Marlin’s Times Down, But He’s Not Out

Sterling Marlin is taking it on faith that he will be a contender in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

The 39-year-old Tennessean’s record at NASCAR’s two biggest and fastest tracks - Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway - is awesome.

He has won five of the last nine races on the only Winston Cup tracks where NASCAR requires a carburetor restrictor plate to keep the cars from going too fast. He also has 16 top-five finishes in his last 26 starts on the two big ovals.

That’s why a relatively poor showing this week in qualifying at Daytona hasn’t put Marlin, the 1994 and 1995 Daytona 500 winner, in a funk.

In the opening round of qualifying on Saturday, Marlin qualified his Morgan-McClure Chevrolet 28th among the 51 drivers who made attempts. Tuesday, in the second round of time trials, Marlin went a bit slower and slipped to 35th.

“It looked like we didn’t know what we were doing, but we thought we could run faster,” Marlin said of the decision to run in the second round instead of standing on his first-round lap. “We ran faster this morning, but we just changed some stuff and it slowed us down.”

Speed improves his chances

A handful of drivers, led by Lake Speed, dramatically improved their prospects of getting into the Daytona 500 with their efforts in second-round qualifying.

Speeds in time trials Saturday and Tuesday - Monday’s session was rained out - determined the starting lineups for Thursday’s Twin 125-mile qualifying races.

The top two qualifiers Saturday, rookie Mike Skinner and Steve Grissom, already have locked up the front-row starting spots for Sunday, while the 125-milers will fill positions 3-30.

The next eight spots are then filled by the fastest drivers remaining from time trials. Up to four more positions are filled based on last year’s car-owner points and one last spot is available for a former Winston Cup champion who fails to qualify any other way.

Speed’s fast lap of 188.162 mph on Tuesday put him 10th overall and virtually assured him a starting spot in the 500.

Also boosting their chances were Jeremy Mayfield (187.438), Ken Schrader (187.231) and Brett Bodine (187.052).

Spokane’s Chad Little, who qualified at 186.494, will start 14th behind polesitter Grissom in the second 125-miler.

Cope still coping

Seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt is asked repeatedly about his 0-for-18 record in the Daytona 500, the only thing of value to elude him in stock car racing.

This can be a source of irritation to Earnhardt, who has won a record 28 races at Daytona International Speedway.

It also bothers Derrike Cope, who won the race in 1990 because he was running second when Earnhardt blew a tire a mile from the finish.

“If you guys didn’t keep bringing it up, I probably wouldn’t even think about it too much,” Cope said.

Since that day, Cope - the accidental champion - has won just one race. His losing streak is now 195 races.

Sadler on Grand National pole

Elliott Sadler made the first pole of his NASCAR Busch Grand National stock car career a big one Tuesday, taking the top spot for Saturday’s Gargoyles 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Sadler turned a lap of 190.508 mph, faster than the Daytona 500 pole, taken by Mike Skinner at 189.813.