ShareThisThirty-two years? Are you kidding me?
How could Brian France, who inherited control of the family's multi-million-dollar, stock-car-racing business in 2003, take such a foolish risk with his sport's fans, sponsors and competitors? How could a supposedly major-league sport hold its grandest and most-celebrated event -- its version of the Super Bowl -- on a playing field that hasn't been resurfaced since the Carter Administration?
How could NASCAR run Sunday's Daytona 500 on a track that hasn't been repaved since the days of disco?
Look, I'll admit, I don't know much about asphalt. I don't know how Florida's extreme summer heat, occasional winter cold and often-heavy seasonal rains affect its wear and tear. I don't know how often a racetrack needs to be re-surfaced.
I don't know how much of an impact the track-related stoppages -- the race was red-flagged twice for a total of nearly 2-1/2 hours -- had on the outcome of this 500, which was won by an emotional Jamie McMurray after three dramatic, green-white-checkered restarts.
But I know this: 1978 was a long time ago.
Remember watching "Charlie's Angels" on TV? Listening to the Bee Gees' "Staying Alive" on the radio? Paying 63 cents for a gallon of gas? That was 1978.
That was the last time Daytona International Speedway's famed, 2-1/2-mile tri-oval was repaved.
And that's inexcusable.
Considering NASCAR's rise to prominence the past 10 years, considering all the money that has come into the sport, France ought to be ashamed of himself.
We're talking about Daytona, not the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Drivers shouldn't need to contend with a sizeable pothole on the low side of the track between Turns 1 and 2. Not while racing in the sport's marquee event.
"They should've repaved it several years ago," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished second despite a strong surge during the two-lap, overtime shootout. "We'd have it all weathered and ready to go right now. It would be in good shape."
But they didn't. And it wasn't.
So it was only a matter of time until something like this happened -- something that, unfortunately, overshadowed a spectacular finish and a special victory for McMurray, who also won the 400-mile race here in July.
The race was first red-flagged on Lap 122, when the cars were parked along pit road and NASCAR crews began working to patch the pothole, roughly 18 inches long, 8 inches wide and at least 2 inches deep.
One hour and 40 minutes later, the race was restarted. But on Lap 159, the red flag was out again, this time for another 45 minutes.
"They were doing their best to get the show in, but whatever they were putting in wasn't getting hard enough to stay," said Jimmie Johnson, the reigning four-time Sprint Cup champion who didn't finish the race. "Things kept coming out and everyone was trying to dodge them. It was pretty risky."
As the repairs wore on, the sun was setting, the already-cool temperatures were dropping and the track conditions were changing.
The 500, which took 6 hours and 15 minutes to complete, finished under both the Daytona lights and NASCAR's new rules allowing for three green-white-checkered restarts that stretched the race to 208 laps and 520 miles.
There were a race-record 21 different leaders, the last of which was McMurray, who was out front for only the final two laps.
"I certainly thank the fans that stuck around," McMurray said.
Most of them did.
But many fans left, unable to stay with a day that had grown too cold, too dark and too long.
And unnecessarily so.
Speedway president Robin Braig read some silly, self-serving statement in which he claimed the track had been inspected Sunday morning and that his crew was prepared for such a problem, blaming the lengthy repair times on the cold weather.
He later said the pre-race inspection showed "no indications" that a pothole was imminent. He also said 32 years between re-pavings is "not unusually long at all, because we're in Florida."
But you'd think NASCAR, which is considering spending $20 million to re-surface the track next year, wouldn't take such a chance with its prized race. You'd think they'd repave the place every 10 years or so, whether it needs it or not, just to be on the safe side.
Just to avoid this kind of embarrassment.
The fans deserve something more. The drivers deserve something safer. The sport deserves something better.
"We definitely dodged a bullet," Braig said, "with a nice, exciting finish."
I'm not sure about that.
How many TV viewers gave up and changed the channel? How many spectators drove away from Daytona feeling cheated? How many dollars will this day cost NASCAR down the road? Was it worth the risk?
Thirty-two years was too long ago.
(Ray McNulty is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers in Florida. For more of his thoughts, you can follow his blog at www.tcpalm.com/mcnulty. He can be reached at ray.mcnulty(at)scripps.com.)
column
