I took in my first Daytona 500 in 2010 and (like many of you) I feel it was a mixed bag. The racing, enhanced by larger openings in the restrictor plates, was more exciting than in years past and there was a near-record number of lead changes. The down side was the race was marred by nearly three hours of delays caused by a massive pothole in the racing groove in turn two.

The unexpected surprise of the day and one of my personal highlights was seeing recent NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Junior Johnson make a lap of the famed speedway in pre-race ceremonies in the '59 Impala stock car you see here. I was floored. Now, I don't know if this was one of his old racecars or a reproduction, but it got my heart pumping. So did seeing two new Chevys lead the pack to take the green flag to start the race.