The one thing about having two races at one track a year is that if a driver has a bad race the first time, they can make up for it at the next visit. The unfortunate part is that often it goes both ways.
Saturday night was NASCAR's return to the Daytona International Speedway. After 160 laps, and a little overtime, there were two stories of good and bad runs.
The best example of the bad run was Trevor Bayne.
Let's face it, this young man came to Daytona in February just hoping to make the show. He ended up finding a buddy to run with in Jeff Gordon, and at the end of the day stunned the NASCAR world in winning the Daytona 500.
Saturday night, he wound up meeting the turn 1 wall just five laps into the race, ending his night extremely early. In this case, the Cinderella story from February became one of the evil step-sisters early in the night.
But, the best run of the night came from the man that let Daytona slip away in February.
Moving over into the opposite lane meant David Ragan had to go to the end of the line, and cost him the biggest race of the year. Saturday night, it was a case of deja vu as he was in the same position once again. But, he wasn't letting lightning strike twice.
Teammate Matt Kenseth was in third on the second green-white-checkered restart, and he told Ragan he was going with him to the finish, actually saying he'd push him to victory. With Ragan choosing the inside lane, he knew where he had to go, and what he needed to accomplish.
Redemption was his as at the checkered flag, UPS finally got to see victory lane with Ragan. It was the first time in six years that UPS has gone to victory lane, last coming with Dale Jarrett in 2005 at Talladega.
Redemption was his as he delivered sweet revenge at Daytona.
The win, and the results, from the race have jumbled up the standings, as is expected with a restrictor plate race. We have a new leader, and positions have swapped. Here's a look at where everyone stands after the Coke Zero 400:
Sal Sigala Jr. (583) Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 19th (2)
Kelly Crandall (576) Clint Bowyer finished 36th (2)
Billy Fellin (573) Kurt Busch finished 14th (2)
James Broomhead (563) Matt Kenseth finished second (1)
Michael Hirshbein (544) Kyle Busch finished fifth (2)
Christopher Leone (544) Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 19th (2)
Kara Martin (527) Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 19th (1)
Ryan O'Hara (517) Jeff Gordon finished sixth (1)
Dustin Parks (510) Tony Stewart finished 11th (0)
Rob Tiongson (506) Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 19th (1)
Misan Ayuka (482) Trevor Bayne finished 41st (2)
Next Race: It has been 10 years since NASCAR debuted a new track on the circuit. In 2001, the sport saw the debut of both the Chicagoland Speedway and Kansas Speedway to make a 36-race schedule, the same amount that is seen today.
Tracks have lost races, some have gained races, and the schedule has changed dramatically since then.
But, this upcoming weekend is the debut of the Kentucky Speedway on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. Already a popular stop for both the Nationwide and Truck Series, it's anticipated that the track will have an exciting debut for the big boys of the sport.
Writers, this puts you in a box because you have no past history to go by, which will make choosing a winner even harder. Still, the deadline is still the same. So, have your choices for the inaugural Quaker State 400 submitted by Thursday, July 7, by 10 p.m.
Author Note: Please read the email you will receive tonight in regards to this week's picks.
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