2012 Daytona 500 Second-Most Watched In History

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NASCAR.COM

NEW YORK -- It took 36 hours to complete from its scheduled start time but fans won't soon forget the 2012 Daytona 500 and the dramatic events delivered for Fox Sports.

For the first time in the race's 54-year history, rain postponed Sunday's 1:00 p.m. ET start until 12:00 p.m. ET Monday with continued showers in the afternoon delaying the green flag until 7:00 p.m. ET.

A total audience of more than 36.5 million Americans watched Monday night's race, according to fast national ratings issued Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research, making the 2012 Daytona 500 the most-watched in Fox history. The 36.5 million total viewers, a measure of the audience that saw at least a portion of the race, is 22 percent higher than last year's total audience of 30 million and 22 percent better than 2010's 29.8 million. Monday's total audience is the second best ever for a Daytona 500 on any network behind 37.0 million viewers in 2006 on NBC. MORE....

Big Penalty Sends Jimmie Johnson Into Negative Territory

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By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM

Jimmie Johnson will head to Phoenix International Raceway with a negative point total after NASCAR dropped a massive penalty on the No. 48 team Wednesday that also includes six-race suspensions to the program's crew chief and car chief.

NASCAR penalized Johnson 25 points for modifications to car body pieces that it deemed illegal Feb. 17 in opening inspection for the Daytona 500. In addition, crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec have each been suspended from the next six Sprint Cup events, and Knaus also was fined $100,000. Johnson's team, Hendrick Motorsports, immediately announced it would appeal the penalty, and planned no personnel modifications for Phoenix -- meaning that Knaus and Malec would work until the appeal is held.

"Our organization respects NASCAR and the way the sanctioning body governs our sport," car owner Rick Hendrick said in a statement. "In this case, though, the system broke down, and we will voice our concerns through the appeal process."

Johnson crashed in the opening laps of Monday night's season-opening Daytona 500 (watch), and finished the event with only two points. The point penalty, which unlike the suspensions goes into effect immediately despite the appeal, means Johnson will go to Phoenix with negative-23 points in the Sprint Cup standings, and be 70 points behind series leader Matt Kenseth (Standings).

According to NASCAR, the key rule the No. 48 team was found to be in violation of was Section 20-2.1E -- unapproved car body modifications, specifically any part of the car modified to enhance aerodynamic performance. READ ON....

Related articles

• NASCAR suspends crew chief Knaus, car chief Malec (tsn.ca)
• NASCAR suspends Jimmie Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus for six races (sports.yahoo.com)
• Johnson's crew chief Knaus suspended for Daytona violation (miamiherald.com)

Should Brad Keselowski Be Punished For Tweeting During Last Night's Daytona 500

CBSSports.com: The phone Brad Keselowski used to tweet during last night's red flag may have broken NASCAR rules. Should NASCAR look the other way on this one?

Original Facebook Status: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=25902406772&v=wall&story_fbid=335404543178132

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Kenseth Wins Daytona 500 Again

Matt Kenseth overcame a rain delay of more than 24 hours and a two hour red flag period to win the Daytona 500 for the second time.

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Matt Kenseth Stays Cool To Keep Rivals At Bay To Claim His Second Daytona 500

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

By Simon Evans

(Reuters) - Matt Kenseth held off Dale Earnhardt Jr and team mate Greg Biffle to win the Daytona 500 on Monday, leaving his rivals frustrated at their inability to sneak past him in the final laps.

Earnhardt narrowly missed out on a chance of a second Daytona 500 win as he was held off by Biffle, Kenseth's Roush-Fenway team-mate, for several laps before making a late burst into second.

The victory, with a green-white-checker finish adding two laps to the race, was Kenseth's second Daytona win following his triumph in a shortened, rain-affected event in 2009. MORE....

Daytona 500 Postponement Creates Logistics Nightmare

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By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A.J. Allmendinger wanted to make it perfectly clear that rain delays aren't real hard on Sprint Cup drivers.

"Obviously, you want to go race," Allmendinger said after the Daytona 500 scheduled for Sunday was postponed until Monday at Daytona International Speedway. "But we get to race when we get to race.

"I know this sucks for people sitting out there in the stands because they've got to sit in the rain. But for us, we go in [our motorhomes] and we have push-up contests, we eat a lot of good food, and we have a good time."

The affable Allmendinger was only partly joking. Plus, he appears to have a good time just about all the time, no matter what he's doing.

But he's right. Sunday's rainout was merely a minor inconvenience for the drivers. It's the support staff around each of them that suffered the most -- and will suffer more if Monday's rescheduled 12:01 p.m. start can't go off as planned because of more rain that's in the forecast.

That's especially true with the next race on the Sprint Cup schedule being a long way away, geographically speaking, in Phoenix. Next Sunday's start is not so far away on the calendar. CONTINUE....

Rain Moves Daytona 500 To Under The Lights

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Daytona 500 is going prime time -- weather permitting.

One day after being postponed by weather for the first time in its long history, NASCAR's biggest race was moved under the lights by more persistent rain that continued in the area Monday morning. The hope had been for the Daytona 500 to go green at 12:13 p.m. ET, but it soon became clear that the elements would not cooperate. Shortly after 10 a.m., series and track officials announced the event had been rescheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

Should the weather clear, it would mark the first time the Daytona 500 has started in prime time. It's ended under the lights before, but never gone green that late. Fox television will broadcast the event. READ ON....

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Rain Leads To First Postponement Of Daytona 500

By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- History came to the Daytona 500 on Sunday, but not the kind that NASCAR wanted to make. For the first time in the event's long history, weather forced the postponement of the Great American Race to Monday.

After battling intermittent showers all day, NASCAR officials announced shortly after 5 p.m. local time that the 54th running of the Daytona 500 had been pushed back to noon Monday because of weather. Although NASCAR's showcase event had been shortened four previous times due to the elements, it had never been completely postponed -- until Sunday, when a gloomy forecast into the evening prevented any attempt at running the race under the lights.

The rescheduled event will air on Fox, and tickets will be available at the gate or the Daytona ticket office. CONTINUE....

Economy Brighter In NASCAR, Teams Still Searching

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

By CHRIS JENKINS
AP Sports Writer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are two of the most prominent up-and-coming drivers in NASCAR. In happier economic times, they might have Fortune 500 companies falling all over them.

Going into Sunday's season-opening Daytona 500, neither driver has a full-time ride in the Sprint Cup Series.

NASCAR chief marketing officer Steve Phelps sees signs that NASCAR is rebounding from the hit it took when the economy started sputtering. Phelps says NASCAR has seen an overall increase in sponsorship every year since 2009.

But Phelps acknowledges that seeing drivers such as Bayne and Stenhouse not getting to race full seasons because their teams can't find enough sponsors is cause for some concern. CONTINUE....

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• One year later, Daytona 500 phenom Bayne seeks a sequel (knoxnews.com)
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Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle Sweep Daytona 500 Front Row For Roush Fenway Racing

By The Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle have put Roush Fenway Racing on the front row for the Daytona 500.

Edwards won the pole for next Sunday's season-opening race with a lap of 194.738 mph in his No. 99 Ford.

Biffle qualified second with a lap at 194.087. Only the top two starting spots are set in Sunday's qualifying session. The rest of the starting positions are determined through a pair of 150-mile qualifying races scheduled for Thursday.

Most of the field is already locked into the race. MORE....