NASCAR ANALYSIS Fans are cheated by two events

Rain-shortened races at Daytona and Charlotte were a disservice to fans.
By BILL WHITEHEAD
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
My first visit to Daytona this year wasn't necessarily a forgettable one, but it did leave a lot to be desired when all the smoke -- or rain -- had settled.
This season kicked off the second week of February with NASCAR being urged to find a new sponsor by corporate giant and series-savior R.J. Reynolds. This news superseded anything Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., or Jeff Gordon had to say, and the better part of the day was spent chasing down NASCAR and RJR executives.
We still had the Daytona 500, right? Well, that turned out to be a disaster. Ruled official at just 109 completed laps, the 2003 version of "The Great American Race" was anything but great.
Now we're back at Daytona, and it's as good a time as any to look back at the season's highs and lows.
Most disappointing races
Daytona and Charlotte.
There's no denying that the two most distinguished races of the first half of the season are the season-opening 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. There's also no denying that these races left the least feeling of fulfillment when they were called off due to weather.
NASCAR receives its fair share of criticism throughout the season, but really, it's hard to blame the sanctioning body for the rain. However, NASCAR is responsible for interpreting how the race is affected by the rain, and that struck a nerve with many fans.
At Daytona, fans felt cheated because just over half the race had been completed -- and it is the Super Bowl of the sport, right? At Charlotte, one fan told me of a conspiracy to get the No. 48 in Victory Lane -- after all, Lowe's driver Jimmie Johnson won the 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
However, NASCAR did its best in those situations.
Until it creates a special "Daytona 500 Rule" or "Coca-Cola 600 Amendment," don't expect races that have run halfway to be postponed and resumed the next day. That's just how the current rule reads.
Best races
Both Darlington races. Very rarely, there are times when I realize I'm standing in the middle of a history-making event, whether it be bad or good. The tragic loss of Dale Earnhardt at Daytona in 2001 and his son's emotional win there five months later come to mind. Such was the case at Darlington.
The thrilling, paint-scrubbing finish by Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch will become the defining moment of the 2003 season, and I'm sure over the years a lot of people who didn't attend the race will claim they did.
Judging by the testimonials, you'll think there were 500,000 fans there that day.
Almost as good but not quite was the following day's finish in the rain-postponed Busch race won by Todd Bodine, who had a similar battle with Jamie McMurray as the two went sliding toward the checkered flag.
The driver to beat
Matt Kenseth. Last year at this point, the Roush Racing driver was ninth in points, trailing leader Sterling Marlin by 195. Now, he heads the field and appears poised to give owner Jack Roush his first Winston Cup championship.
Kenseth took the points lead at Atlanta and hasn't slowed down since. He leads Jeff Gordon (-174), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-176), and Bobby Labonte (-260), but the real sleeper in the mix may be teammate Kurt Busch, in sixth and trailing Kenseth by 384 points.
Best story
Jerry Nadeau. If not for a twist here, a turn there, some beefed-up safety by NASCAR over the past few years, or maybe just plain luck, this could have been the worst story of the year.
The Pontiac driver was hurt in a wreck at Richmond two months ago, suffering a head injury, a fractured shoulder blade, and lung and rib injuries. But Nadeau has shown remarkable improvement, being discharged a month later and currently being treated as an outpatient.
Nadeau has even said he would like to be back in the car by the season's end, an unbelievable, Hollywood-style turn of events considering his health following the violent May 2 crash.