Welcome, gay NASCAR fans! Was Speedweeks incredible, or what? What with the new sponsor, the new Chase for the Championship series, and some new faces, it seemed like every media outlet in the world was NASCAR-crazy for a few days! That was nice... now these once-a-year fans can return to other distractions while we, the true fanatics, hold on tight for 35 more races! I have to tell you, it's really great to be writing to you again, and it was wonderful on Sunday to get many in our racing gang back together for the 500. Thanks for the fun and fellowship, Janet, Sue, Bud, Kat, Andy, Cherrelle, Robbie, Michael and Dixie!

I was so excited by the run-up to race day that I even played hooky from work Thursday (don't tell the Boss Lady!) to watch the Gatorade 125s. Congratulations to winners, Jr. and Elliott! The very night before the 125s, I had sent out a mass e-mail announcing that I had added Elliott to the team -- imagine how happy I was to hear him call the next day, "The greatest day of my life!"

Friday night's truck race got off to a wacky start when Hulk Hogan's daughter Brooke served the National Anthem and the start command came from the Hulkster himself! Everyone was watching to see how the entrance of Toyota trucks would change the mix. Actually, the #2 Toyo truck of Travis Kvapil finished 2nd, just after the #99 Ford of Carl Edwards. Bill Lester, who's working to open doors in the sport for minority racers, is racing the #22 Toyo truck this season; he finished 16th. It would be great fun to see a cool black dude in a Toyota win a NASCAR race! We're all about mixing it up here at Gaytona.com

Speaking of Toyotas (and along with my Park Avenue, I own a Camry that is one tough little road-doggy!), they ran a hilarious commercial during the 500. There's this pair of "typical" racing fans, and the man allows that he used to boo Darryl Waltrip back in the 1970s and wants to apologize. He ends his confession with his name and town: "New Smyrna Beach, Florida." Cut to: DW in a Toyota truck, assuring the camera that he doesn't hold a grudge. Then he whips around the couple's little Florida lawn doing massive donuts, sending the birdbath flying, etc. It's going to be another very funny year for DW!

Anyways, on the the speedway! It will not surprise any returning readers to know that I gagged deeply when I heard that this man Bush, who has run our country into the worst debt we have ever known all the while getting thousands of people killed, would be swooping down for an appearance at the track. It was really gross to see him there, and was not a surprise that he could not even get starting the race right -- he mumbled about a safe race and so forth like he thought he was the preacher before ever stumbling up to "Gentlemen, start your engines." He didn't even stay for the whole show but grandly took off from the airport behind Daytona International Speedway while the race was still going on. But it made me really happy to remember this -- Daddy Bush came to the 500 in 1992 -- along the way to getting his butt whupped in November by a pot-smoking draft-dodger. So as W departed, we waved good-bye, hoping fervently that W's first presidential visit to DIS would also be his last. Go Democrats! There were three war planes in the flyover that came at the end of LeeAnn Rimes' National Anthem, including one of those horrible-looking Stealth bombers.

On a much more pleasant note, the invocation was offered by the Rev. Hal Marchman of Daytona Beach, who always prays a real sweet prayer that is not a political advertisement, and he ends with "Shalom and Amen." Because pole-sitter Greg Biffle had engine trouble, Jr.'s starting spot moved up one to start in the lead, and he led the first 29 laps. Poor Mark Martin was the first car out, blowing an engine and dumping stuff all over Kevin's windshield after just seven laps. Mark, you gotta get those guys to give you a harder Viagra Ford than that -- these other erection pills are not going to sit around waiting for you to get it going!

When Derrick's Cope's Thrifty Car spun and wrecked, we could only imagine what our pal Amy must have been saying: "Damned Derrick Cope! Why has he got a ride and there's not a single woman driver out there?"

Between laps 36 and 52, we had a bit of a slap-off going on between the hardware store cars of Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson. Long about lap 45, it looked like the #97 was in for his regularly scheduled breakdown, but actually it was a tire rub from contact with the #8 that was making the smoke. There was some good drafting between teammates Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers: the #24 had promised to tow the #25 up to the front, and he did. The day might have been a rather tame one but for a really wild wreck in lap 71, when Johnny Sauter got loose slid up into Brian Vickers, who squeezed defending race champion Mikey against the wall. Mike's #15 went every which-away, finally hitting the grass then flipping wildly in a sideways roll. Mikey was trapped upside down in the car for like 10 minutes -- he said later he was "screaming" for the rescue workers to flip the wreck so he could extricate himself easily. At long last, they did so, but Mikey was furious about the delay, quite understandably. It was very upsetting to have to wonder for so long why they were not getting Mikey out. Twelve cars were involved, and some, including Jamie's, were through for the day. There was funny car-cam tape from Robbie Gordon, who declared while he was still spinning, "We're done! We're done! My car is killed!"

This was the last caution of the day. The 19 final laps boiled down to Tony chasing Jr. with some drafting help from the lap-car of Kurt Busch, but in the end it was Jr.'s day.

As if scripted by Hollywood, the victory came exactly six years after Dale Sr.'s long-sought win in the 500. It was Jr.'s sixth win on plate tracks, his first Daytona 500 victory, and, he happily noted, it put him in the points lead for the first time in his life! There was a sweet moment of righteous-dude joy when Tony ran over to Victory Lane, and the two guys embraced emotionally.

JR. FOR SALE!

On Friday night, there was so much good racing TV you hardly knew what to watch! Speed's "Trackside" from its new touring studio in the DIS parking lot was like a scene from a rock concert; the truck race was lots of exciting fun; and QVC's "For Race Fans Only" welcomed Jr. and his new Busch driver Martin Truex, Jr. The crowd at the theater in DB was Absolutly wild for Jr., and Jr. was a sport about sharing the spotlight with Martin. He also mentioned that Martin has been his houseguest, so that's cool. Lots of the sportwriters are saying this could be June Bug's year -- that's something that all our Gaytona fans can get up and cheer about! Go Jr.!

That's it for this week, racing buds and babes. Have a great week -- see you at Rockingham!

Let's all meet up down at the Track Bar!