Random notes and observations after the Daytona 500.

Jeff Burton was not happy after crashing out of Sunday's race. He said the crash was precipitated by a block by one of the cars in front of him. Burton crashed in the tri-oval, and the two cars directly in front of him at the time of the crash were Michael McDowell and Travis Kvapil. However, it's unclear which driver Burton is specifically referring to.

"We were going around one of those cars and he just hung a right on me on the straightaway," Burton said. "Just hung a right. I had to turn right to keep from hitting him and the thing hugh a right, head-on into the wall. It's pathetic to race like that. You've got to be smarter than that. I understand it's plate racing, you've got to try to block, but you can't block somebody that is coming 20 miles an hour faster than you are. It's just completely uncalled for."

- What the heck happened to Jeff Gordon? After making an ill-fated move to the inside line in the middle of Sunday’s

Hey y'all, when we got done writing on Sunday night, yours truly and Geoffrey Miller headed over to everyone's favorite NASCAR broadcaster's radio booth to record our post-Daytona 500 edition of The Chrome Horn.

We talk about all about the storylines of the weekend, especially the most important topic: Chad Knaus's Instagram account. Click here to listen to the podcast in your browser and click here to download it. Enjoy!

For much of the afternoon, the Daytona 500 resembled an extraordinarily fast, multicolored train. The high line at Daytona International Speedway worked the best, and the high line was where most drivers spent their day.

But you combine the newness of the Gen 6 cars and the vagaries of superspeedway racing, and you're in for some strangeness like we saw on Lap 33. Kasey Kahne got bumped from behind by Kyle Busch, turned inward, and the resulting wreck took out some of the biggest names in the sport.

Kevin Harvick had won both the Sprint Unlimited and his Duel, and was looking to be the first driver to sweep Speedweeks. Tony Stewart was coming off a victory in Saturday's DRIVE4COPD 400. Both were odds-on favorites to win the Daytona 500; for Harvick, it would be an effective way to demonstrate he'd be no lame duck in his final season at Richard Childress Racing. (The wreck also collected Juan Pablo Montoya. Insert requisite tired jet-dryer joke here.)

Even a last-place finish doesn't

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- As has become customary, Tony Stewart entered Sunday's Daytona 500 as one of the favorites. And why not? He has 19 victories at Daytona International Speedway, second only to Dale Earnhardt.

But as has also become customary, Stewart left Daytona Beach on Sunday night without the Harley J. Earl trophy. His 15th attempt at winning the Daytona 500 was effectively ended by a lap 34 crash.

Of Earnhardt's 34 victories, only one of them came in the Daytona 500. He went 18 years before winning his first 500 in 1998. Stewart's 15 year streak isn't there yet, but it's creeping so ever closer.

The crash started ahead of Stewart when Kasey Kahne went spinning towards the infield and Kevin Harvick hit the wall as the field checked up behind Kahne. Harvick's car spun to the inside, but when he was tagged by Juan Pablo Montoya it spun back up the track. The avenue that Stewart had to potentially get by on the high side was blocked and Harvick's car slammed into his.

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Matt Kenseth went from the lead to the garage after 149 laps. (Getty)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As the Daytona 500 approached 50 laps to go, it was shaping up to be a familiar finish for Matt Kenseth.

The defending champion of the race was in his first race for his new team, Joe Gibbs Racing, and was back at the front of the field, as he and new teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were running 1-2-3 on lap 148.

Suddenly, smoke started coming out from underneath the front of his Toyota. It didn't stop. Earlier in the race, Kenseth felt a vibration in the back of his car, but this was a problem unrelated to that.

Kenseth pulled his car down to the inside from in front of the pack and then onto pit road. The smoke continued to come out from his car. His chance to win back-to-back 500s were effectively over with an engine issue.

[Related: Jimmie Johnson wins Daytona 500 with powerful late-race stand]

Busch assumed the lead. It was shaping up to be a familiar finish for Joe Gibbs Racing, and not one that involved victory lane. Less than two laps after Kenseth

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jimmie Johnson hasn't won a championship in two years. But on Sunday, he proved he's got plenty of fire left for a run at NASCAR's most fabled record: seven championships.

Last year, the five-time champ wrecked on Lap 2 of the Daytona 500. This year, making his 400th career start, Johnson outpaced the entire field and won convincingly, holding off challenges from Brad Keselowski and Greg Biffle.

Jimmie Johnson celebrates with his daughter Evie after winning the Daytona 500. (AP)As the leaders raced for the checkered flag, a wreck broke out behind them. NASCAR did not bring out the yellow flag, allowing the drivers to race to the finish line. Johnson won that battle, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in second. Mark Martin came home third.

"I had a lot of confidence in the final few laps leading the train, so I knew just how fast the car was," said Johnson, who collected his second Daytona 500 victory. "So big credit to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports."

The 55th Daytona 500 made history days before the green flag flew. Danica Patrick delivered on

Erin Andrews was working her way through the crowded pit road at the Daytona 500 when she came upon a surprise visitor: none other than 50 Cent himself, one of the many celebrities in attendance. 50 decided to show his appreciation for Andrews' work, and, well, Andrews didn't much dig it.

50 tried to accompany Andrews as she walked pit road, but she was having none of it. Well, that was awkward.

Earlier, 50 had surely raised the blood pressure of NASCAR officials when he arrived at Daytona and tweeted, "Damn I don't see no black people lol."

Daytona, everybody!

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

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There's a formula to NASCAR's "start your engines" commands, and it's not dissimilar to the National Anthem: get in, say your line, get out. Don't get fancy, don't get cute, because it never ever ever works.

At Sunday's Daytona 500, actor James Franco, in town to promote his upcoming "Oz, the Great and Powerful," had to do just one thing: say four words. Four words. "Drivers, start your engines." It used to be "gentlemen," of course, but since Danica Patrick is no gentleman, it needed to change.

Well, change it Franco did, but not quite in the way NASCAR would have liked. "Drivers ... and Danica"? Hmm. Misstep, or not-so-subtle editorial commentary? Most likely, Franco had intended to say "Gentlemen and Danica," but hey, this is what happened. Ah, well.

Funnily enough, Franco talked about the command in his pre-race press conference. He noted that "Danica had done something special here, so I might have to switch it up." And there you have it.

For what it's worth, Danica Patrick