Jamie McMurray, the now-reigning Daytona 500 champion, was embraced in Manhattan the past two days, and not because millions of New Yorkers suddenly appreciate NASCAR because the sport's drivers have to avoid pot holes.

Sunday's asphalt malfunction was piddling to New Yorkers, according to David Letterman. "We have a pothole on 8th Avenue that's so big, it has its own gift shop," he joked.

“

The Daytona 500 is definitely more than just the race. I've been talking about [this win] for two days but still can't explain the feeling running through my head.

”

-- JAMIE MCMURRAY

Did any race fan expect anything less than a major helping of drama and intrigue in the Great American Race? We all know that the Daytona 500 was delayed two and a half hours, but count this one as an act of God.

"People blame NASCAR, but they don't control the weather," said physicist Dr. Diandra Leslie Pelecky, noting that significant rainfall and unseasonable cold will tend to crack asphalt, and a crystal ball has yet to be invented to predict when or where.

Most of the fans stayed. "If this thing ends at 4 a.m., I will be sitting here in the Weatherly Tower," said Mike Wright, a truck driver from Disputana, Va., during the second red flag. "It may have been the frozen tundra of Daytona, but I don't leave until the race is over, no way, no how. If the cars are still racing, you'd have to carry me out of here dead."

For the drivers, time flies when you're focused.

"The delays weren't really that big of a deal," McMurray said. "Carl [Edwards] ate three turkey sandwiches on pit road. Maybe that's why he didn't win. I had a granola bar and a banana. The break didn't seem that long. I would have guessed [the delay] was about 25 minutes."

With the cars silenced and crews working on patching the stubborn asphalt past the first turn, on pit road McMurray chatted with Jeff Gordon, who'd won NASCAR's marquee race in 2005.

"Jeff told me, 'Man, I'm having so much fun.' This was really good racing we were having."

McMurray knew his car was getting better as the sun went down and the track got colder. With two restrictor-plate wins in seven years of Cup racing, he sensed he'd be a factor when the white flag dropped. (Continued)