Start your engines
The qualifying format for the Daytona 500 is unique, confusing and a source of tremendous pressure for the drivers who have to race their way into NASCAR’s biggest event.
The process gets under way today with all 61 entries taking to the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway oval in Daytona Beach, Fla., to post a qualifying speed that might help them earn a spot in the 43-car field for the Feb. 18 race.
“I know that Sunday’s qualifying probably won’t mean much for us,” Kyle Petty said. “We’re lucky because we know we’re in the race. There’s a lot of other guys who aren’t so lucky.”
Petty’s No. 45 Dodge is among the entries that finished in the top 35 in car-owner points last season. Under NASCAR rules, those cars are guaranteed starting spots in the first five races of 2007. After that, the top 35 in the current standings each week will be locked in.
The 74-point margin by Petty over 36th-place Sterling Marlin last season meant the difference between calmly preparing for the season opener or, like Marlin and 23 other drivers entered in Daytona, sweating out the possibility of watching NASCAR’s Super Bowl on TV from home.
Today time trials lock in only the front row for the 500, with the two fastest drivers winning the pole and the outside pole. But everyone who posts a speed earns a starting spot in one of Thursday’s 150-mile qualifying races.
The list of drivers who will vie for the open spots is impressive. It includes two former series champions, six Daytona winners with 10 wins among them – Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Marlin, Michael Waltrip, Derrike Cope and Ward Burton – and drivers who have totaled 75 Cup wins.
Stewart wins Shootout
Tony Stewart won the exhibition Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night, setting himself up as a top contender to win the season-opening Daytona 500. That’s the last of the NASCAR crown jewels that Stewart hasn’t won, and he reported to Speedweeks intent on adding that win to his resume this year.
He’s off to a good start.
Stewart nudged Kyle Busch out of the lead with eight laps to go, then drove to his third victory in the all-star event when runner-up David Gilliland never challenged. As Stewart closed in on the finish line, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran into the back of Elliott Sadler to start a four-car pileup far from the leaders.
Toyota, making its Nextel Cup debut, had two cars in the field but never challenged. Dale Jarrett started on the pole in his new Camry, but quickly fell to the back of the field and finished 18th out of 21 cars.
Yates eyes retirement
If everything goes according to Robert Yates’ plan, his NASCAR team will rebound from a gut-wrenching season, and he will retire at the end of the year, handing the team over to son Doug.
In this his 40th year in racing, the 63-year-old Yates figures he’s had enough. Especially after last season, when he says he was so stressed out he felt at times like he actually was going to die.
Yates said he became so stressed by his team’s poor performance that his body began to stop functioning. “A mess” physically, Yates didn’t believe his health problems were stress-related until his doctor prescribed “green pills” – he isn’t sure what they were – to help take the stress away.
“I started taking some of these green pills for a couple of days, it was like, ‘Now OK, I know what I’ve got to do is I’ve got to make my body function,’ ” Yates said. “I don’t need the green pills.”
Yates said he’s feeling much better this year – especially after his drivers Ricky Rudd and David Gilliland were two of the three fastest in Saturday’s final practice session.