The heart of the Daytona 500 isn't in the race. It's not in all of the pre-race hype, or the screaming of the most famous words in motorsports. The heart of the Great American Race is in the aftermath- when the smoke from the victor's burnout clears. It is now that you begin to see why this is the Superbowl of racing.
Grown men are crying for one reason or another. Either you won or you lost. No race in past, present, or future means more to them then the one that they just ran. If I could give each of you a 500 victory, I would. Unfortunately, I can't.
The Daytona 500 is not just a race. For everyone involved, it is the start of the greatest sport in the world. When you go to a race, you're a part of the atmosphere, a personal cheerleader for a particular driver- not just another face in the crowd.
Racing has its highs and lows like any sport. However, unlike most other sports, a particular "low" can mean a person's life. This is why more people watch the Daytona 500 than any other NASCAR race on television- because the most recent stock-car-racing related death occured here in 2001, in the form of Dale Earnhardt.
So, after all that, congratulations to Ryan Newman, and the whole #12 Alltell team. It's not just another win... it's the Daytona 500. Good luck to you and Penske Racing in the coming 2008 season.
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1 comment:
Beaming happy thoughts your way at 4:15:39 pm on 2-20-07.
~me
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