Heating Up the Track

Flames engulf the track/AP Images

The 2012 Daytona 500 was one for the record books. From rain delays to fiery explosions, NASCAR’s most famous race certainly did not disappoint.


By Carly Signor


Rain poured down Sunday at the racetrack. After more than four hours, NASCAR decided to postpone the race until Monday, a first in the race’s history.

Monday came and so did the rain again. The original start time of noon was pushed back to seven that night. Finally the rain began to let up and more than 30 hours later, the Daytona 500 was green.

Throughout the past two weeks known as Speedweeks, multi-car crashes had plagued practices, the Budweiser Shootout and the two Gatorade Duels. A cause of this might be the change from two-car drafting to the large pack racing the drivers were now experiencing. Less than two laps into the race, we saw our first accident involving five-time Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson, last year’s Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne, and newcomer Danica Patrick.  

After witnessing the destruction of this, the race became slightly less anxious and settled into a groove.

The 500 tried something unique, in that the leader at halfway would receive $200,000. This set up a sort of simulation for what we might see at the end of the race. Martin Truex Jr., with a push from Denny Hamlin, crossed the finish line with 100 laps to go and therefore, claimed the prize.

Think you have seen everything in this sport? Think again. With 43 laps to go, the yellow flag for caution waved for a blown engine. But that proved to be the least of anyone’s worries, for during that caution, Juan Pablo Montoya was passing a jet-drying safety vehicle when something in his car broke and sent the car right into the 200 gallon fuel cell of the jet engine. The car exploded on contact and fuel began to run down the truck. No one was hurt. It wasn’t long until that fuel caught fire and flames engulfed the track. NASCAR threw the red flag to stop the cars in order to clean up the mess. It took over 2 hours to complete and even then, the drivers did not feel that the track was race-ready.

When the race went back green, crashes continued to take away the dreams of winning the Daytona 500 for many drivers.

When all was said and done, the race went on to set another record, being held on two separate days. When Matt Kenseth finally took the checkered flag, it was early Tuesday morning. Kenseth beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the line to claim his second Daytona 500 victory.