On Track - Saturday Feb. 14th

Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman wrecked during Happy Hour practice early Saturday afternoon. Newman blew a tire that sent him into the wall. Stewart was following close by and couldn’t avoid the collision.

Both cars suffered major damage forcing both drivers into back-up cars. They both will have to start in the back of the field for the Daytona 500.



Chris Graythen/Getty Images

New team owner Stewart didn’t blame Newman, but turned his attention back to Goodyear who he has blasted publicly before. “If it was because two guys wrecked and it was a driver’s mistake, that’s one thing” Stewart said after the crash. “But a manufacturer that has the sole deal here, they don’t have any competition and they can’t give us something to keep us from having problems like this. So I don’t know. I’m just amazed at how much everybody kisses their butts right now.” There were numerous tire issues during both Gatorade Duels. Goodyear recalled eight sets of right-rear tires following the race that didn’t meet the company’s standards.

Sprint Cup Series Final Practice Speed Chart:

1. Reed Sorenson
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Kurt Busch
4. Juan Pablo Montoya
5. Greg Biffle
6. David Ragan
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr
8. Joey Logano
9. Jeff Gordon
10. Brian Vickers
    

Camping World Truck Series - Friday Feb. 13th

NASCAR Camping World Truck SeriesNextEra Energy Resources 250
Daytona International Speedway
250 Miles (100 laps)

Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Todd Bodine became the 1st repeat winner in 10 years of truck series history at the Daytona International Speedway Friday night as he held off Kyle Busch for the win! It is Bodine’s 16th career win and 4th consecutive superspeedway win. There were 15 lead changes among 12 drivers. Bodine led twice for the race high 25 laps. There were 6 caution flags for 29 laps.


1. Todd Bodine
2. Kyle Busch
3. Terry Cook
4. J.R. Fitzpatrick
5. Ron Hornaday Jr.
6. Tim Peters
7. Mike Skinner
8. Matt Crafton
9. Colin Braun
10. Taylor Malsam

Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

On Track - Friday Feb. 13th

Jeff Gordon was the 6th fastest during practice Friday afternoon. Kyle Busch ran some laps in his teammate Joey Logano’s #20 ride rather than running practice laps in his own car.

1. Jamie McMurray
2. Robby Gordon
3. Paul Menard
4. AJ Allmendinger
5. Greg Biffle

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Kevin Harvick won the pole for Saturday’s Nationwide Series season opener at Daytona.

Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Kevin will be piloting his own #33 for Kevin Harvick Inc.
This is his 18th pole in the series and 2nd at Daytona.

Matt Kenseth qualified 2nd followed by Clint Bowyer.

TV Coverage on ESPN2 begins at 1 pm.

2008 Pole Winner: Tony Stewart
2008 Race Winner: Tony Stewart

On Track - Thursday Feb. 12th

Colin Braun won the pole for the NextEra Energy Resources 250 Thursday night. The Camping World Truck Series will officially kick off their 10th year anniversary at Daytona on Friday night.

2008 Pole Winner: Erik Darnell
2008 Race Winner: Todd Bodine

Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

There have been 9 different winners in the 9 races there.

Gatorade Duel Races - Thursday Feb. 12th

Jeff Gordon won the first Gatorade Duel Race Thursday afternoon. He’ll start on the 2nd row for the Daytona 500.

Gordon held off Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson for the win.

Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Kyle Busch won the second duel race and earned a starting position right beside Gordon on the 2nd row.

With a push from his teammate Denny Hamlin on the final lap, Busch passed Mark Martin for the win. Martin was dominant throughout the race.

4 spots were up for grabs not having otherwise qualified on Sunday and were filled by Jeremy Mayfield, Scott Riggs, Regan Smith and A.J. Allmendinger. Terry Labonte will use the past champion's provisional to make it into the race.

The 43 car field is now set for the 51st Annual Daytona 500.
TV coverage begins at 2pm on FOX.

Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

Changes for '09 - Restarts

NASCAR will now use single file line-ups for restarts with 20 laps to go in all 3 of the national series this year. Previously, single file restarts were reserved for the last 10 laps in a race.

Daytona 500 Qualifying Rules

Because qualifying for the Daytona 500 is different than any other race, I didn't think it would hurt to list this.

Here's a recap of the Daytona 500 Qualifying Procedure from NASCAR:

Qualifying
• One round of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series timed qualifying will be held. Each team may run two laps with the fast lap setting the qualifying time. The two fastest qualifiers set starting positions one and two and are the only guaranteed positions, filling the front row for the Daytona 500.
• The Gatorade Duels, the 150-mile qualifying races, will determine starting positions for the Daytona 500 beyond the front row. In the event of cancellation, the field will be set according to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book.

Gatorade Duel Assignment
• The eligible highest ranked 35 in 2008 car owner points will be assigned to Gatorade Duel races based on their standing in the 2008 final car owner points. Odd-numbered owner points will compete in the first Gatorade Duel; even numbered owners will compete in the second. The only exception is that the fastest qualifier will start on the pole in the first Gatorade Duel and the second fastest will start on the pole in the second, regardless of 2008 car owner point standings.
• Owners who failed to finish in the top 35 of the 2008 car owner points will be assigned to a Gatorade Duel based on qualifying times – the highest qualifying owner to the first Duel; the next to the second and alternating through the remaining entries. Starting positions for the Gatorade Duels are based on qualifying times.

Daytona 500 Lineup
• Finishing positions in the Gatorade Duels will determine starting positions in the Daytona 500 once the two fastest qualifiers will start on the front row of the Daytona 500 based on their qualifying times, regardless of their finish in the Duels. Based on their finish in the first Duel, the eligible highest ranked 35 in car owner points plus the two highest finishing non-top 35 teams will be lined up in the odd-number starting positions. Based on their finish in the second Duel, the eligible highest ranked 35 in car owner points plus the two highest finishing non-top 35 teams will be lined up in the even-number starting positions.
• The remaining positions will be filled based on qualifying times beginning with the next available position.
• The composition of the front row will reduce the above numbers. If there are top-35 teams on the front row, the number of guaranteed starters is reduced accordingly. If there are no top-35 teams on the front row, the number of cars that get in based on time are reduced accordingly.
• The 43rd starting position will be assigned to any car owner who has the most recent eligible past NASCAR Sprint Cup champion as long as the past champion competed in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. If the 43rd position is not used by a past champion, it will be assigned to the next highest qualifying time.

Recap
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 and the remaining positions will be filled based on qualifying times or being a past champion.