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Jason Weingart

Jason Weingart

Jason Weingart

The annual kickoff to the NASCAR calendar, Speedweeks had its share of highs and one big low at Daytona International Speedway in mid-February. With declining TV ratings and attendance in 2009, NASCAR made an effort in the offseason to create better racing at its most famous track by giving team's the ability to run bigger restrictor plates and allowing bump drafting.

Restrictor plates are designed to slow the cars down to prevent them from getting airborne and into the grandstands in the case of an accident, but they also make the cars more equal and often prevent the drivers from being able to make passes. With a bigger restrictor plate (the biggest at the speedway since the early 1990s) drivers had more ability to maneuver their cars in traffic and the increased speeds - touching 200 mph - was a pleasant sight to see for many fans.

Each of the six races over the twoweek span had exciting finishes, including the Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying races on Feb. 11. The two races helped determine the starting lineup for the Great American Race and both featured photo finishes. That set the stage for one of the most exciting Daytona 500 races in recent memory.

This year's race was marred by a pair of stoppages caused by potholes between Turn 1 and Turn 2. Repairing the potholes halted the action for two hours. When the race restarted for the final quarter of the event, action was noticeably more intense as drivers and teams had no idea whether or not the potholes would reappear and the race would be shortened.

In the end, Jamie McMurray held off a last lap charge from fan-favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the races second greenwhite- checkered restart to win his first Daytona 500 in his first race with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Daytona for the Coke Zero 400 on July 4. While some repairs where made, the track will not be repaved before the race.

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