By Jen

Editor

CarDomain’s got the hottest unofficial coverage of the Daytona 500, from the fan’s-eye view of the track-side action to the contents of the race teams’ pit boxes. In a lot of these images, the cars were screaming past just inches from the camera lens. Check out the gallery in our Events section, and while you’re at it, don’t forget to cruise by our awesome new NASCAR minisite for more race coverage and video.

By Jen

Editor

I don’t think you have to be a total snob to realize that there’s something about the words "Budweiser" and "Bistro" that so do not go together. Don’t get me wrong, I like Bud as much as any other race fan, but trying to put the whole Parisian-cafe spin on the classic redneck beer just doesn’t strike me as history’s most brilliant marketing move. Still, while I can’t speak for the food, it appears that some pretty cool stuff goes down at the Budweiser Bistro—they had Dale Jr. serving beer to lucky fans at a past Daytona 500, back when Bud was his primary sponsor. The Bistro might just be a Daytona thing, but keep an eye out for it and similarly goofy eateries at this year’s NASCAR events.

In the final laps at the Daytona 500 yesterday, it looked like Tony Stewart was going to take the checkered flag. But it just wasn’t to be. After a botched draft attempt involving teammate Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch of Penske Racing were able to squeak by Stewart, dropping the popular driver to the third position, and crushing his hopes to win the Great American Race. For a lap-by-lap breakdown of the action, head over to NASCAR’s official site, and expect to see our shots from the race posted tomorrow morning.

I’ve been told over and over to avoid lower-row seating at NASCAR events. A lot of people seem to want to perch up high, at a remove from the track, where they can see the cars traveling all the way around the backstretch. I can’t say I’ve ever been in the more expensive tower seating that affords those panoramic views, but as far as the authentic NASCAR experience goes, it’d have to be pretty good to beat first-row seats at Daytona. If you want to inhale a lot of tire smoke, hear the engines screaming inside your head, and be picking bits of shredded rubber out of your hair for a couple of days afterwards, nothing really beats the seating right up against the barrier. Check out the fan’s-eye view of the action from the first row at Daytona: my amateur videos of the cars warming up and taking off. What’s your recommendation for best seating at the racetrack?

Down in the infield was the beat-up No. 29 Chevrolet in which Kevin Harvick drag-raced Mark Martin to the finish line during the iconic 2007 Daytona finish. It was on display for grandstand ceremonies right along with—you guessed it—another vintage NASCAR ride. This is a ’59 Impala similar to the one that Lee Petty drove to victory in a similarly razor-close finish during the inaugural Daytona 500.

Check out these super-cool 80′s stockers. Bobby Allison’s 1988 Buick and Bill Elliott’s 1985 T-Bird, both previous Daytona 500 winners, were on display as part of the event’s 50th anniversary festivities. "Stock" cars back then looked a lot more like cars driven on the street, especially with those factory-fresh grilles. This tough late-70′s Monte Carlo was another of the vintage NACAR rides scattered throughout the grounds—and back in the day it was apparently totally fine to claim Jesus as one of your sponsors!

If you’re thinking of going to the races, the "Fanzone" pass will get you access to the pit road, grandstands, infield, and parts of the track in the hours before the race, all for about an extra hundred bucks. Though the live entertainment is a cheesy and the place is a total mob scene, I’d say it’s worth doing once. You can peer through windows into the teams’ garages, though the action there tends to be sporadic—for the most part, they’ve prepped their cars pretty thoroughly by now. One major perk is the chance to check out the drivers’ pit boxes along the track, where you can stick your nose right into their tool sheds if they happen to feel like leaving them open. Note the Saws-All for emergency bodywork!

NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow is designed to be slower, safer, and less aerodynamic—in other words, kind of a snore. But today’s race at Daytona—particularly the last 50 laps, where things started really heating up—proved that the CoT isn’t about to take the fun out of NASCAR. Up close, too, the cars aren’t as boxy and awkward as I expected them to be, despite their increased bulk. Check out these walkarounds of Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 CoT and the Daytona ’08 show car I found on the infield. I think the detached spoiler actually looks kind of trick.

Ok, so there are a few perks to this job—don’t hate! I’ll be in Daytona Beach tomorrow, bringing you trackside coverage from the Daytona 500. Internet access is likely to be difficult—the Speedway is locked down tighter than Fort Knox—but I’ll get some stories posted for you as soon as is humanly possible. If you’ve got any last-minute requests, you’d better pipe up now! Check back tomorrow for coverage, then stay tuned through Monday. And enjoy the race at home!

You know what this weekend is, right? That’s right, the Daytona 500. And how do us locals celebrate? By staying home! There’s nothing quite like having a bunch of out-of-towners riding your back bumper, pulling out into traffic, and generally driving like a bunch of rookies. I hear Jen is coming to visit our fair city, however, so we’ll roll out the welcome mat for her.

I was down in West Palm Beach earlier this week, so here’s a photo from my ride home. It rained, so someone felt obligated to crash their PT Cruiser.