Triumph and tragedy intersected at the Close household this weekend in the form of two racecar drivers named Matt – Matt Kenseth and Matt Hawkins.

Kenseth won stock car racing’s biggest prize Sunday capturing the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. Hawkins also saw the checkered flag this weekend, but in a decidedly different manner passing away in his Georgia home after an apparent gun-related accident.

After one of the most eventful off-seasons in division history, NASCAR will swing into the 2009 racing campaign this week at Daytona International Speedway. The action couldn’t come a minute too soon for the sanctioning body.