One More Hour

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – What a difference an hour makes.

Sunday night, Matt Kenseth took home the coveted Harley J. Earl trophy and the title of Daytona 500 champion after NASCAR called the race 48 laps from the finish due to a heavy rain shower that persisted through the evening.

No, NASCAR didn’t have a matter of darkness to contend with, because Daytona International Speedway has lights. And I’m not faulting NASCAR for calling the race, either, because the rain at the track didn’t let up for several hours.

I am, though, quite sympathetic for the fans who spent a good deal of money to sit in the grandstands and for the drivers who saw the scheduled 500-mile race shortened to a 380-mile affair that left entirely too many wondering, “What if?”

But that’s the NASCAR of 2009: a well-oiled, money-hungry machine that cares more about the bottom line than seeing its fans get a bang for their buck – or giving its drivers a legitimate shot to win NASCAR’s biggest event.

However, I should note Matt Kenseth didn’t win an illegitimate race, and he is a deserving Daytona 500 champion. When the race-ending rain neared the speedway, Kenseth took charge and passed Elliott Sadler on what ended up being the race’s final green-flag lap.

It was a bold move, and he couldn’t have timed it more perfectly.

NASCAR’s timing – particularly how it set the race’s official start time – is the problem here.

Sunday’s race didn’t start until 3:40 p.m. in Daytona, nearly three and a half hours later than the race started in 2000.

Traditionally, this race has always taken about three hours to complete, and Sunday night NASCAR was looking at roughly an hour of competition left.

One more hour and fans would have seen a complete Daytona 500. One more hour and drivers like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Mark Martin – all of whom had great cars Sunday – could’ve come back to front to make the race for the lead one for the ages.

One more hour, and I wouldn’t be sitting in the press box wondering “What if?” to myself about the possible outcomes of a full race.

There’s no one to blame except NASCAR because of its willingness to succumb to the demands of network television. When the sanctioning body agreed to its latest television contracts – worth a whopping $4.48 billion – the races across the schedule have been pushed later and later into the afternoon.

Sure, it’s great to see races finish under the lights, and I understand that those on the West Coast are more apt to tune in to a later race – but are gambles for TV viewers worth the risk of seeing a shortened race?

Is that fair for the drivers? And what about the fans, the lifeblood of the sport?

The opening was there Sunday afternoon for NASCAR to get its biggest event to completion, and it’s sure a shame that the powers that be couldn’t do more to make that happen.