DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The white flag is out. The leader of the race has the hammer down but both eyes are glued to the rearview mirror. What he sees is a pack of angry, onrushing race cars that want to be where he is. Then suddenly, that leader is no longer the leader. The pack is no longer a pack. It is a scrapyard. Meanwhile, someone who wasn't the leader is now the leader and not only that, they are also the newest champion of the biggest stock car race in the world.
Shortly after midnight on Monday, that's exactly how it went down at the Daytona 500.