Daytona 500 Race Preview

Daytona International Speedway -- 02/15/09

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Tuesday Feb 10 2009 5:47pm

Sunday marks the 51st running of the Daytona 500, frequently billed as the NASCAR equivalent of the Super Bowl, if for no other reason than the sheer spectacle of it all.

Last weekend's Bud Shootout gave us a first glimpse of what cars look like on the track this year, since there was no testing during Daytona Preseason Thunder due to NASCAR's 2009 testing ban.

Perhaps it was a combination of the lack of testing, resulting in a relatively green racetrack, along with a slightly harder Goodyear tire and the fact that the Shootout is a non-points-paying event - but the result was a wild race with a record number of cautions and more than half the field involved in crashes.

The schedule for the Daytona 500 weekend is as different from a normal NASCAR race as the event itself. Practice and qualifying sessions span the week from the Shootout to the 500 weekend. Qualifying is also a unusual affair, with the front row set last Sunday and the rest of the field to be decided Thursday during the Duel 150 races.

What we know so far is that the field will be led to green by what's being called the all-Martin front row: Martin Truex Jr. (+2000) on the pole and Mark Martin in P2 (+1200). Truex's 188.001 mph lap put him in pole position for just the second time in his career. His previous best start in the 500 was 10th in his rookie season and his best finish was 16th in 2006.

Mark Martin, meanwhile, has 47 starts at Daytona covering both the 500 and the July race, with an average finish of 17.8 and a best finish of 2nd in the 2007 Daytona 500, which he lost by just 2/100ths of a second to Kevin Harvick (+1800).

As noted above, the rest of the field will be set during Thursday's Duel 150s, a pair of 150-mile (60-lap) races that will help determine who makes the race and who doesn't, as well as the order of the starting grid. Per Jayski.com: `The bottom line - for the 2009 Daytona 500 - is that the top-two qualifiers are in. The remaining top-35 guaranteed starters are in. Four drivers will make the field based on their performance in the Duels, leaving four positions in the starting field. The three fastest non-guaranteed starters, that do not race their way in by their finish in the Duels, will make the field because they will revert to their qualifying times. Terry Labonte will be in on Past Champion provisional if he does not race his way in.`

With 56 or 57 cars attempting to make the Daytona 500 field, there will clearly be a number of disappointed teams Thursday evening after the Duels.

In terms of practice sessions, there were two practices for the 500 on Saturday before the Bud Shootout. Bill Elliott in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford paced both practices, with a 187.645 mph lap in the first session and a 187.950 mph lap in the second session.

The remainder of the top 5 in early practice consisted of Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+600), Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch. The rest of the top 5 in second practice was Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman (+3000), and Mark Martin. We will have more updates regarding practice times later in the week.

Ryan Newman won the Daytona 500 last year although he has since switched from Penske Racing to Stewart-Haas Racing and from Dodge to Chevy. Last weekend's Bud Shootout winner Kevin Harvick won the 500 in 2007 and Jimmie Johnson (+800) in 2006. Jeff Gordon (+800), the 2005 winner, is the leading active driver at Daytona in terms of overall wins including both the winter and summer races with 6, followed by Bill Elliott with 4, Michael Waltrip with 3, and Tony Stewart (+1500) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 2 each.

Single race winners at DIS (winter or summer) include Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray (+2000) - the latter looking like a potential winner of the Bud Shootout until a last-lap pass by Kevin Harvick during a green-white-checkered finish.

Clint Bowyer (+3000), also in a new ride this year with Richard Childress Motorsports, is the surprising name at the top of the best average finish category, a 12.3 with four top 10s in six starts, followed by Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte, and Jeff Gordon.

In the last five races at this track, however, Kyle Busch is the driver who has accumulated the most points, including bonus points, followed by Kurt Busch (+1500), Kevin Harvick, Robby Gordon, and Clint Bowyer. Busch is an early favorite with odds makers at +500. Odds will be updated in our practice and qualifying review later this week.

An interesting factoid: Historically, the Bud Shootout has not been a good predictor of the Daytona 500 winner. Only five times in the 30-year history of the event has the Shootout winner gone on to win the Daytona 500 - the last being Jeff Gordon in 1997, though Dale Jarrett did so twice in 1996 and 2000.

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RaceFan88	It`s always exciting to see if a driver can come back and win the Daytona 500 two years in a row. Unfortunately for Ryan Newman, aside from switching racing teams and car manufacturers as mentioned, after practice today, Saturday, he now has to drive the backup car to the backup car in the race on Sunday; his third car. A Goodyear tire blew out during practice and, to repeat a term that Ryan used in the post-interview, made "junk" of the car. It appears he will have to be "swimming against the tide" as he will have to start in the back but, with his talent, he may be able to move up in the pack in no time at all.
goJJgo	I think the instability and crashes we have seen already is just a preview for what`s to come since they`ve instituted the no testing policy. I hope no one gets killed over it.
nascarrocks	I can`t wait for this weekends race. I can`t decide on who to pick for a winner though. Who do you guys think is going to come out on top?
martyS	Looks to me like the competition on this years Daytona 500 is heating up early with the remaining drivers racing for spots in Sundays big race.
racegirl	So we have 57 drivers competing for 39 remaining spots. The Thursday races might be something to check out as well then. Are they televised at all?
the_champ	I can see Kyle Busch making his way to the top. No battery testing? What happened? They can`t put such rules banning car testing in the race, what if the car ran out of battery in the middle of the track?
FunDriv3	I can`t imagine driving in the track for hours with an empty battery. Did the officials lose their mind? Altering the rules doesn`t make the competition exciting.
racefan	Did the officials fall and bump their heads? No testing?? I know they needed to make some changes but this seems like a rather bad idea to me.
Harold Mayes	I heard at the en d of the season last year that Clint was going to be going with Richard Childress this year. He will have a strong team behind him to help him shoot for a win this year.
Kevin	No way would I get in a car designed to go over one hundred and fifty miles per hour without running it through a battery of tests first. However it does seem like Nascar has been listening to its viewers by changing the rules to make the sport more interesting and give some new people a chance to get in on the action.
Casey Hillman	Am I reading this right in that Nascar banned teams from testing their cars out for problems? Does anyone else here see this as a litigation nightmare if something really bad happens? This is the height of irresponsibility in a sport that that for years has been known for doing everything it could to keep its drivers safe.
Cal	I can not help but shake that there will be consequences with the whole no testing phase thats come about. No test =no idea what is going on, or is that just my way of thinking?
Cal	I think Busch has some secret voodoo on this track its like it might have been made for him, or him for it. I really am not sure but I am claiming voodoo until I hear otherwise.
Elgar	It does seem pretty stupid to not do something so simple that takes moments, so was there any real reason given for this or is it all just fluff in the face?