Bodog Beat

It definitely wasn’t the way NASCAR wanted to kick off the 2009 Sprint Cup season. (AP Images)

But anyone who had Matt Kenseth at 25-1 to win Sunday’s Daytona 500 was more than happy with the rain-shortened result. Kenseth moved his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford from 39th on the starting grid to the front of the pack with 54 laps remaining; six laps later, the race was halted because of the weather. It was Kenseth’s first win since the 2007 Cup season finale, the Ford 400.

Pre-race favorite Kyle Busch (5-1) dominated the Daytona 500 early, but was knocked out of contention in a nine-car crash started by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (7-1). Earnhardt hit Brian Vickers (30-1) to trigger the chain reaction. In other results, pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr. (30-1) was 11th, co-favorite Jeff Gordon was 13th, and Tony Stewart (8-1) crossed the finish line in eighth place.