The one semester of high school that I took auto shop, the teacher had a homemade sign over his desk with these words:

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, APPLY MORE BONDO.

I always thought that was a joke. Then came the 52nd running of the Daytona 500. When the 32-year-old track surface of the Daytona International Speedway developed a three-foot by one-foot asphalt gash squarely in the center of the racing groove between Turns 1 and 2.

The race was stopped to try and fix the hole. Twice. During it all, there was anger, confusion and chaos. Drivers, never the most patient people in the world, became even more anxious. NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway officials, never the most easy-going people in the world, became even more touchy. And the motorsports media corps, never the most sunny-side-up people in the world, became even more cynical.

It had all the makings of the perfect NASCAR storm.