Ryan Newman wins Daytona
Auto racing hasn't exactly been a passion of mine over the years. Maybe that's hurt me in my career a bit, because much of the sports audience out there loves racing, and loves events like the Daytona 500.

I tried to watch the Daytona 500 today, at one point putting the channel on Fox and moving the remote.

But I couldn't stay with it. I just haven't learned to like it yet.

Which isn't to say it's uninteresting to me altogether.

One of the great things about racing is its unpredictability. A favorite can be gone from the in a moment because of an error in judgement. Unlike golf (which I love) there is teammwork involved.

But what I like most about racing is the way a winner can come out of nowhere.

How many people were talking about Ryan Newman in the week leading up to today's race?

I ran a number of NASCAR stories this week. Most focused on Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Joe Gibbs' Toyotas.

Oh, and that Dale Earnhardt Jr. guy.

And yet, none of those names claimed victory.

Newman is not an unknown. But his win was a nice surprise, even to a non-racing guy.