Head2Head: Daytona 380

If the Daytona 500 is truly the Super Bowl of NASCAR, then Mike Helton and Co. dropped the ball. Talk about a fumble at the goal line.

I hate rain delays as much as anybody, but there's no reason fans -- and drivers -- couldn't have been given the finish they deserved on Monday. It was sunny and in the mid-60's. A perfect day for a wonderful finish.

Think of the dramatic Daytona 500 finishes the last five years alone. This year's Budweiser Shootout was exciting, and both Duel races had great racing throughout. Then everybody gets ready for the roar of the 500 ... only to have it end in a whimper.

Daytona has proven its ability time and again to deliver great finishes. Why, then, did we deprive everybody of the chance to see another one?

In this economy, some fans may not have been able to stick around another day, but I'd like to believe that racing purists would want to see a good finish in the highlights on NASCAR.COM rather than an anticlimactic one in person.

I realize teams need to travel back to Charlotte and then to Fontana, but would a half-day really set them back that much? NASCAR just set a sour tone for the season.

If this was any other event, I'd be fine with it. But this is the biggest race of the year. They play the Super Bowl to the last snap. The Daytona 500 should be run until the final lap.

My colleague Schoellen is upset because rain forced officials to end this past weekend's Daytona 500 a mere 48 laps from the finish. Never mind the race was official and the rain was coming down in buckets -- let's just ride this storm out.

Did we not learn anything from Fontana a year ago? Thankfully NASCAR did.

You remember last year, when everyone waited -- and waited and waited -- to see some racin' only to have it postponed because it wouldn't stop raining. NASCAR waited so long it was after 1 a.m. on the East Coast before the decision was made.

And believe me, Schoellen led the charge saying NASCAR was ridiculous for making everyone wait as long as they did.

I, for one, am ecstatic NASCAR learned from its Fontana flub and called the 500 immediately. At 6:49 p.m. ET, Matt Kenseth was crowned the winner. Forecasters said it would rain for at least an hour and a half -- that puts us past 8 p.m. A 2.5-mile track is going to take two hours-plus to dry, so best-case scenario is the 500 goes green around 10 p.m. ET.

We all want to see a race run in its entirety; that's a no-brainer. But sometimes inclement weather alters things and NASCAR has to act accordingly. Making everyone wait three-plus hours to "ride out the storm" when teams have to make the trek to California for the next race -- now that's a soggy idea.