In a rain shortened Indy 500 Matt Kenseth won his second race in as many starts in 2009, but got his first ever win in “The Great American Race”. It had all the components of the premiere race in America, good drama, a good run, and a major wreck that involved big name drivers, but what it didn’t have is the finality that a big race, and NASCAR needed. The rain shortened 500 didn’t produce what the sport needed to battle a bad economy in recession and battered auto industry. With sponsorship drying up, NASCAR really was counting on it’s showcase event showing fans why they should pay ticket prices and sponsors that the sport is still a great medium to reach audiences. The weather also hurt TV advertising as well as Sunday's event on Fox drew a preliminary national rating of 9.2 and a 19 share, the network said Tuesday. The last rain-shortened Daytona 500 earned a 9.8/21 in 2003. Last year's full race drew a 10.2/20. The drama of the day came when Jr., already a lap down due to a couple of pit mistakes, tried to make up the ground and got tangled up with Brian Vickers causing fray involving nine-cars. After the race Earndardt took responsibility for the pile up by stating "I take full responsibility for what happened on pit road," he said. "It's unfortunate how everything happened. I feel bad for everybody that was swept up in that wreck. But at the same time, it's the Daytona 500. The rain was coming and you have to take risks." Is the “Great American Race” on par with other premiere American sports finals such as the World Series, Super Bowl, and NBA finals? If not, what is missing? Did this year’s Indy live up to expectations? Let us know here and in the NASCAR chat rooms.

POS DRIVER CAR MANUFACTURER LAPS MONEY START LED
1 Matt Kenseth 17 Ford 152 $1,315,724 32
3 A.J. Allmendinge44 Dodge 152 $836,563 20
4 Clint Bowyer 33 Chevrolet 152 $632,013 22
5 Elliott Sadler 19 Dodge 152 $541,113 30
6 David Ragan 6 Ford 152 $431,163 33
7 Michael Waltrip 55 Toyota 152 $396,238 27
8 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 152 $431,371 5
9 Reed Sorenson 43 Dodge 152 $385,824 34

Jimmy Johnson has won 3 of the last 4 races at Martinsville. He's the pole sitter, got a 69 point lead, and this is race 6 out of 10. Why Martinsville is so important is because no chase champion has finised lower than 3rd. The track's nickname is Paperclip. If he gets up early, there's nobody that catches him. Each of the last two years, the leader at the halfway point hasn't won the race... BUT, it's because Jimmy Johnson is the one that has overtook them in the 2nd half. SO him being a 2nd half guy, he's the odds on favorite to win. Tell us what you think...

When Kyle Busch slammed his car into the left side of Carl Edwards' car and Edwards retaliated by spinning out Busch after their 1-2 finish in Saturday's Sprint Cup extravaganza at Bristol Motor Speedway, it may have been somewhat of a fiascle or a show for racing purist, but it also was the best thing for the sport. In a WWF sort of way it has drawn much more attention, fanfare, and even bumped some of the majors to the back of the bus on Sports Center. The bell for round two will chime simultaneously with the start of the Pepsi 500 where Busch will start in the 11th position and Edwards 26th. With drivers switching teams and even manufacturers every three or four years, in NASCAR’s version of free agency, few are able to remain on top of the points standings, the feuds that helped bring the series to national prominence are few and far between. But now they’ve got one, and the drivers involved should be at the head of the pack when the race comes to a close making for great drama, and yes an even better show but is this good for racing? If so, move over Hulk Hogan.

The family feud between Carl Edwards and Bob Osborne got sorted out just in time as they both knew the car was seconds away from running out of gas in the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500, but the tank had just enough fumes to give Edwards his fourth victory of the season. One can only speculate but it was a good thing there were enough fumes in the tank because that would have been a strange site to see, Edwards coasting to the side as his car died one lap from victory, and an even stranger explanation to ownership on why he didn’t pit. Fortunately for all parties involved they latter did not happen and Edwards was pouring champagne. "Carl had a premonition that this thing would not get rained out," Osborne said. "I'm glad he did because I thought we were done for. But that's what makes this a great team. Everybody has an opinion." As in most cases in NASCAR, there is only one opinion that matters and that’s the driver. This time, he made the right call and spared the team the drama….and humiliation. In all actuality Osborne and other crew chiefs are there for a reason and in the position to see things the driver can’t. Edwards got away with it this time but next time he may no be so lucky and will have a lot of explaining to do if his luck runs out.

Jimmie Johnson won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Sunday but his victory was overshadowed by nice competition cautions meaning NASCAR threw a yellow flag to allow the teams to come to pit road and change tires before that failed. Basically, the fans saw a series of short heat races and at a reduced speed. It seemed the only time fans got an opportunity to see what the cars and drivers could do was the final seven laps(after another restart) when Carl Edward made a move and actually challenged JJ on the final few laps. Twelve circuits were the most consecutive green-flag laps in what turned out to be a “160-lap debacle” "No one wants to race like that," said Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of racing. "We will look at all the data and try to figure it out. We will work with NASCAR and the teams. It's the entire package together that we have to consider." With attendance already down from last year this is the last thing NASCAR needed and it appears some heads will roll before this is all said and done. Don’t take anything away from JJ though, he dealt with the same conditions as everyone else and managed to stay out of harms way and fast enough to win. One of the few Pole to Winner’s Circle trip the Brick Yard has seen.

Any publicity is good publicity. That's the approach IRL is taking with the latest Danica news. Once again Danica Patrick stole the show with her off-track antics instead of her performance behind the wheel. In a league starving for a bigger piece the NASCAR-dominated auto racing pie, any type of publicity is good. And Danica keeps delivering. On Saturday, FHM fav Danica Patrick confronted Milka Duno about her driving at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, leading to an exchange between the only two female drivers competing in the IndyCar Series. Luckily for the IRL, a video of the incident was shot and was quickly plastered all over the internet.

During the altercation, Duno told Patrick on several occasions to “go away.” When Patrick didn’t leave immediately, Duno threw a towel in Patrick’s face, prompting Patrick to direct foul language at Duno before the minute-long incident ended. Add this to the list of Danica-isms of recent past... video of her charging down pit road during the Indianapolis 500, attempting to confront Briscoe after a pit road mishap and images of her grabbing and shoving Dan Wheldon last year in Milwaukee after an on-track incident. Her antics along with her scantily-clad pictorials have done more for IRL than ever before.

Bet IRL can't wait for what's next.