Start Your Engines!

Been give or take eight years but finally I got to watch NASCAR live again. Sunday was the showcase event of the series – the Daytona 500.

I have fond memories of the Florida circuit. Back in 1999 I had the chance to tour the track during a family vacation. Even before then I had an interest in Nascar via computer games but to actually be there and see the place, it was something else. The closest thing to a racing circuit I had seen before them was Mondello Park, which isn’t exactly the greatest track in the world over here in Ireland.

It was great to sit down and enjoy the race on Sunday. It didn’t dissapoint either with hard and fast racing. Everyone took it nice and easy during the opening stages before things got manic in the last 50. Congrats to Ryan Newman who broke a long run without a victory to win Penske their first restrictor plate victory in the series. A great result for his team-mate Kurt Busch who started last and had a whole host of problems during Speedweeks and the race itself.
Toyota and Joe Gibbs will feel it was a race lost with their three drivers extremely strong. Kyle Busch having to back off to ensure he didn’t pick up a penalty for going below the yellow line cost him a shot along with been able to bump draft his team-mate Stewart. Even powerhouse organisation Hendricks’s ran into trouble with only Dale Earnhardt Junior finishing in the top ten.

If Daytona is anything to go by it’s going to be a great season in Nascar this year. With Sky showing it on a regular basis I hope to give more regular commentary on the stock car series. For anyone with questions regarding the sport, especially those unfamiliar with it let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them!