My Daytona 500 Thoughts

Well the Daytona 500 just wrapped up and Matt Kenseth was the winner after the race was called short due to rain. Kenseth had to make a good run through a wreck between Brian Vickers and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Kenseth survived that and went on to pass Elliott Sadler just before another wreck brought out the caution. That caution led to the red flag when the rain started. And that led to Kenseth's win which was his first 500 win. Kenseth, who drives for Roush Fenway Racing, needed a win after not getting one in 2008.
Had to feel a little bad for Sadler who came so close. His team needed a win bad. It would have been a feel good story to have Sadler, who drives for Richard Petty Motorsports, roll that car into Victory Lane after everything he and the team has been through this off season.
Now,the most controversial moment in the race came when Earnhardt got into Vickers. From the replays, it looks like Earnhardt had a run on Vickers and was trying to get around him on the inside. Vickers blocked and Earnhardt came up, taping and spinning Vickers. At first, it sounded like the FOX announcers were going to blast Earnhardt for his driving. They didn't, later backing off saying it was a Daytona deal.
I'm not going to place blame. But I can't help but wonder if the role was reverse and it was Vickers spinning out Earnhardt, would the FOX crew have said bad things about Vickers and would NASCAR have punished Vickers by bringing him down pit road for aggressive driving?
The only other problem I had with Sunday's race was the start time. I can't help but think that we may have seen a full race if it had started around 1 p.m. For some reason, a few years ago, the race was moved to a later start time so that it can end under the lights. We already have a race at Daytona under the lights. It happens in July.
During the race, they showed highlights of some of the great Daytona 500's. They all showed drivers celebrating in victory lane during the day.
Now, since it did rain earlier Sunday, I don't know if they would have been able to start the race around 1 or 2. But maybe, we would have had a chance to see the full running of the 2009 Daytona 500.
Now the season begins as NASCAR heads off to California for a race that won't begin until sometime around 6 p.m. eastern time. It won't be over until around 11 p.m. or midnight. Keep an eye on the seats out there. In the past, California has had a lot of empty seats. I can't remember an exciting race out there. That may have something to do with it.
Maybe it'll be better this year.