The 51st Annual Daytona 500

In about 40 days, (nascar.com) the 2009 NASCAR season will rev their engines and race in the great american race, the Daytona 500. Anything can happen at this superspeedway, but one thing is for certain: Noone knows who will win til the checkered flag waves in the air.

Last year, NASCAR had an exciting race at Daytona, seeing Ryan Newman win his first race in almost 3 and a half years. He led his teammate Kurt Busch across the finish line for a 1-2 Penske Racing finish. Both of those drivers walked away with at least a million dollars for where they finished in the race. It all came down to the last lap and the last turn to finally find out who would win the race. But this year, everything will be different. It gonna be a year of firsts and lasts in NASCAR!

The 2009 Daytona 500 will be the last analog sporting event televised in the United States. It will also be the first race since 1981 where the defending champion, Ryan Newman, will not be racing for the team he won the Daytona 500 with last year. He will be racing for Stewart Hass Racing this year. Many changes will occur during the 2009 NASCAR season, including a first time winner of the Daytona 500. (wikipedia.org)

He came really close to winning it last year. He led the most laps in last year's Daytona 500, yet failed to win. The guy I'm talking about is going to give Toyota their first Daytona 500 win. The driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, Kyle Busch. Not only was he oh-so-close to winning the Daytona 500, he was also leading the points going into the Chase for the Sprint Cup last year. I think that Kyle Busch is going to win because he is more determined then ever to win a championship.

He led in the points standings for 21 out of the 26 weeks in the regular season, but fell dramatically back down the standings during the Chase. He learned alot from his Joe Gibbs teammate, Tony Stewart, that along with his drive, pun intented, to win races will guide him to a front row seat in victory lane early in the 2009 NASCAR Season. Below are some more predictions for the NASCAR season:

Daytona 500 Winner: Kyle Busch

Points Leader after the "regular season"- Jeff Gordon

Rookie of the Year: Joey Logano

Biggest Dissappointment of 2009: Stewart Hass Racing (Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman)

2009 Sprint Cup Champion: Dale Earnhardt Jr.