Let's rewind a bit though & talk about some pre-race excitement. Country music legend Tim McGraw got everyone into party mode when he performed a few of his chart toppers for the crowd. Grandfather & Anh were slightly disappointed that Tim's wife, Faith Hill, didn't make an appearance. I'm not sure whether they cared if she sang. Just having the chance to check her out in person would probably have been enough for them.
There were some track improvements that impacted the view from our seats in the Campbell section. A new, higher tower was constructed for the flag man and honorary starter. It's massive size now somewhat obstructs the view of turn 4. Before continuing on, let's play a little game. It's similar to Where's Waldo, but we'll call it Where's Grandfather? Do you see him?
How about now? Look closely.
There he is! In front of the man wearing the yellow baseball cap.
Back to the track, the massive new tower was built to stand above the new, higher safety fence that also somewhat impacts the view of the track from our seats. If our seats weren't so dang expensive, we'd probably overlook the slight obstructions, but when you're spending big bucks for the view, you don't want anything in your way. So, the search is underway for new seats for the 2011 running. Our current ones will become the plan B.
Even the flyover was different this year with planes approaching from a new direction.
Sometimes, change is good. This season, the restrictor plates are off and bump drafting is allowed. That means faster times and more wrecks. Woo hoo! Although, I'm sure it's those two changes that lead to the higher safety fence and thus, the higher flag tower. You've got to take the good with the bad or in this case, the bad with the good.
The view of pit row is still awesome despite the fence. It just makes for lousy pictures. Oh well. You can't have it all.
Here they come! The 2010 Daytona 500 is about to get underway!!!!
Just as the fans were getting into the race and the excitement was building, that silly pot hole popped up.
The drivers pitted, and everyone waited as crews tried to repair the track. After an hour & half delay, the race was once again underway.
However, the red flag came back out pretty quickly when the same pesky pothole reopened. Only this time, it was much larger. Track officials blamed the faulty repair on the cold temperatures saying that the bonding agent couldn't work in the frigid 40 degree air. I don't know about you, but that sounds kind of hard to believe.
Regardless, after another hour, the race resumed, and the finish was action packed. All of the drivers were worried that the pothole would once again open up, and that it would force the officials to call the race. So, the drivers made the most of their time on the track, often driving 4-wide through the turns. It was mayhem according to Anh's & Grandfather's post-race report. In the end, McMurry's #1 car crossed the finish line & went down in history as the winner of the 52nd running of the Daytona 500. To Anh's delight, Jr. placed 2nd. Looks like Anh will remain a fan...until at least 2011.
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