Rain a Shame in Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – What a difference an hour makes.

Sunday night, Matt Kenseth took home the coveted Harley J. Earl trophy and the title of Daytona 500 champion after NASCAR called the race 48 laps from the finish thanks to a heavy rain shower that persisted through the evening.

No, NASCAR didn’t have a matter of darkness to contend with because Daytona International Speedway has lights. And I’m not faulting NASCAR for calling the race, either, because the rain here at the track didn’t let up for several hours.

I am, though, quite sympathetic for the fans that spent a good deal of money to sit in the grandstands at DIS and for the drivers who saw the scheduled 500-mile race shortened to a 380-mile affair that left entirely too many wondering “what if?”

But that’s the NASCAR of 2009 – a well-oiled, money-hungry machine that cares more about the bottom line than seeing their fans get a bang for their buck or giving their drivers a legitimate shot to win NASCAR’s biggest event.

However, I should note clearly that Matt Kenseth didn’t win an illegitimate race and that he is a deserving Daytona 500 champion. When the race-ending rain neared the speedway, Kenseth took charge and passed Elliott Sadler on what ended up being the race’s final green flag lap.

It was a bold move, and he couldn’t have timed it any more perfectly.

NASCAR’s timing – particularly how they set the race’s official start time – is the problem here.

Sunday’s race didn’t start until 3:40 p.m. local time at Daytona, some nearly three and a half hours later than this race started in 2000. Traditionally, this race has always taken just over three hours to complete, and Sunday night NASCAR was looking at just over an hour of competition left.

One more hour and fans would have seen a complete Daytona 500. One more hour and drivers like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Mark Martin – all of whom had great cars Sunday – could’ve come back to front to make the race for the lead one for the ages.

One more hour, and I wouldn’t be sitting in the press box wondering “what if?” myself about the possible outcomes of a full race.

Truly, there’s no one else to blame except NASCAR because of their willingness to succumb to the demands of network television. When the sanctioning body agreed to its latest television contracts – worth a whopping $4.48 billion – the races across the schedule have been pushed further and further back into the afternoon.

Sure, it’s great to see races finish under the lights and I understand that those on the West Coast are more apt to tune in to a later race, but are gambles for TV viewers worth the risk of seeing a shortened race?

Is that fair for the drivers? And what about the fans who truly are the lifeblood of the sport?

The opening was there Sunday afternoon for NASCAR to get its biggest event to completion and it’s sure a shame that the powers that be couldn’t do more to make that happen.