Daytona 500 Qualifying Update

Daytona International Speedway -- 02/15/09

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Saturday Feb 14 2009 5:14pm

It's hard to say how much useful information can actually be gleaned from the practice and qualifying results for Sunday's Daytona 500.
With a total of six practice sessions dating back to last weekend and a starting lineup, except for the front row, set by Thursday's Duel 150 races, this race is clearly atypical of the traditional NASCAR practice and qualifying procedure.
Add to that the fact that there are many different agendas being pursued during each practice session -- at any given moment, some teams are working on single car runs, some practicing the draft, and some sitting out the later practice sessionsa altogether, with many other variables figuring into the picture simultaneously.
With that in mind, let's take a quick look at the top-5 cars in all six practices, along with the manufacturer:

1st Practice - Saturday, 02/07:
1. Bill Elliott - Ford
2. Bobby Labonte - Ford
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Chevy
4. Martin Truex Jr. - Chevy
5. Kyle Busch - Toyota

2nd Practice - Saturday, 02/07:
1. Bill Elliott - Ford
2. Martin Truex Jr. - Chevy
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Chevy
4. Ryan Newman - Chevy
5 Mark Martin - Chevy

3rd Practice - Wednesday, 02/11:
1. Kasey Kahne - Dodge
2. Kurt Busch - Dodge
3. Sam Hornish Jr. - Dodge
4. Casey Mears - Chevy
5. Michael Waltrip - Toyota

4th Practice - Wednesday, 02/11:
1. Aric Almirola - Chevy
2. Matt Kenseth - Ford
3. Jeff Gordon - Chevy
4. Kyle Busch - Toyota
5. Robby Gordon - Toyota

5th Practice - Friday, 02/13:
1. Jamie McMurray - Ford
2. Robby Gordon - Toyota
3. Paul Menard - Ford
4. AJ Allmendinger - Dodge
5. Greg Biffle - Ford

6th Practice (Happy Hour) - Saturday, 02/14:
1. Reed Sorenson - Dodge
2. Matt Kenseth - Ford
3. Kurt Busch - Dodge
4. Juan Pablo Montoya - Chevy
5. Greg Biffle - Ford

With regard to qualifying, Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin earned their front row starting spots during last weekend's qualifying session, with the second row comprised of the winners of Thursday's Duel 150 races - Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch.

Rounding out the top 10 in qualifying were Tony Stewart (5), Brian Vickers (6), Jimmie Johnson (7), Juan Pablo Montoya (8), Joey Logano (9), and Denny Hamlin (10).

That put six Chevys and four Toyotas in the top 10 in qualifying, with Bobby Labonte the fastest Ford at 12th and Kurt Busch the fastest Dodge at 13th.

But the starting grid will look quite a bit different Sunday, as a number of cars, including several experienced Cup drivers, move to the rear of the field for reasons such as engine changes and practice crashes. The list includes the following drivers, shown here with their original qualifying spots:

Tony Stewart (5th)
Sam Hornish Jr. (29th)
Kevin Harvick (32nd)
Ryan Newman (36th)
John Andretti (37th)
Scott Speed (38th)
Matt Kenseth (39th)

One of those practice crashes occurred on Saturday when Ryan Newman had a tire go down right in front of his teammate and car owner Tony Stewart, collecting both cars. The incident led to Stewart lashing out at Goodyear regarding the tire they brought to Daytona, though the company later said Newman's tire was punctured.

`Apparently, this is (Goodyear's) marketing strategy to get press,` said Stewart. `I'm tired of talking about them, tired of it being an issue. Talking about them now isn't going to change anything. It falls on deaf ears … If two guys wrecked, that's one thing. But the manufacturer has the sole deal. They don't have any competition and they can't give us a tire to keep us from having wrecks.`

Stewart shook off his frustration, however, taking to the track in the Nationwide Series just a few hours later in a Hendrick Motorsports car and holding off Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards to win the race. Edwards finished 2nd, Clint Bowyer, 3rd, and Kyle Busch, 4th. Busch also finished 2nd in Friday's truck race.

On this eve of the Daytona 500, oddsmakers are still giving the nod to Kyle Busch at +465. Other favorites include Jeff Gordon (+650), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+750), Jimmie Johnson (+950), and Mark Martin (+1000).

Mid- to long-shots to watch: Kurt Busch (+2250), Martin Truex Jr. (+3850), and Clint Bowyer (+4250).

GM is the widely favored manufacturer.

Weather may also play a role in the outcome Sunday with the forecast calling for wind and a 40% chance of thunderstorms.

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User	Comment
Elgar	Kevin, does this mean you are going to be a Bush fan for the full season? Moving up the ranks is one thing but can he hold onto it for a full season is the real question.
Cal	I have seen some of the best drivers man up and state they can not be any match for weather like that. If anyone could manage to get out of that kind of thing it would be a freaking miracle.
spinout	No amount of practice on a track is going to prepare someone for what will happen in heavy rain and wind conditions. You can never be prepared for everything but it could have been better than the outcome.
RaceFan88	The leaders in the practice rounds don`t seem to have had much of an impact on the final results of the race. With an accident that took out many lead cars, the practice rounds couldn`t have predicted the final outcome determined by mother nature; the catalyst being the rain.
Harold Mayes	I just have no desire for Chevy or any of its supports to win any type of racing because of that crap they pulled by spending a billion of tax payer money to build a plant in South America. I think they should be in jail rather than enjoying the fruits of their labor that another Nascar win will give them. By the way, think they will cancel the race if it starts to storm badly there?
Daniel Wallace	we are seeing a lot of new names this year in my opinion and this has come from Nascar changing the rules. Many people last year were calling for new blood in the Nascar scene and it looks like they are going to get a shot at it this year.
Kevin	Kyle Bush is moving up in the odds as well so he must be doing something right, or at least the bookies think he is. Its still a risk, but I`m thinking of laying some money down on him right now if I can find a place that will take a bet on him to win this year!
Casey Hillman	I think we will be seeing some good things from Jeff Gordan this year. he did seem to do well in the starting trials so I`m crossing my fingers and hoping he keeps it up