Daytona 500

Assuming the race finishes today, this will be the fourth time since 2012 that the Daytona 500 has finished on Monday.

Here are the last 10 winners of the Daytona 500:

2014:  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Number 88 car)

2015:  Joey Logano (22)

2016:  Denny Hamlin (11)

2017:  Kurt Busch (41)

2018:  Austin Dillon (3)

2019:  Denny Hamlin (11)

2020:  Denny Hamlin (11)

2021:  Michael McDowell (34)

2022:  Austin Cindric (2)

2023:  Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (47)

Here are the last 10 winners of the Winston Cup:

2014:  Kevin Harvick (Number 4 car)

2015:  Kyle Busch (18)

2016:  Jimmie Johnson (48)

2017:  Martin Truex, Jr. (78)

2018:  Joey Logano (22)

2019:  Kyle Busch (18)

2020:  Chase Elliott (9)

2021:  Kyle Larson (5)

2022:  Joey Logano (22)

2023:  Ryan Blaney (12)

In the last ten years, Joey Logano is the only man to win both the Daytona 500 and the Winston Cup.

NBA Update

These days, you could be forgiven for thinking that the NBA exists primarily to stir the pot on cultural and political issues.  But they still play basketball every once in a while, and the shape of this year's playoff is starting to take place.  Here are the big headlines so far:

1.  Phoenix was a big disappointment.  The Suns had the Number-1 seed in the West, but crashed out at home in Game Seven of the Western Semi-Finals in a blowout loss to Dallas.  Chris Paul was terrible in this game, and it's just not clear to me that he can ever get Phoenix all the way.

2.  Milwaukee should enjoy its recent title.  The Brew Crew -- I mean, the Bucks -- went out in seven games to Boston in the Eastern Semi-Finals, and I think they are not likely to go all the way again, unless we have another pandemic.

3.  Golden State appears to be back.  The Warriors have played the type of series you normally see from the winner.  Golden State rolled over Denver 4-1, beat Memphis 4-2, and then beat Dallas 4-1.  One of the losses to Memphis and the only loss to Dallas took place in road games when the Warriors already had the series in hand.  So the Warriors had a pretty easy time getting back to the final.

4.  Miami and Boston are playing the type of old-school basketball that old people claim to like.  There's a lot of romanticism these days for violent NBA teams of the past, like the Bad Boy Pistons or the Pat Riley-led Knicks.  I didn't like either of those teams, so I'm not engaging in that romanticism, but if you like that sort of thing, the Heat and the Celtics are hammering away at each other in low-scoring games where the road team has done very well.  Here's what they've done so far in the Eastern Conference finals (home teams listed first):

Game 1:  Miami 118 - 107 Boston

Game 2:  Miami 102 - 127 Boston

Game 3:  Boston 103 - 109 Miami

Game 4:  Boston 102 - 82 Miami

Game 5:  Miami 80 - 93 Boston

Game 6:  Boston 103 - 111 Miami

My guess is that the Celtics blew their chance to win this series at home in Game 6, and that they will lose a slugfest in Miami tonight.  But slugfests are not always easy to predict, and Boston is not easy to eliminate.  Anyway, I'll check in at halftime and see if this game is worth watching.

The Daytona 500

I don't know much about weather, but I do know that at around 4 PM on Sunday afternoons in February, it usually rains in Daytona, Florida.  Presumably that's why the Daytona 500 started at 12 PM Eastern for many years.  Now it starts at around 3:30 PM, and it usually finishes sometime within the next 48 hours.

The Freakin' Weekend (1969)

OK, we'll take a closer look at all of this starting tomorrow 1969 (Friday, Oct. 24).

Incidentally, the Oct. 26, 1969, American 500 in Rockingham, N.C., apparently was not on TV, but this movie is fantastic.

The Freakin' Weekend (1969)

Let's get this party started early.

I got so wrapped up in the moonshot this past week that I didn't much pay attention to anything else the last several days. Hate it that I missed Paducah Jack Staulcup rocking the VFW last Friday. Maybe 1969 Rach and I will get out and check out Jay Dee and the Dee Jays or Gerald Johnson & the Castaways this weekend, though.

Similar regrets around the movies. What's on now (on the left) doesn't much grab me, but the Skyway double feature last weekend looked like fun.

Ellis Park's running up in Henderson, or maybe we'll check out the "thrills, spills & chills" out on Butler Road ...

I definitely want to get by the bank before it closes today to go ahead and get our tickets for the Billy Graham movie at the Western Kentucky State Fair next week.

The Nationals won the All-Star Game again. Oh, well, ... COME ON, A'S!

And, of course, glorious TV ... 

It appears that NFL Action sadly might be over for the summer, but never fear--Rich Hoptown 1969 me used my fancy new video-recording device to tape earlier episodes, including this great thing ...

What's On TV Today (1969)?

The 11th-annual Daytona 500 is today 1969 (Feb. 23), and Bill Flemming (a member of Ann Arbor High's 1943 Michigan state-championship football team!) says on ABC's Wide World of Sports that the "largest sports crowd ever to watch an event in the southeastern part of the United States" is on hand.

I hope this YouTube video also includes the bobsleigh finals that Jim McKay mentions at the opening of the show.

The Daytona 500

Some people cheer up when they hear that spring training has begun, because they interpret that as a sign that winter is coming to an end.  For me, the Daytona 500 fills that role.  Here are the last 10 winners of the Great American Race:

2003:  Michael Waltrip (# 15) (Chevrolet)

2004:  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (# 8) (Chevrolet)

2005:  Jeff Gordon (# 24) (Chevrolet)

2006:  Jimmie Johnson (# 48) (Chevrolet)

2007:  Kevin Harvick (# 29) (Chevrolet)

2008:  Ryan Newman (# 12) (Dodge)

2009:  Matt Kenseth (# 17) (Ford)

2010:  Jamie McMurray (# 1) (Chevrolet)

2011:  Trevor Bayne (# 21) (Ford)

2012:  Matt Kenseth (# 17) (Ford)

The last time a Pontiac won this race was in 1983, when Cale Yarborough got his third of four titles.  NASCAR hasn't been the same since.

Here are the last 10 winners of the Winston Cup (or whatever it's called now):

2003:  Matt Kenseth (# 17) (Ford)

2004:  Kurt Busch (# 97) (Ford)

2005:  Tony Stewart (# 20) (Chevrolet)

2006:  Jimmie Johnson (# 48) (Chevrolet)

2007:  Jimmie Johnson (# 48) (Chevrolet)

2008:  Jimmie Johnson (# 48) (Chevrolet)

2009:  Jimmie Johnson (# 48) (Chevrolet)

2010:  Jimmie Johnson (# 48) (Chevrolet)

2011:  Tony Stewart (# 14) (Chevrolet)

2012:  Brad Keselowski (# 2) (Dodge)

Last year was the first time a Dodge had taken the title since 1975, when Richard Petty drove a Dodge Charger to the crown.  The last Pontiac to win it all was in 2002, when Tony Stewart won the title in a Pontiac Grand Prix.

The big story coming into this race was that Danica Patrick had become the first woman to win a pole position in a Winston Cup race.  But since the race started, Jeff Gordon has led all 14 laps run today.

Any other observations will go into the comments.

The Daytona 500, Take Three

I came home to find that Number1Son, Number2Son, and Number3Son are all awake, and all wired over the track explosion. It was a stunning event, which you can see here (at least for now).

But remarkably, the NASCAR people have almost finished their repairs, and they expect to re-start the race tonight. So NASCAR will join baseball in having its major event conclude after midnight on the East Coast.

Everyone is very excited, except for Dave Blaney, who has been leading the Daytona 500 during this red flag because he had not yet taken advantage of the caution to go into the pits.

All credit should go to the emergency crews at Daytona, who did a remarkable job of putting out the fire and repairing the track. And maybe there's a silver lining here. If my sons are representative, nothing promotes NASCAR like giant explosions where no one is hurt.

The Daytona 500, Take Two

The cars are going through the pace laps, and it looks as though we are finally going to start the race.

The Daytona 500

The rain falling on Daytona today is symbolic of the decline in NASCAR's popularity in recent years. Even though last season featured an exciting rookie winner at Daytona and a very close battle for the Winston Cup, the ennui resulting from years and years of tinkering with NASCAR's traditions continues to plague the circuit. And now, the one afternoon in the sports year usually given over to NASCAR is being rained out, as middle-aged men across America change the channel to see if Rory McIlroy can win the World Match Play Championship. But maybe we're not missing that much. As you can see, it's been a while since a big-name driver won Daytona:

Last ten winners of the Daytona 500:
2011: Trevor Bayne
2010: Jamie McMurray
2009: Matt Kenseth
2008: Ryan Newman
2007: Kevin Harvick
2006: Jimmie Johnson
2005: Jeff Gordon
2004: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
2003: Michal Waltrip
2002: Ward Burton

Last ten winners of the Winston Cup (or whatever it's called these days):
2011: Tony Stewart
2010: Jimmie Johnson
2009: Jimmie Johnson
2008: Jimmie Johnson
2007: Jimmie Johnson
2006: Jimmie Johnson
2005: Tony Stewart
2004: Kurt Busch
2003: Matt Kenseth
2002: Tony Stewart

The Genius of NASCAR

Here is a press release from NASCAR, dated January 26, 2011, headlined "Changes for 2011 Include Emphasis on Winning." In the press release, NASCAR Czar Brain France states that "{t}he fans tell us that winning matters the most with them, so we're combining the tradition of consistency in our sport with the excitement that comes along with winning." Of course, NASCAR also kept its silly "Chase" system, whereby a group of races at the end of the year are supposed to count more than other races in terms of deciding the title.

This weekend is the end of the NASCAR season, so let's see how things have worked out.

1. This year, Tony Stewart has won four races, and all four of them were in the Chase. Stewart won the Geico 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway on September 19th, the Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25th, the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville on October 30th, and the AAA Texas 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway on November 6th.

2. Stewart's closest competitor for the Winston Cup (or whatever it's called these days) is Carl Edwards. But Edwards's only victory in a Winston Cup race was at the Kobalt Tools 400 in Las Vegas back in March -- well before the Chase began in September.

3. So Stewart is way ahead of Edwards, right? Wrong. Going into the last race of the year, Edwards has 2,359 points, while Stewart has 2,356 points. No one else is even close. So Edwards will win the title unless he finishes at least three spots behind Stewart.

Here's my question: Why does NASCAR make such a big deal of new rules designed to promote winning at the end of the year, if the guy who wins at the end of the year is not actually going to be the champion? I mean, have whatever rules you want, but what is the point of setting up your fans for such a confusing outcome?

In that January press release, France was quoted as saying that "{m}any of our most loyal fans don't fully understand the points system we have used to date." My guess is that if Carl Edwards pops the champagne on Sunday, France will be able to use that same quote next January.

Liveblogging the Daytona 500

One of the worst ideas that NASCAR experimented with was a few years ago, when they started the Daytona 500 after 3 PM. Eventually, I suppose, somebody explained that: (1) the weather in February at Daytona becomes more unstable as you get closer to darkness; and (2) a significant percentage of NASCAR fans watch the race between Sunday morning and Sunday evening services. So they've moved the start time back, but I still don't know when they're actually going to start.

NASCAR Update

Today is the 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death on the last lap of the Daytona 500. You may be wondering -- "Oh, yeah, the Daytona 500 -- I used to watch that when I was a kid. How's that going these days?" So I thought this would be a good time to catch everyone up on the last few years of NASCAR.

The big story is that NASCAR's effort to turn itself into a mainstream sport along the lines of the NFL, the NBA, and MLB has largely failed. In 2003, NASCAR's current owner -- NASCAR is the only sport owned by a single person -- took over the enterprise built up by his grandfather and father, and has pretty much run things into the ground. Just as J.R. Ewing was more interested in making complicated and controversial deals than keeping his eye on the oil patch, Brian France is constantly chasing new schemes that take NASCAR away from its roots. In 2004, he started a rather silly playoff system that complicated the traditional Winston Cup race. In 2008, he forced everyone to start driving the "Car of Tomorrow" -- a boxy, ugly car body that has never really worked right and that is constantly being re-tweaked. He also moved races all over the schedule in a desperate attempt to attract non-Southern fans -- ending the traditional Labor Day race at Darlington, ending racing at Rockingham, North Carolina, and so forth. There have also been talk of "entertainment cautions" -- the use of caution flags not to deal with debris, but to bunch up the cars and make a race closer. None of these ideas has worked -- as any actual sports fan could have told you in advance -- and NASCAR is probably at its lowest level of popularity since the early 1990s.

NASCAR has also been burdened by the complete domination of Jimmie Johnson, who is almost certainly the most boring great driver of all time. Johnson has only won the Daytona 500 one time -- the last four years he hasn't finished better than 27th there -- but he grinds out points week after week, mainly because Hendrick Motorsports (which owns his car) gives him the best cars and support in the sport. The result is a situation in which NASCAR has all the disadvantages of a dynasty (lack of drama, no good underdog stories) with none of the charisma and drama that someone like Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan can create. In fact, Johnson's dominance has crippled the careers of much more charismatic drivers, such as Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Tony Stewart. If you can imagine a world in which Bud Grant's Vikings won five consecutive Super Bowls, you will have a good sense of what the last few years have been like for NASCAR fans.

Nevertheless, hope springs eternal, and we will hope that today's race captures the spirit of fun and high drama that used to make NASCAR great.

LAST 10 WINSTON CUP CHAMPIONS (I refuse to use whatever sponsor name NASCAR is using these days. They don't pay me. I grew up with the Winston Cup, and I'm sticking with the Winston Cup):
2010: Jimmie Johnson (Chevy)
2009: Jimmie Johnson (Chevy)
2008: Jimmie Johnson (Chevy)
2007: Jimmie Johnson (Chevy)
2006: Jimmie Johnson (Chevy)
2005: Tony Stewart (Chevy)
2004: Kurt Busch (Ford)
2003: Matt Kenseth (Ford)
2002: Tony Stewart (Pontiac)
2001: Jeff Gordon (Chevy)

LIST OF LAST 10 DAYTONA 500 WINNERS:
2010: Jamie McMurray (Missouri)
2009: Matt Kenseth (Wisconsin)
2008: Ryan Newman (Indiana)
2007: Kevin Harvick (California)
2006: Jimmie Johnson (California)
2005: Jeff Gordon (California)
2004: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (N. Carolina)
2003: Michael Waltrip (Kentucky)
2002: Ward Burton (Virginia)
2001: Michael Waltrip (Kentucky)

2010 WINSTON CUP TOP 10:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Keven Harvick
4. Carl Edwards
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Greg Biffle
7. Tony Stewart
8. Kyle Busch
9. Jeff Gordon
10. Clint Bowyer

Uruguay 0 - 0 Ghama (5th minute)

I like the font of Ghana's numbers. They look like the type of numbers that you would see on the cars in a NASCAR race from about 1968.