Dayton pole provides honor but no guarantee

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Winning the pole for the Daytona 500 has always carried a bit of mystique.

The fastest driver in qualifying for the season-opening NASCAR Nextel Cup race earns bragging rights and plenty of attention for a week. Beyond that, though, the pole means little.

In the 47 years that NASCAR’s biggest event has been run, only nine drivers have won from the pole. The last to do it was Dale Jarrett in 2000.

Still, Cup teams spent most of their nearly three hours of practice time Saturday at Daytona International Speedway – before rain cut the final session short – working up the speed to take a shot at locking in a front-row starting position, or at least giving them a decent chance of making the race.

For the second straight year, the top 35 teams in the previous year’s point standings are guaranteed a starting position for the 500. But only the two fastest drivers today lock in their starting positions. The rest of the 43-car field is filled through the most unique – some say confusing and arcane – qualifying format in NASCAR.

Fifty-six drivers are expected to make two-lap qualifying attempts today on the 2.5-mile, high-banked Daytona oval.

The Budweiser Shootout, an action-packed sprint that gives 21 drivers a chance to show their stuff at Daytona International Speedway, was postponed because of rain Saturday night. It was rescheduled for today.