DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. — As the rain clouds crept closer to Daytona International Speedway, Matt Kenseth crept closer to the front of the field, quietly but consistently.
He passed Elliott Sadler to take the lead on Lap 146, and when the rain fell six laps later, Kenseth -- known for his even-keeled and calm personality -- started screaming into his radio.
"Rain! Rain! Rain! Rain!"
This was a big moment.
NASCAR red-flagged Sunday's race, and 17 minutes later officials called it. Kenseth won his first Daytona 500 while sitting on pit road in his covered Roush Fenway Ford.
"It's going to be really wet out here because I'm crying like a baby," Kenseth said. "Man, I don't know. Winning the Daytona 500 is definitely a dream moment."
The race lasted only 380 miles, but it wasn't any less meaningful to the 2003 series champion. It was his first win at Daytona, his 17th overall, and the first win for Roush Fenway Racing in the Daytona 500.
"He's one of those guys that can win seven or eight races in a year and never receive any credit," said Kevin Harvick, who finished second. "He's a really good race car driver. He's a champion, Daytona 500 champion. I think a lot of times those things are overlooked."
If they are, it's because of the way Kenseth wins -- unglamorously and often uninterestingly. He won his series championship with only one win the entire season. NASCAR created the Chase for the Championship shortly thereafter, hoping to avoid such a result in the future.
Sunday afternoon, Kenseth was forced to start 39th because he went to a backup car after a wreck on Thursday. Nobody had ever won a Daytona 500 before from that far back.
By Lap 50 he was in fifth place.
Still, other cars were faster. Kyle Busch led a race-high 88 laps. While Busch was in the lead with 124 laps to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brian Vickers -- both a lap down and battling for the lucky-dog position -- wrecked on the backstretch. Vickers and Earnhardt took several other cars with them, including that of Busch, whose night ended then.
"I felt like our car was the car to beat; we were awfully good," Busch said. "Just running out front and biding our time. I didn't feel like we were worse than sixth the whole time out there. Just a really sad feeling."
Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards also sustained damage to their cars in the wreck. Edwards finished 18th, Hamlin 26th and Johnson 31st.
