2013 Daytona 500

Race #30

The 2013 Daytona 500 provided firsts:
   - 1st woman on the Daytona 500 pole
   - 1st points scoring race for the generation 6 car in NASCAR's top series (Sprint Cup)
   - 1st time Jimmie Johnson's crew chief was in Daytona to celebrate the win
   - 1st time in 17 years New York City had a country music station when the green flag dropped
        NASH 94.7

CMT News: New York City: Gone Country

In this day & age where country music is mainstream, southern BBQ is loved by all and white collar businessmen in the greater NYC area long for the weekends to play a round of golf, fire up the grill and have a few cold ones... ...why not the possibility of watching a race on Sunday?  Maybe it's because of that same misconception I had 11 years ago - see My Journey To Becoming a NASCAR fan
(I'll touch more on this subject in a later post)

The 2013 Daytona 500 was the 30th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race I have seen live.

Daytona International Speedway

February 22
   11:00 PM   kiss my wife goodnight and set my       alarm for 2:45 AM
February 23
     2:44 AM   wake up in fear of missing my 6:00 AM flight
     5:30 AM   board my flight
   10:40 AM   arrive in Daytona and head to the track (next door to the airport)

NASCAR Nationwide Series

I watched the Nationwide race and then had the chance to hang out with some friends (who I have come to know through NASCAR) afterwards and the next morning before the Daytona 500.

@bigdalsky ,  @MISroger , @RIRprez (in spirit by ways of my hat)

The Daytona 500 was an exciting one and of course, I saw Jimmie Johnson win once again.  Out of 30 races I have been to, I believe Jimmie Johnson has won 6 of them.  I guess that's why he is a 5 time champion in NASCAR's top series.

One of the reasons I have come to love NASCAR is their contributions and donations to the community - most of which are under the radar.  The CEO of NASCAR Brian France and his wife Amy have personally donated $50,000 to kick off NASCAR's race to help and heal, and their donation will be matched by the NASCAR Foundation.
NASCAR Foundation's Donation to Newtown

2 Gentlemen in front of me @ Daytona 500 showing Sandy Hook support

My experiences in NASCAR have differed slightly at every race and they just keep getting better.  Until next time Daytona, be good...