The 2012 Daytona 500 preview
Last year unknown Trevor Bayne stole the big guns' thunder in NASCAR's premier race. Will 2012 bring another Daytona 500 shock? And will the return of fully-fledged pack racing be a success? Andrew van de Burgt is your guide to the big pre-race talking points
As far as NASCAR is concerned the Daytona 500 is the biggest race in the world. The folks behind the Indianapolis 500 may have cause to argue, but for many years now - in terms of US TV figures - the bragging rights have belonged to the stock car racing brigade.
What happened last year?
For those with the memory of a goldfish, last year's 500 produced one of the greatest upsets of all time as rookie Trevor Bayne, driving for the once-great but declining Wood Brothers team (think Tyrrell in Formula 1 in the mid-1990s), drafted his way to unexpected glory. As he was registered for the supporting Nationwide championship race he didn't collect any points, but he'll forever be up there in sporting folklore for producing one of the great shocks.
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