No one wanted to see the 2009 edition of the Daytona 500 shortened because of rain and most fans didn’t predict that Matt Kenseth (http://www.mattkenseth.com) would end up in Victory Lane, especially after starting in the 39th position. It was surely going to be Johnson or Edwards or Stewart or Busch or Gordon. The fact that it wasn’t, may hinge upon NASCAR’s decision to end the “Great American Race” at lap 152 instead of waiting for the weather to clear and the track to dry. You be the judge. If that hadn't been the case, surely some more deserving luminary other than Kenseth would have brought home the win and set the stage for decent ticket sales this week at Fontana’s Auto Club Speedway. Someone else, more snarling, more controversial, more champion-like, would have been able to create sufficient interest in this week’s Auto Club 500, an event that has suffered for years from poor attendance and mediocre racing, partially due to the tough competition that always exists for L.A. leisure market dollars.

It is unfortunate that a talented individual such as Kenseth, backed up by the world class Roush/Fenway organization, is viewed as a bridesmaid winner by at least one media type who should know better, because the Daytona 500 was shortened and because he doesn’t exude the kind of panache and provenance some of his peers do. Product marketing rules this sport and trying to promote interest in a quiet workman like Kenseth who’s something akin to Gary Cooper’s “John Doe”, sends the ad agencies and sponsors into crisis mode, especially when they are looking for ways to fill unsold seats in Southern California during this economic downturn.
It is refreshing to see a tearful humble winner who embodies those characteristics that we and our parents and the world used to admire and emulate when life was less directed toward making money and we didn’t let the public relations and ad executives have the level of influence on us and on our lifestyles the way they do today.

Fontana will just have to settle for Kenseth.