Sunday’s Clash at Daytona was the 39th running of the annual exhibition. For much of its existence, it’s been a show unto itself. This time, moved to Sunday’s bright sunshine due to Saturday night’s rain clouds, it served somewhat as a primer for the Daytona 500, which will also presumably run in warm sunshine. But unlike the 500, the Clash rolled out before the smallest crowd for a big-league Daytona race in memory, an estimated 15,000. You can blame the rain-mandated rescheduling. You can blame Dale Earnhardt Jr., who spent the day in the TV booth instead of his racecar. There’s some rationale to both of those, but still, it wasn’t a busy day at the ticket windows, and that’s always troubling for Speedway officials. ‘If I’m disappointed, I’m disappointed for our team, because they’ve worked so hard to make sure we put on a great show for the fans, said Chip Wile, in his first Speedweeks as Speedway president.(Daytona Beach News Journal)
