Okay, so my dutifull wife/crew chief is a NASCAR junkie. Last night we watched the two 150 mile races and what I learned was that everybody gets in the 500 mile race based on thieir finishing position and or a bewildering range of pre-existing conditions that appear to grant anyone with a major sponsor a starting position in the 43 car field. The idea that a race that has to be the most boring of the entire NASCAR season gets billed as the "best", "biggest" and "most important" is unfathonable. The only thing that makes NASCAR Daytona races bearable is the prospect of the "big one" - and that's a pretty sad commentary.
Rick
P.S. The one positive was that Darrel Waltrup did not shreek out his "Boggity-boogity, let's go racin boys" chant at the green flag. He did however utter some of the dumbest comments this side of John Madden.