Ragan, UPS win 2010 Daytona 500 Ad Showcase

Jamie McMurray may have been the surprise champion of the 52nd running of the Daytona 500. Off the track and on the tube, it was David Ragan and UPS, a NASCAR partner known for its consistently entertaining commercials. UPS dominated the fifth annual Daytona 500 Ad Showcase, taking two of the top three spots in a fan vote on NASCAR.COM.

In the winning ad, a UPS delivery man in China wonders if Ragan can navigate the tight streets of Asia. The young driver of the No. 6 Ford zips around the track and through the grandstands in a snazzy, three-wheel UPS delivery truck. He even skids to a stop to spray paint "Ragan Rules" on a poster of Carl Edwards.

David Ragan's spin around China was the most popular ad during the 2010 Daytona 500.

The competition for the best new spot was as close as the frenetic racing in the waning laps of the Great American Race. Hot on UPS's wheels were Coca-Cola's singing drivers, a nearly cuddly Kyle Busch in a pink Toyota driver's suit, and Gillette's Young Guns teaming up for the Gillette 500, an attempt to shave 500 miles of beard.

UPS' commercial bested several instant classics, most notably from Coca-Cola, whose family of drivers have in past ads been famously ogled and chugged the product in good-natured competition. For the first time, after fighting frustrating race cars and drinking a cold Coke on a pit stop, the drivers sang in their race cars, almost on key, led by Tony Stewart belting out, "I'd like to buy the world a home, and furnish it with love."

Many older NASCAR fans recognized those familiar lyrics as the opening bar of Coke's classic "Hilltop" ad, shot in Italy in 1971, the year Stewart was born.

One thing is for sure. If you see a NASCAR driver walking into a karaoke bar, run the other way. In behind-the-scenes footage on YouTube, Coca-Cola Racing Family driver Clint Bowyer says Elliott Sadler is the worst singer, while Denny Hamlin claims Kevin Harvick is so bad he makes Denny sound good. Stewart admits his animals bark like crazy when he sings in the shower.

Toyota created another popular commercial making the top five, this time encouraging fans to design their own paint scheme at ToyotaRacing.com. The spot put Kyle Busch in a pink driver's suit in front of a race car adorned with kittens, bunnies, and baby seals. The message, "I love you," is emblazoned on the spoiler. Which NASCAR fan wouldn't want to see Kyle run that prissy car, designed by a precocious little girl, at a contentious place like Bristol? In the same spot, fellow Toyota wheelman Joey Logano is clad in some sort of mesh medieval warrior outfit with a tinge of Luke Skywalker. His car is painted up in monsters and dragons. (Continued)