Daytona 500 was spectacular, don't let hole story fool you

We're a few days removed from the checkered flag flying in the Daytona 500 and I keep coming back to the same conclusion -- the racing was fantastic.

I know all about the two red flags that stopped the race for pothole repairs, delaying the race for more than two hours. The problem put the brakes on the race's momentum and no doubt turned away some fans who, if they did turn the channel or leave their seat, wound up missing what was one of the best Daytona 500s in recent memory.

Jamie McMurray displayed all kinds of emotions -- tears, laughter -- in Victory Lane after his Daytona 500 win. (AP)

As expected, television ratings reflected the issues. The nearly seven-hour telecast, as a result of the pothole repairs, helped make this year's 500 among the lowest-rated in the sport's history.

But those same numbers indicate nearly 30 million people tuned into some part of the 500, which shows me interest in what is still one of the sporting world's crown jewels, is high.

There's nothing NASCAR can do about what happened, and the sanctioning body did the right thing to finish the race in a safe manner. The addition of the new green-white-checkered finish policy actually gave fans eight laps of bonus racing, which helped generate Sunday's thrilling finish.

That's what fans will hopefully remember before turning attention on the new season as the grinding schedule moves away from the Daytona spotlight and into the weekly grind of the 35 remaining events. NASCAR's offseason rule changes and policy modifications have the potential to put some spark back into a sport that had grown a bit stale in the last few years.

We saw emotion back in the equation at Daytona, whether it was the anger between several drivers not exactly pleased with moves on the racetrack or Jamie McMurray's tears of joy in Victory Lane. Letting the personalities of NASCAR shine will go a long way in connecting the sport back to the paying customer.

Critics, who have grown tired of the robotic driver interviews that do nothing but spew sponsor shout-outs and boring statements about everything being great, have to like the encouragement from the sanctioning body for its stars to be themselves. And if that leads to a war of words or some pushing and shoving on or off the track, even better.

In many ways, 2010 is one of NASCAR's most critical seasons. It needs to re-establish itself as a major sport and not just a niche that became the flavor of the day for a lot of casual fans. Attendance has to rebound despite the still tough economic picture. Corporate America needs to stream money back into the sport in the form of sponsorship and marketing initiatives. And with negotiations for the next television contract on the horizon, ratings must increase or rights fees will drop and, in turn, advertising dollars will decline.

Despite the great pothole problem of Daytona, I think NASCAR is off to a good start. Let's hope there aren't any further bumps in the road along the way.

Garage chatter

•  Danica Patrick's impact on stock car racing was felt in a big way at Daytona with SPEED reporting nearly a 60 percent increase in viewership for its ARCA race telecast while ESPN's Nationwide Series coverage generated the highest cable television audience in series history. Patrick takes her next NASCAR step this weekend when she competes in Saturday's Nationwide event at Auto Club Speedway.

•  A complete repaving of Daytona isn't necessarily a done deal by the time "Speedweeks 2011" rolls around. The track has a tight schedule coming up in the next few months with motorcycle events and a testing session on tap before NASCAR returns for the annual Fourth of July holiday weekend. Engineers are studying the repair options for Turns One and Two problems, with an answer expected in the next several days on how to proceed.

•  Despite reports, don't look for NASCAR to allow the Sprint Cup rear wing to remain at the other three restrictor-plate races this season. When the new spoiler goes into place replacing the wing, which will come in mid-Spring, that configuration will be in effect at all tracks.

•  Chicagoland Speedway is the latest track to reduce its NASCAR weekend schedule to a two-day show. The Nationwide Series-Sprint Cup doubleheader will be contested July 9-10 rather than using a third day for qualifying as in past days. There are now seven tracks on the 2010 slate employing two-day schedules in an effort to reduce costs for both teams and fans.

•  Gil de Ferran, owner of de Ferran Motorsports and the 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner, will serve as co-owner, president and managing partner of Luczo Dragon Racing/de Ferran Motorsports in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

•  Sad news to report from the racing community with the death of longtime short track promoter John McKarns, who ran the wildly successful ARTGO late model series in the 1980s and 1990s which was the launching pad for such future NASCAR stars as Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray.

•  Also condolences to popular Motor Racing Network reporter Steve Post on the loss of his mother Ethel "Ann" Post.