? I know I wouldn't. Say what you want - I'm not jealous that she's successful or is making a name for females in Nascar, but I just think that talent should get you fans... not your half-naked body.
Anyway, the second historic event was when Tony Stewart won the Nationwide race earlier today. This marks his 5th win in 6 years. Spectacular. His car was pretty much unstoppable all day long, so he was definitely the most deserving winner. It was definitely a crash-filled race, especially with the huge wreck involving Dale Jr. and Harvick that almost touched Stewart, but that's just racing. That's how it should be.
The possible entrants for the Daytona 500 seemed even more stressed this year than in the past. There were many different individuals who geared for the last few 500 qualifying spots from the Duel 150s, including Michael Waltrip and Max Papis, so it would definitely be a Cinderella story if any of those teams won the race. It was very emotional for Waltrip when he found out he was in the race, but it was so awesome to see that passion in his eyes. You can tell that he's a racer for the right reasons. I also watched Max Papis' interview on Nascar Live earlier today, and he is definitely one admirable guy. He seems so humble and appreciative to have the opportunity to race, so he's definitely gained a lot of respect...or at least, a lot from me.
Before the 500 begins tomorrow, we've got to hit the truck series really hard. It's just about time for the start to the 2010 Camping World Truck Series, so let's see how it goes. If it's anything like the Nationwide race, it'll definitely be interesting.
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