A 520 to remember

This year's Daytona 500 (520 miles due to the green-white-checker) did not disappoint in terms of just about everything:
-Excitement, check
-Lead changes, check 74 at the line
-Drivers losing traction, check 12 that brought the yellow
-Unknown winner, check
-4 hours of Nascar at its best, check

My wife's parents have been so gracious to allow us to watch with them the past years and the previous races were nothing compared to this year.

Trevor Bayne, 20 year old from ole Rocky Top Tennessee, led the final six laps and held off Cousin Carl Edwards' charge to win the 53rd annual running.

My thoughts for start to finish:

Kyle Busch got things started with a spin on the fifth lap. He put bondo or something sticky that allowed his car to be "unfollowable." He somehow managed to race back to 8th place. Most talent and most stubborn in the entire garage.

Kevin Harvick blew his motor and retired before the race was even 25 laps old.

The 'Big One' happened on lap 29 and involved 14 cars thanks to Mikey Waltrip's front bumper. No one really can be blamed in this style of racing.

Dave 'The Buckeye Bullet' Blaney led some laps early and was in the hunt until lap 196 when he dodged a wreck low and ran through the grass. Sounds harmless? Except that the grass caused too much front end damage and spewed oil all over the pit. He also received a flat tire. Tough circumstance because a top ten meant that kids could eat free. It wasn't meant to be! 26th for the Ohio-Pennsylvania native.

The racing cranked up the intensity with 28 laps to go and no more gentleman's agreement. The bumping lost control on lap 196 when Tony Stewart bumped Kurt Busch who bumped Regan Smith who lost control and went to the fence, collecting Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman, the two who had led the most laps. Big bummer for my favorites!

The restart with 2 to go saw David Ragan dive low too 'fast' and he received logistical black flag. He couldn't recover after hitting the steering wheel three times in frustration. Maybe next year?

The benefittor was Trevor Bayne as he took the lead and never looked back.

Bayne is also a big supporter of back2back ministries. This is really cool and I commend him for it. Bayne spent time in Mexico in the offseason helping this ministry. It warms my heart and encourages me when I see people take time from their schedules to share the love and hope of Jesus Christ!

Good job Trevor, drive fast and turn left!