Daytona Creating Buzz Ahead Of Race With Announcement Of Mid-Race Bonus

There has been "nonstop chatter" among NASCAR fans about the Daytona 500 Mid-Race Leader Award since it was announced last week, according to Ryan McGee of ESPN.com. The award will give $200,000 "to the driver who is leading when the field crosses the start-finish line at the end of Lap 100." The largest group of fans talking about the promo "claims that the bonus money is unnecessary and even unsafe." Some media members "have agreed with them," while others "shrug it off as an in-race promotion that will be forgotten as soon as the Daytona 500 begins." The "eagerness to 'race too hard' is at the root of the most common criticism" of Daytona Int'l Speedway President Joie Chitwood's bonus plan. However, a look at the numbers "on and around the halfway point of last year's four restrictor-plate races reveals one indisputable fact -- these guys can't race any harder than they already are." McGee noted among owners, drivers and crew chiefs a trend "quickly revealed itself." Those "living on the top rungs of the sport almost unfailingly referred to it as a 'bonus.'" They each said that they "wouldn't plan their race around it, but if they were in position nearing Lap 100 they would certainly go for it." However, those "further down the food chain were more pointed." One owner said, "It would be great to throw at the bottom line at the end of the year. It really is a big deal. It's very appealing." Another owner said, "200K would change our entire year financially. We could hire back people we had to lay off."

ALL PUB IS GOOD PUB: Chitwood said Monday, "All I know is that they're talking. As long as people are talking about the Daytona 500, then we're selling tickets for the Daytona 500. I don't think people are lining up to buy tickets to see who wins the mid-race money. But they're talking about our race. No way that's a bad thing." Last year Chitwood "gave out the same amount of bonus money, awarding $50,000 to the leaders at each quarter, Laps 50, 100, 150 and 200." But those checks "translated into virtually zero buzz." So this year Chitwood approached NASCAR Senior VP/Racing Operations Steve O'Donnell with the idea of "combining those four smaller payouts into one big one and resurrecting halfway money." O'Donnell approved and now, nearly three full weeks ahead of the race, the promotion has "already paid for itself in media coverage" (ESPN.com, 2/7).