The Final Word

Speeds over 200 mph. Three wide racing to the end. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had time at the front. So did Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Excellent announcing on FOX. Nice weather. What was there not to love about the Daytona 500?

We have just gotten the season underway, and already we got guys torqued. I mean, some got downright ornery.

A new season, new hopes, new drivers, old drivers with new teams, and a whole lot of things I want to see come out of 2015.

The countdown has begun to the start of a new season, with less than ten days to go before the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race at Daytona. A new campaign, some new teams and some new expectations.

Jeff Gordon appears to be one who is prepared to take his final bow while he is not just a legend in his sport, but also a contender. At the age of 43, Gordon has four championships to his credit, 92 victories and an amazing 320 Top Fives in 761 starts.

Recently, a story by Chad Robb listed the top ten organizations in Cup. Not surprisingly, those ten organizations represented all but one of last season’s top 28 teams. Hendrick, Penske, Gibbs, Stewart-Haas, Ganassi, Childress, Roush-Fenway, Waltrip, and Petty were all there.

There were those who put on the fire suits, got to be among the big boys, but when it came time to go they might have been best suited to go down the road instead of the track. Instead of being competitors, they were lucky to be participants, saddled in entries that had no hope of being anywhere near the front.

Watching the Cup finale was like watching most Nationwide races. Few of the participants actually matter. You have your winner, you have those who actually are competing for the prize, and then you have the odd spectacular, special moment. Sunday’s race marked the end of ESPN’s run, which meant no more Allen, no more Dale, no more Andy, no more Rusty, no more Brad, and no more Nicole. A special moment, indeed.

There are drivers you like and there are drivers you do not. If a driver should be a whiney revisionist weasel who does his best to avoid cashing the checks his mouth keeps on writing, I am not a fan. This is how I once viewed Kurt Busch, and it is how I presently see Brad Keselowski. For him to not make the Chase finale came as a welcome conclusion to the activities at Phoenix.

Jimmie Johnson was a factor from beginning to end in Texas, claiming his fourth victory of the season. Okay, enough about the damn race. All the real excitement took place after they waved the checkered flag.