This year NASCAR was actually a roller coaster ride in terms of execution. The event was delayed for the first time in its history due to rain, then fire broke out and later Tide laundry detergent all factored into a Daytona 500 making it one of the most unforgettable and historical NASCAR championship.
Florida was ready to host NASCAR's premier event, the season-opening Daytona 500, but a sudden downpour ended up disrupting the show. All those who were looking forward to witnessing an epic start of the championship were quite disappointed.
It could have been manageable had it been just some drizzle. Daytona International Speedway was soaked in water due to the heavy showers on Sunday afternoon, sending fans scattering for cover and shelter.
This NASCAR is the first Daytona 500 to be postponed took more than 36 hours to complete after rain pushed it from its scheduled Sunday afternoon start to Monday at lunch, and ultimately turned it into the first ever NASCAR race run in prime-time television.
Brad Keselowski is under media attention for his tweets, and most of them were sent while being in the car. Later he provided another update minutes after crashing at 190 mph.
NASCAR President Mike Helton talked about the delay earlier when the premiere was about to begin. He said, "It's one of those days here in Daytona where it pops up and falls off and pops up and falls off. But as the day progresses, we think the chances of the pop-ups diminish quite a bit. Hopefully this will be the last big cell we see and things will start falling apart and we can get the track dry and go on and get finish and run the Daytona 500 today."
Mike Helton later added "You would think after 65 years and running all the races that NASCAR has run ... that you've seen about everything" "You do think about, `Oh, my gosh, if that can happen, what else can happen?'"
There have been plenty of accidents this year that includes one of, Juan Pablo Montoya crashed under caution into a safety truck filled with about 200 gallons of jet fuel, and the collision caused a massive fireball that scorched the track and will be the most indelible image of the 54th running of the "Great American Race."