The Big (One) Debate

Matt Kenseth took his and Jack Roush’s first Daytona 500 victory in the rain shortened season opener in Florida. As the lights went down the rain began to fall. Nascar hoped to restart the race, but the rain continued to persist, bringing an end to the 51st edition of the ‘The Great American Race’.

The main talking point regarding the 500 will remain Dale Earnhardt Junior. The fan favourite started strong but a pair of pit lane mishaps saw him go one lap down. Driving like what can only be described as a pissed off teenager, he got into the rear of Vickers’ when the Toyota blocked him all the way down to the double-yellow line. The action resulted in the ‘Big One’, taking out numerous cars, included those who had been in contention all day.

While the majority of fans are already sweeping it underneath the carpet, those who hold a more neutral view are scratching their heads as to why Nascar didn’t dish out a penalty. A similar incident occurred only 24 hours earlier in the Nationwide, where Jason Leffler received a five-lap penalty in a similar incident. Yet, no penalty was given to Earnhardt Junior.

I don’t believe it was intentional. Trying to wreck someone at a Super-Speedway is just insane. Earnhardt, more than anyone, knows the pain that a massive wreck can cause at those speeds. The problem is, Earnhardt was not in the best state of mind. Anyone watching the race could see that he appeared more agitated following a pair of pit-lane issues.

Yes, he was fighting to get in position for the Lucky Dog, but as the day showed, blocking people was the norm. He could have afforded to lift ever so slightly, given that nobody was tucked up behind him either. The result of the incident saw many good race cars wrecked. Patience is the key in any race.

Ironically, in his interview after the incident, Dale Junior was questioning whether to have the rules looked at in regards to Vickers’ move. Not exactly the most ideal time to bring that up.

But as I said, it is likely to be swept under the carpet. In Earnhardt Nation, Junior can do no wrong. Regardless, even more pressure has been put on a driver who is already carrying an already massive on his shoulder in the 2009 season.