Jamie McMurray Wins the Daytona 500

Sunday's Daytona 500, the Superbowl of NASCAR, started off well, including great side-by-side racing in lieu of the new rule changes for this season.Early on, a wreck on lap seven, including Sam Hornish, caused most drivers to pit early. However, frontrunners Dale Earnhardt Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya and a few others stayed out, which caused some to go a lap down for a while until a caution much later, allowing them to get back on the same schedule as the rest of the pack.

The race was entertaining as 21 different drivers exchanged the lead 52 times. Driving on the seventy degree racetrack, the cars slid around, causing drivers to love the surface. The slippery track along with NASCAR's allowance of bump-drafting caused the racing to be exciting. Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove his car like it was in Need for Speed as he bobbed and weaved through his competitors. Kevin Harvick's car was real strong, claiming that no one else could catch him if he was out front. As much as Harvick needed a win in a points race (Harvick has not won a points race since the 2007 Daytona 500), the racetrack had different plans.

However, the slippery track became dangerous as a small bump in turn 1 became a pothole bigger than six inches wide. Kasey Kahne radioed to his crew that it was a "big chunk." The hole was in the low line of the racetrack, damaging Clint Bowyer's splitter to get mangled and Jimmie Johnson to retire from tire problems. Bowyer recovered, finishing fourth place, Jimmie Johnson's championship luck did not help him as he did not finish the race, causing him to finish with a 35th place finish. The first delay was an excruciating one hour and 42 minutes. About 40 laps later, another red flag flew to fix the hole once again. This delay was no where near as long as the rest of the race would raced under the lights, which caused many new drivers to get to the front.

The race fell into primetime tv due to the red flags. The night conditions allowed for more grip. Cars that handled fine in the daytime were now tight. Cars that were loose were now dialed in. Earnhardt, Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick pesevered through the changes. Harvick's car was especially fast, but unfortunately, he was stuck behind traffic at the end of the race to contend for the win. He placed seventh.

A wreck involving Bill Elliott and Joey Logano came out on lap 199 setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Then on lap 203, Kasey Kahne pinballed between Mark Martin and Tony Stewart bringing out another green-white-checkered allowed under the new rule changes. Kevin Harvick was the leader with Jamie McMurray lining up on the outside. McMurray was able to pull ahead on the restart, with Earnhardt charging through the pack. McMurray pulled ahead from the pack, but a speeding Earnhardt caught him. However, it was not enough to catch McMurray, winning the Daytona 500 with his new team at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

Below is the Official Results:

1 Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Bass Pro Shops / Tracker
2 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, Amp Energy / National Guard
3 Greg Biffle, Ford, 3M
4 Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, Cheerios / Hamburger Helper
5 David Reutimann, Toyota, Aaron's Dream Machine
6 Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, NAPA Auto Parts
7 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, Shell / Pennzoil
8 Matt Kenseth, Ford, Crown Royal
9 Carl Edwards, Ford, Aflac
10 Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, Target
11 Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, Caterpillar
12 Mark Martin, Chevrolet, GoDaddy.com
13 Paul Menard, Ford, Peak / Menards
14 Kyle Busch, Toyota, M&M's
15 Brian Vickers, Toyota, Red Bull
16 David Ragan, Ford, UPS
17 Denny Hamlin, Toyota, FedEx Express
18 Michael Waltrip, Toyota, NAPA Auto Parts
19 Scott Speed, Toyota, Red Bull
20 Joey Logano, Toyota, The Home Depot
21 Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, TaxSlayer.com
22 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, Office Depot / Old Spice
23 Kurt Busch, Dodge, Miller Lite
24 Elliott Sadler, Ford, Stanley
25 Boris Said, Ford, Window World Cares
26 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, DuPont
27 Bill Elliott, Ford, Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
28 Robby Gordon, Toyota, Monster Energy
29 Travis Kvapil, Ford, Extenze
30 Kasey Kahne, Ford, Budweiser / Team USA
31 Robert Richardson Jr,. Ford, Mahindra Tractors
32 A.J. Allmendinger, Ford, Best Buy
33 Michael McDowell, Toyota, Prism Motorsports
34 Ryan Newman , Chevrolet, U.S. Army
35 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Lowe's
36 Brad Keselowski, Dodge, Penske Racing
37 Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, Mobil 1
38 John Andretti, Ford, Window World Cares
39 Regan Smith, Chevrolet, Furniture Row Companies
40 Max Papis, Toyota, GEICO
41 Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, Kroger Floral
42 Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, Wave Energy Drink
43 Joe Nemechek, Toyota, NEMCO Motorsports