Speedweeks, Daytona 500 the tonics NASCAR needed (cont'd)

And it wasn't just Penske. Driving a Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing, Reed Sorensen finished fifth. Driving Dodges for Gillett Evernham Motorsports, which is coming off a disappointing 2007 season, drivers Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne finished sixth and seventh, respectively. The determined, irascible independent, Robby Gordon, who switched from driving a Ford to a Dodge only a few weeks ago, scrabbled to an eighth-place finish. And Bobby Labonte, driving a Dodge for Petty Enterprises, placed 11th.

Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch finished third and fourth, respectively, in their JGR Toyotas and served notice that the newest manufacturer to the Cup wars will be a force to be reckoned with this season.

The best Hendrick could manage was the ninth registered by Earnhardt, but no one in their right mind is about to suggest that they won't be major players again -- and maybe the dominant ones again -- before all this is over.

Daytona 500

• Win fills Penske's NASCAR void
• Hornish yet another surprise
• Gibbs did all but win the race
• Not perfect, but Junior not bad
• Dodge opens strong in 500
• Blaney's luck sours good run

The only Ford driver to finish in the top 10 was Greg Biffle in 10th, but that was deceiving. Matt Kenseth was having a good day, running up front most of the time, when his own teammate, young David Ragan, inadvertently took him out -- relegating both of them to poor finishes on a day when they deserved better.

Jeff Burton, defending 500 champion Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer -- the three talented drivers of Richard Childress Racing -- also had their moments when they were in the mix at the front. Burton actually was leading on a restart with three laps to go, although everyone, Burton included, knew he was a sitting duck.

Get the idea? In a 500 that featured 42 lead changes -- the most since the 2001 race -- everyone jumped up and got a piece of the action. It's the way it should be.

The human touch
All in all, it was a great conclusion to a fine Speedweeks for NASCAR. There were nice touches throughout -- including nearly all of the past living champions sharing countless stories, each priceless in its own way, with fans and media alike. And how can you beat the thrilling flyovers of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds?

Any NASCAR owner, official or aficionado of the sport's history will say that what makes it all work is the people. And each person in NASCAR seems to have a story.

Almost lost in all the hoopla surrounding Newman's victory on Sunday was the story of his crew chief, Roy McCauley. The win came on the one-year anniversary of his wife, Amy, being diagnosed with cancer.

McCauley was working as crew chief for Kurt Busch at the time, and took a leave of absence to deal with the situation. His wife is doing better now, but it left him with a profound sense of perspective that he now brings to the track along with his dedication and determination to succeed.

He said when he was asked to return to the demanding role of crew chief for Newman -- whom he had been successfully paired up with previously in what is now the Nationwide Series -- he first had to clear it with his wife. She had undergone several medical procedures and was on her road to recovery, but by no means was completely healthy.

"We had to have a serious talk and say, 'OK, we're going to beat this, and we are beating this, and we're not going to let cancer dictate the rest of our lives,'" McCauley said. "So we decided that we needed to go for it, take over the job to run the 12 and try to put Ryan in Victory Lane and Penske Racing in Victory Lane as often as we could.

"I give my wife a lot of credit. She's kind of my rock with wings, if you want to call it that."

He can call it anything he wants. Today, the rest of the racing world is calling him and his driver Daytona 500 champions.

It is a feel-good story and made for a fitting conclusion to exactly the type of opening to the 2008 season that NASCAR needed.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.