By JENNA FRYER
DAYTONA
BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Jamie McMurray
held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the Daytona 500 on Sunday, a finish so
thrilling it just about made up for a pothole that nearly derailed the Super
Bowl of NASCAR.
NASCAR needed two stoppages of well over two hours total
to patch a pesky pothole between turns 1 and 2 of Daytona International
Speedway. The setback brought the biggest race of the season to a frustrating
halt and had NASCAR executives fretting over the potential fallout.
But when the second patch had been filled, the action
picked up tremendously as drivers had to race as if the hole could rip open
again at any moment, ending the race on any lap. Did they ever.
They beat and banged their way through the field in a
white-knuckle final 32 laps. Then a flurry of late-race accidents put NASCAR's
"green-white-checker" policy -- an overtime of sorts -- to the test.
McMurray, using a boost from former teammate Greg Biffle,
powered into the lead on the second and final green-white-checkered attempt. But
Earnhardt, who restarted the final sprint in 10th place, was slicing his way
through the field.
He weaved in and out of traffic, shoving his Chevrolet
into three-wide lines, eventually darting his way to McMurray's bumper.
But with just two laps to make up so much ground,
Earnhardt ran out of time and McMurray sailed to his first career Daytona 500
victory.
"When I saw the 88 behind me, I thought, 'Oh no.' He had a
good car and I just thought -- Earnhardt and Daytona, they win all the time it
just seems like," McMurray said. "You never know what to expect."
McMurray climbed from his car and ran to the Daytona 500
logo in the infield, dropping to his knees and pounding on the painted grass.
Overcome with emotion, he sobbed in Victory Lane as he celebrated with his
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team.
It was McMurray's first race back with Chip Ganassi and
Felix Sabates, who gave him his Sprint Cup Series shot in 2002. But McMurray
left and spent four frustrating seasons with Roush Fenway Racing, only to lose
that ride at the end of last season when NASCAR forced Roush to drop a team to
meet its four-car limit.
McMurray had to fight hard to convince Ganassi to take
him back, but it paid of Sunday with the biggest win of his career.
"It's unreal," McMurray sobbed.
Received 02/14/10 08:28 pm ET
