Daytona Qualifying Will Have a Relaxed Look

There was a time when the twin 125-mile qualifying races for the Daytona 500 could be more exciting than the 500 itself, as all but the two front-row drivers battled for starting spots in the big race.

Only the two fastest qualifiers from the previous Sunday were assured places. The others had to race for them.

NASCAR drastically altered its qualifying rules this year, however, guaranteeing starting spots before qualifying for the 35 top cars, as determined by last season’s owners’ points, no matter what they do in today’s newly named Gatorade Dual. Also, the fastest four non-guaranteed drivers were automatically seeded into the 43-car starting field for Sunday’s “Great American Race.”

So, today’s 150-milers, stretched 25 miles from previous years, will serve to qualify only two drivers each.

Thus, 39 drivers, including front row starters Dale Jarrett and Jimmie Johnson, can use today’s races as shakedowns for the 500.

How everyone finishes in the two races still will determine starting positions, but there is little anxiety level -- except for the 18 slower drivers struggling for the four open spots.

Robby Gordon, who ranked 23rd last year but lost his priority when he formed a new team of his own; Martin Truex Jr., the Busch series champion who drives for Dale Earnhardt Jr.; Kerry Earnhardt, Junior’s older half brother; and Derrike Cope and Geoffrey Bodine, former Daytona 500 winners, are the more prominent candidates.

Kyle Petty, who will start his 24th 500 on Sunday, knows what it’s like to squeeze out a starting spot through the Thursday races. He failed once and watched from the sideline. He likes it the new way.

“I don’t have any strategy for Thursday,” he said. “My strategy was being in the top 35 in points so I would be in the Daytona 500, and I did that last year.”

One group who will be watching today’s races closely will be the Dodge forces. Dodge, which won many races and two Daytona 500s in the 1970s with its legendary Charger, is introducing a modern version as a Nextel Cup car this year.

Of special interest will be how, with its new truck-like grille and new tail, the Charger will draft. All NASCAR cars -- Dodges, Fords and Chevrolets -- have almost identical bodies, only the front and rear ends showing any distinction.

“We were very pleased with our wind-tunnel work, but obviously when you’re in the wind tunnel, it’s not the same as being on the track,” said John Fernandez, Dodge motorsports director.

Ray Evernham, whose team fields Dodges for Jeremy Mayfield and Kasey Kahne, was even more enthusiastic. Asked if this year’s model was a better race car than last year’s Intrepid, he said emphatically, “Oh, man, it’s way better!”

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Heard on pit row:

Road racing specialist Boris Said on learning the complexities of oval-track drafting -- “Drafting is like playing chess in the middle of a minefield, with people shooting at you.”

Mark Martin, after attending a wedding in Victory Lane -- “It was perfect because the IROC cars were running and every time they came by, instead of that being an irritation, that sound was exactly what they wanted.”

Carl Edwards, on today’s Gatorade races -- “Hopefully, it will be a really hot, greasy day and everybody will be sliding all over and [my] car will run better than most of the other ones.”

More from Edwards -- “They tell me Office Depot has life-size cardboard cutouts of myself in over 900 of its stores, including the one in Columbia, Mo. I told them they’re gonna have to send extras there because all my friends are gonna go snatch that one up and probably run around town taking pictures of it doing things it shouldn’t be.”

Two-time winner Jeff Gordon, on the pressure on Dale Earnhardt Jr. to repeat his 500 victory of 2004 -- “I think Dale Earnhardt Jr. has pressure on him because he’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. He’s the most popular thing on the planet Earth.”

Earnhardt on fans -- “A lot of times, I get asked to sign somebody’s arm so they can get it tattooed. I think that’s the biggest compliment you can get -- like somebody has an 8 tattoo on their leg -- that’s for life.”