Drivers Ready to Jockey for Position at Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 not only is stock car racing’s premier event, it’s also one of NASCAR’s four “restrictor-plate” races that cause the 43-car field to stay bunched together like a freight train moving at nearly 200 mph.

So the drivers need not panic if they don’t qualify to start on the front row. With the cars so close for so long a distance, there will be plenty of time to move up after the green flag falls next Sunday.

But momentum and morale also count for plenty in racing, and NASCAR’s best are hoping to capture both by snagging the top two starting positions in qualifying today. The rest of the field will be determined Thursday, based on the results of two 150-mile qualifying races at the high-banked, 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway.

Landing one of the front-row spots “gets everybody pumped up” for the Daytona 500, said Richard Childress, the longtime team owner for the late Dale Earnhardt.

“It’s not that big of an advantage in this long race, but it’s great for team morale and for the sponsors and everyone else involved with the car,” said Childress, whose stable of drivers includes Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton.

Scott Riggs, who drives a Ray Evernham Dodge and finished fourth in last year’s Daytona 500, said, “I’d love to sit on the front row and be guaranteed [a spot] and not have to worry about it.”

But if that doesn’t happen, “I’m confident that the car will be good enough to qualify in the top 10,” he said.

Among those expected to make a strong showing for the pole position include defending Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart and defending Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon, both in Chevies.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip, who have good records in restrictor-plate racing, also are considered favorites. They are former Chevy teammates at Dale Earnhardt Inc., but Waltrip has his own team now and is driving a Dodge.

In restrictor-plate races, known in racing circles simply as “plate races,” NASCAR requires carburetor plates that restrict horsepower and keep the cars from running above 200 mph in the interest of safety.

The plates -- which are also used at the July 4 weekend race at Daytona, and at the two races at the high-banked Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama -- also keep the field close, so even those drivers who don’t qualify well believe they have a chance to win.

Changes in the qualifying rules last year also guarantee that most of the sport’s big names will be in the Daytona 500, regardless of how fast they run either today or in the twin 150-mile qualifying races Thursday.

In the past, all but the fastest two cars in the opening qualifying round had to battle each other in the twin races to see where, or if, they would start the 500.

Now, NASCAR guarantees starting spots for the 35 top cars, based on last season’s owners’ points, even before qualifying begins. The result: All the qualifying mostly serves as a way for the teams to shake down their cars before the main event.

“Hopefully you can get your car out [of qualifying] in one piece,” said Ken Schrader, who drives a Wood Brothers Ford. “You want a decent [starting] spot if you can get it, but the main thing is that we’re getting ready for next Sunday.”

Veteran Terry Labonte, who’s driving a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, said that realistically, “only a handful of guys have a shot at the top two spots, and everyone else will have to worry about the [twin] qualifiers” to see where they start.

Asked if he would be among the less-fortunate “everyone else,” the 49-year-old Labonte -- who’s running a limited schedule in his final year of NASCAR racing -- grinned and said: “I’m pretty sure I am.”

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Daytona holds a week of racing that leads to the 500, and its opening event -- the Bud Shootout sprint race -- was rained out Saturday night.

The 70-lap event, made up of drivers who won pole positions last year and former Shootout winners, was rescheduled for today after qualifying ends.