But lastly, and most unfortunately, the 2010 Daytona 500 will always be remembered for the infamous “Daytona Pothole”. A race in which the France’s prized facility could not stay in one piece.

Without a doubt, Sunday’s issues were disasterous for the France family. I tried to come up with a list of 5 reasons why this is so, but once I got up to 4, I felt like that was enough.

So here are my 4 reasons why the Daytona Pothole was disastrous for the Frances:

1. It was an otherwise fantastic race that will always be remembered for all the wrong reasons. As I mentioned, this race was filled with history, emotion, excitement, and lots of wrecks. But it will be difficult for the fans to forget about the two separate occasions in which we were left twiddling our thumbs for over an hour.

2. This is gonna be expensive. Not that they can’t afford it, but the Frances are going to have to pony up the money to have a 2.5-mile race track repaved. It’s not a matter of choosing whether or not to repave it anymore. It must be done, and those unexpected expenses won’t be fun to pay.

3. The debacle happened in the decade’s opening race. This was not a good way to kick off the 2010 season, much less the decade as a whole. Regardless of what happens from here on out in the 2010s, the decade’s first race will always be “the one with the pothole”.

4. The Frances had just gotten back on our good side. I know they couldn’t help what happened. But if a track has problems, repave it; don’t let the drivers run the biggest race of the year on a bad track. It stinks for the Frances because they finally gave into the fans’ desires and let the drivers be themselves, and darn if it wasn’t exciting. But an incident like this at the Frances’ track, during a sporting event in which the CEO is a France, does not bode well for them. Now the question is, will the fans forgive the Frances?

Hot: Jamie McMurray.Can you believe this guy? When 2010 kicked off, Mac’s homecoming couldn’t have looked much worse. But after his strong showing in the Shootout, followed by his very emotional win in the Great American Race, the Earnhardt-Ganassi team looks like a bunch of geniuses for bringing him back.

Not: Richard Petty Motorsports. The move to Ford was a good thing. But three wrecked race cars are not. Kahne, Sadler, and Allmendinger were all fast; perhaps fast enough to win the race. But when Daytona reared its ugly head, this team was its main victim.

Hot: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Maybe surviving his flip on Saturday gave Junior a little extra confidence. Or maybe flipping over knocked some sense into him. Whatever it was, Little E demonstrated that he can flat-out drive a race car, moving from 10th to 2nd on the final lap.

Not: Jimmie Johnson. You’ve won 4 consecutive championships, so how do you kick off your Drive for Five? If you’re Jimmie Johnson, you inherit Dale Jr’s 2009 equipment.

Hot: Greg Biffle. The Biff was up front all day/night long. Heck, the guy even led with half-a-lap to go. But even though he didn’t win the race, Biffle showed that he will be a force to reckon with in 2010.

Not: Penske Racing. Kurt Busch crashed two cars during the Shootout weekend. On Saturday, Brad Keselowski wrecked his Nationwide car on the final lap. And on Sunday, BK and Sam Hornish Jr. tore up their cars on the 4th lap of the race. Do you think Mr. Penske is ready to get out of Daytona?

Hot: Clint Bowyer. Though he didn’t win, Bowyer does have one thing to be proud of: He held the longest lead of the day at 1 hour, 41 minutes. Oh yeah, and he finished 4th. Not a bad day.

Not: Ryan Newman. Back so soon, Mr. Newman? It was the same song, second verse this week for The Rocketman. Newman wasn’t impressive while he was in the race, and then he crashed out. Remind you of the Shootout, by chance?

Hot: Kevin Harvick. Harvick probably isn’t very happy right now, but he was the fastest man in Daytona, according to Darrell Waltrip. I guess if you leave the place with a Shootout trophy and a top 10 in the 500, you can’t complain too much.

Not: The France Family. NASCAR finally lifted the restrictions on what drivers could and couldn’t do. It was going to be the most memorable Daytona 500 ever because of all the excitement. Instead, it will forever be remembered as the Daytona 500 in which the France’s prized facility couldn’t stay in one piece. Oh well, there’s always next year…