NASCAR Pre-race: FOX - 12:00pm/et

Television Race Coverage: FOX, 1:00pm/et

In the Booth: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds

Pit Reporters: Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda

Hollywood Hotel: Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond

SPEED's NASCAR Raceday Pre-Race Show: 9:00 am/et with John Roberts, Kyle Petty, Kenny Wallace

Scheduled Race Re-Air Dates/Times:
Wednesday, February 29 at 12:00pm/et on SPEED

TV Listings, Links and Info:
Jayski's TV Listings Page
NASCAR on TV
Race Fan TV

This Week - Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM Satellite Radio

motorracingnetwork.com

siriusxm.com

Practices:
Saturday, February 19, 11:00am - 1:00pm/et, TV-SPEED
Saturday, February 19, 2:00 - 3:45pm/et, TV-SPEED
Wednesday, February 22, 12:00 - 1:30 pm/et, TV-SPEED
Wednesday, February 22, 2:30 - 4:00 pm/et, TV-SPEED
Friday, February 24, 11:00 am - 12:00pm/et, TV-SPEED
Friday, February 24, 12:30 - 1:30pm/et, TV-SPEED

Happy Hour 'Final' practice: Saturday, February 25, 10:30 am 12:00pm/et, TV-SPEED

Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-2, Sunday, Ferbruary 19 at 1:10 pm/et, TV-FOX, no re-air scheduled but SPEED will air a Daytona 500 pole qualifying special at 8:00pm/et.

Track Specs:
Track/Race Length: 2.5 mile oval, 200 laps, 500 miles
Tri-oval with 31-degree banking in the turns
18-degree banking in the tri-oval and 6-degree banking on the straightaways
Date track opened: 1959
Banking in turns 1-4: 31 degrees
Banking in tri-oval: 18 degrees
Banking on backstretch: 3 degrees
Banking on the straightaway: 6 degrees
Length of frontstretch: 3,800 feet
Length of backstretch: 3,400 feet
Grandstand Seating: 168,000.
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Pace Car Speed: 70 mph
Pit Road Length: 1,600 feet
Pit Road Width: 50 feet
Opened: 1959

Race Festivities/Officials:
Grand Marshal: Three Stooges movie actors Jane Lynch & Kate Upton
Command to start engines: Jane Lynch & Kate Upton
Honorary Starter/Wave Green Flag: WWE's John Cena
Honorary Race Official: UFC's Jon "Bones" Jones
Invocation: ?
National Anthem: Train's, Pat Monahan
Military Flyover: U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds

Track Websites:
Daytona International Speedway
ISC Motorsports
ESPN's NASCAR Track Guide
Facebook - Daytona International Speedway
Twitter - Daytona International Speedway
Daytona 500 Browser Theme

February 2011: see my Daytona 500 Race Info page

July 2011: see my Daytona Race Info page

The Daytona 500 is a different with the Qualifying Races,
but the Top 35 are still guaranteed a starting spot
, see the rules on my Daytona Track News, Stats page.

Engine Rule at Daytona: the engine rule is a little different at Daytona 500 [just like qualifying] then the other 35 races, teams must run the same engine from Saturday's first practice session (Feb. 6th) through the Gatorade Duel 150 mile qualifying races (Feb. 12). If a team makes a change before the Duel, then it must start at the rear of the Duel 150 field. After the Duel 150 races, teams can make an engine change before the Happy Hour practice session. After that, if an engine change is made, the driver will start at the rear of the Daytona 500.(2-11-2009)

Double Yellow Line at Daytona = do not pass: In order to emphasize the yellow-line rule at Daytona International Speedway where passes are not permitted, NASCAR has made the single yellow line into a double-yellow line. The second yellow line was painted on the inside of the existing yellow line.(SceneDaily)(2-8-2009)

2011 Daytona 500 Race Winner: #21-Trevor Bayne, 130.326mph, started 32nd

2011 July Race Winner: #6-David Ragan, 159.491mph, started 5th

Track Race Record: Buddy Baker, Feb 1980, 177.602mph

Oldest Race Winner: Bobby Allison, 50 years, 2 months, 11 days, 2/14/1988

Youngest Daytona 500 Race Winner: Trevor Bayne, 20 years, 0 months, 1 days, 2/20/2011

2nd Youngest Daytona 500 Race Winner: Jeff Gordon, 25 years, 6 months, 12 days, 2/16/1997

Youngest July Race Winner: Jeff Gordon, 23 years, 10 months, 27 days, 7/1/1995

2011 Daytona 500 Pole Sitter: #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 186.089, finished 24th

2011 July Pole Sitter: #5-Mark Martin, 182.065, finished 33rd

Track Qualifying Record: Bill Elliott, 210.364mph, February 1987

Track Qualifying Record with Restrictor Plate: Ken Schrader, 196.996, February 1989

Oldest Pole Winner: 52 years, 5 months, 23 days, Daytona, 7/1/2011

Youngest Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon, 24 years, 11 months, 2 days, 7/6/1996

Daytona 500 Tidbits:
The 2012 edition will be the 54th running of the Daytona 500.
Although the first Daytona 500 was held in 1959, it has been the season-opener only since 1982.
518 drivers have competed in at least one Daytona 500; 306 in more than one.
35 drivers have won a Daytona 500.
Youngest Daytona 500 winner: Trevor Bayne (02/20/2011 - 20 years, 0 months, 1 days)
Oldest Daytona 500 winner: Bobby Allison (02/14/1988 - 50 years, 2 months, 11 days)
Eight drivers have won more than one Daytona 500, led by Richard Petty with seven victories.
· The eight drivers who have won the Daytona 500 more than once: Richard Petty (seven), Cale Yarborough (four), Bobby Allison (three), Dale Jarrett (three), Jeff Gordon (three), Bill Elliott (two), Sterling Marlin (two) and Michael Waltrip (two).
Dale Earnhardt leads the series in runner-up finishes in the Daytona 500 with five; Kurt Busch leads all active drivers in Daytona 500 second-place finishes with three.
Dale Earnhardt finished in the top 10 in 16 of his 23 Daytona 500s.
Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty each had 16 top 10s in the Daytona 500, more than any other driver.
Dale Earnhardt had 12 top fives in the Daytona 500, more than any other driver.
Only 13 drivers have an average finish of 10th or better in the Daytona 500, six of those competed in the Daytona 500 only once.
Clint Bowyer has a 12.2 average finish in six appearances, the best of the active drivers who have competed in more than one Daytona 500.
· Lee Petty, who won the inaugural Daytona 500, and Trevor Bayne, 2011 Daytona 500 champion, are the only two drivers to win the Daytona 500 in their first appearance.
· 28 of the 35 drivers who have won, participated in at least two Daytona 500s before visiting Victory Lane.
· Dale Earnhardt competed 19 times before winning his only Daytona 500 (1998), the longest span of any of the 35 race winners.
· Six drivers made 10 or more attempts before their first Daytona 500 victory: Dale Earnhardt (19), Buddy Baker (18), Darrell Waltrip (16), Bobby Allison (14), Michael Waltrip (14) and Sterling Marlin 12).
The most Daytona 500s all-time without a victory was Dave Marcis (33 races).
· Mark Martin (27) leads active drivers without a victory.
· Six drivers posted their career-first victory with a win in the Daytona 500: Tiny Lund (1963), Mario Andretti (1967), Pete Hamilton (1970), Derrike Cope (1990), Sterling Marlin (1994), Michael Waltrip (2001) and Trevor Bayne (2011).
· Three other drivers posted their career-first victory in (point-paying) qualifying races: Johnny Rutherford (1963), Bobby Isaac (1964) and Earl Balmer (1966). · A driver has won back-to-back Daytona 500s three times. Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95)
· Kevin Harvick's 0.020-second margin of victory over Mark Martin in the 2007 Daytona 500 is the 12th-closest overall since the advent of electronic timing in 1993, and the closest in a Daytona 500.
26 of the 53 Daytona 500s have been won from a top-five starting position.
Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500 from the 39th starting position in 2009, the deepest a race winner has started.
Nine have been won from the pole. The last to do so was Dale Jarrett in 2000.
16 Daytona 500s have been won from the front row.
Danica Patrick will become the third female driver to compete in a Daytona 500 joining Janet Guthrie and Shawna Robinson.(2-20-2012)

At Daytona International Speedway:
Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was Nov. 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track and the hole filled with water. It is now known as Lake Lloyd.
The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959.
Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.
· Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the July race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been held under the lights ever since.
There have been 129 NASCAR Sprint Cup races since the track hosted its first race in 1959: 53 have been 500 miles, 49 were 400 miles and four 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifier races that were point races.
Fireball Roberts won the inaugural pole at Daytona.
Bob Welborn won the first race at Daytona, the 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, 1959.
Fireball Roberts won the first 400-mile race at Daytona, the 1963 Firecracker 400.
53 drivers have posted poles at Daytona.
Cale Yarborough leads all drivers with 12 poles at Daytona.
Bill Elliott leads all active drivers with five poles at Daytona.
54 drivers have won at Daytona.
Richard Petty leads all drivers in victories at Daytona with 10.
Jeff Gordon has six victories at Daytona, more than any other active driver.
The Wood Brothers have won 15 races at Daytona, more than any other car owner.
17 full-length races at Daytona have been won from the pole; the last to do it was Kevin Harvick in last year's Coke Zero 400.
A driver has swept both races at Daytona only four times, most recently by Bobby Allison in 1982.(2-20-2012)

For news, stats, records and more about this race track, see: Jayski's Daytona International Speedway Track News/Rumors/Links page

Race Coverage of the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway is scheduled for Sunday, February 26, 2012.
Television (TV): FOX at 1:00 pm/et; Pre-race show at 12:00 pm/et; green flag approx 1:20pm/et
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio 90
Scheduled Race Re-Airs:
SPEED, Wednesday, February 29 at 12:00pm/et

Kyle Busch wins a WILD Bud Shootout #18-Kyle Busch won the 2012 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway followed by #14-Stewart, #9-Ambrose, #2-Keselowski, #11-Hamlin, #16-Biffle, #39-Newman, #15-Bowyer, #99-Edwards and #42-Montoya. Busch beat Stewart to the line to win by 0.013 seconds, the closed finish for a Bud Shootout. While the 2-car tandem racing is gone, the big packs are back, with three big wrecks during the race, which ended under a green-white-checked finished, going 82 laps. Pole sitter #56-Truex Jr. was involved in the 2nd wreck and finished 19th.
The first "big one" occurred in the first 25-lap segment when #34-Ragan and #27-Menard made contact, turning the #27, collecting #55-Waltrip, #5-Kahne, #11-Hamlin, #31-Burton, #17-Kenseth and #42-Montoya. The #27, #34 and #55 were too damaged to continue the race after 9 laps.
The second "big one" occurred on lap 56 when #9-Ambrose was pushing #20-Logano, the #20 moved up and got turned sideways, collecting Ambrose, #29-Harvick, #17-Kenseth, #88-Earnhardt Jr. and pole sitter #56-Truex Jr. All but Ambrose were too damaged to continue.(2-18-2012)

NASCAR Green-White-Checkered Race Procedure: NASCAR allows a maximum of three restart attempts prior to the White Flag under NASCAR's Green-White-Checkered flag finish. If the leader has taken the White Flag and the caution flag is displayed, the field is frozen and the race will not be restarted. Previously, there was only one restart attempt. The procedure applies to all three national series. See rule and notes on the Green-White-Checker rule page.(2-11-2010)

Wave-around rule: The wave-around rule dictates that cars under penalty at the time of the caution are ineligible for the wave around.(10-11-2009)

See Jayski's - 2011 Sprint Cup Race Results Page for pole winner, race winner with speed and starting/finishing position, links to race results, drivers & owners points, pit stall selections, qualifying results/starting lineup, practice speeds and chase stats as well as link to race track and race information page for each race

Coverage of the Qualifying races the Gatorade Duel 150's to make the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway is scheduled for Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 2:00pm/et.
TV: SPEED - 2:00pm/et
Radio: Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio
Qualifying Re-Air: 8:00pm/et on SPEED

Edwards wins Daytona 500 pole: #99-Carl Edwards won the pole for the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway with a lap of 194.738mph for his first Daytona 500 pole and 11th career pole and it is Roush Fenway Racing's 80th pole. Edwards is the 37th driver to win the Daytona 500 pole. #16-Biffle gets the outside pole and will start 2nd. Only Edwards and Biffle have secured their exact starting spot. #88-Earnhardt Jr was 3rd fastest followed by #9-Ambrose, #13-Mears, #24-Gordon, #56-Truex Jr., #6-Stenhouse Jr., #21-Bayne and #14-Stewart. Edwards will start from the pole in the first Gatorade Duel and Biffle will start 1st in the 2nd Gatorade Duel. #15-Bowyer has not passed the height sticks and his qualifying time disallowed
#21-Bayne (9th), #26-Raines (26th) #30-Stremme (27th) all earned spots in the race as the three fastest drivers among those required to qualify on speed. #32-Terry Labonte will also start the race since he has a past champions provisional to use unless he races his way into one of the two spots available in the Duel he races or gets in by speed since he is 5th fastest of the go-or-go homers.
If Bayne, Raines, or Stremme race into the Daytona 500 via the Gatorade Duels. #09-KWallace, #36-Blaney and/or #40-Waltrip could make the field via speed. #97-Elliott could use the past champions provisional if Terry Labonte races into the field or uses speed [5th best of go-or-go homers] to make the race.
#15-Clint Bowyer had 22nd-fastest speed, but his car failed to pass post-qualifying inspection as the car did not meet front-end height requirements. So Bowyer will have to start at the rear of his Gatorade Duel, race 2. It doesn't effect his starting spot in the Daytona 500.
With the exception of the front row, the starting lineup will be set by the Gatorade Duel races, scheduled for Thursday, February 23rd at 2:00pm/et on SPEED.
See Qualifying Results, speeds, pole progression, pdf link and more on my Daytona 500 Qualifying Results page.
For the Gatorade Duel 150 1 & 2 starting lineups, see my Gatorade Duel's Starting Lineups page.(2-19-2012)

Qualifying Fast Facts - Daytona 500:
#99-Carl Edwards won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Daytona 500 with a lap of 46.216 seconds, 194.738 mph.
This is his 11th pole in 266 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first pole in 15 races at Daytona International Speedway.
Edwards' pole speed of 194.738 mph is the fastest pole winning speed in Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole qualifying since 1999 (Jeff Gordon, 195.067 mph).
With the Coors Light Pole, Carl Edwards has earned a spot in next year's Shootout at Daytona.
#16-Greg Biffle (second) posted his fifth top-10 start in 19 races at Daytona International Speedway. He will join his Roush Fenway Racing teammate on the front row of the Daytona 500.
This is Roush Fenway Racing's first Daytona 500 pole since 2004 (Greg Biffle).
The last time Ford swept the front row for the Daytona 500 was 2007 (David Gilliland and Ricky Rudd).
The last time teammates swept the front row for the Daytona 500 was 2011 (Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon).
The last driver to win the Daytona 500 from the pole was Dale Jarrett in 2000.
The last driver to win the Daytona 500 from the second starting position was Dale Jarrett in 1993.(NASCAR Statistics)(2-19-2012)

Coverage of Qualifying for the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway is scheduled for Sunday, Februay 19, 2012 at 1:10pm/et.
Television (TV): FOX, 1:00pm/et
Radio: MRN and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio Channel 90
Jayski.com: Jayski's Qualifying Page
Qualifying Re-Air: none scheduled

Qualifying Order for the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway is posted. 49 cars/drivers are listed. For the Daytona 500, qualifying order was set by a blind draw, not by practice speeds as is the normal way.
For the Daytona 500, the go-or-go homers will qualify after the top-35 drivers.
The first of the drivers scheduled to go out is #27-Menard.
The last top-35 driver scheduled to go out (35th) is #38-Gilliland.
The final driver scheduled to go out is go-or-go homer #98-McDowell.
See the full qualifying order on the Homestead Qualifying Page.(2-18-2012)

The Daytona 500 is a different with the Qualifying Races,
but the Top 35 are still guaranteed a starting spot
, see the rules on my Daytona Track News, Stats page.

2nd Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series Practice at Daytona International Speedway is over, after 105 scheduled minutes, the top 5, slowest and notes:
#16-Biffle 193.241
#21-Bayne 193.154
#56-Truex Jr. 193.071
#14-Stewart 193.042
#55-Martin 193.034
#88-Earnhardt Jr, 12th fastest
#48-Johnson, 15th fastest
#10-Patrick, 26th fastest
Slowest: #23-Richardson 186.610 & #49-Yeley 187.021
All of the 49 cars made runs
all runs have been single car qualifying runs.
See speeds on the Daytona 500 Practice 2 Speeds (pdf).(2-18-2012)

Go-or-go homers: 2nd practice rank for the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway:
If things stayed the same, the top three cars by speed and a past champ would be guaranteed to make the Daytona 500.
#21-Bayne 2nd fastest overall
#09-KWallace 27th
#36-Blaney 29th
#30-Stremme 30th
these drivers could make the race on speed if above drivers race their way in
#32-TLabonte 33rd / past champ
#26-Raines 34th
#97-Elliott 35th / past champ
#40-Waltrip 39th
these drivers would need to race in thru the Gayorade Duel 150's
#98-McDowell 40th
#87-Nemechek 41st
#37-MWallace 44th
#7-Gordon 47th
#49-Yeley 48th
#23-Richardson Jr. 49th / last.(2-18-2012)

1st Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series Practice at Daytona International Speedway is over, after 120 scheduled minutes, the top 5, slowest and notes:
#16-Biffle 193.395
#9-Ambrose 193.349
#24-Gordon 193.150
#21-Bayne 192.881
#27-Menard 192.810
#88-Earnhardt Jr was 6th
#48-Johnson was 15th
#10-Patrick was 13th
Slowest: #23-Richardson 184.441 & #49-Yeley 186.621
qualifying order for the Daytona 500 is set by a blind draw NOT by fastest practice speeds; order will be posted in a bit.
See speeds on the Daytona 500 Practice 1 Speeds (pdf).(2-18-2012)

Go-or-go homers: 1st practice rank for the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway:
If things stayed the same, the top three cars by speed and a past champ would be guaranteed to make the Daytona 500.
#21-Bayne 4th fastest overall
#09-KWallace 25th
#30-Stremme 30th
#32-TLabonte 33rd / past champ
these drivers could make the race on speed if above drivers race their way in
#40-Waltrip 34th
#36-Blaney 36th
#87-Nemechek 37th
#26-Raines 38th
these drivers would need to race in thru the Gayorade Duel 150's
#97-Elliott 42nd / past champ
#98-McDowell 41st
#37-MWallace 44th
#7-Gordon 47th
#49-Yeley 48th
#23-Richardson Jr. 49th / last.(2-18-2012)

The Entry List for the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway is posted, 49 teams/drivers [for 43 spots] are listed, including:
Not in top 35 of owners points:
#09-Kenny Wallace (0/0)
#7-Robby Gordon (38/36)
#21-Trevor Bayne(i) (37/18)
#23-Robert Richardson Jr. (61/1)
#26-Tony Raines (48/27)
#30-David Stremme (43/23)
#32-Terry Labonte (0/0)(1996 Past Champ)
#36-Dave Blaney (44/13)
#37-Mike Wallace (39/36)
#40-Michael Waltrip (46/29)
#49-J.J. Yeley (0/0)
#87-Joe Nemechek(i) (42/36)
#97-Bill Elliott (55/4)(1988 Past Champ)
#98-Michael McDowell (40/35)
In the UNLIKELY event that qualifying and ALL practices are cancelled:
the eight who would make it [8]: #'s 32,21,7,37,98,87,30,40
missing the race would be [6]: #'s 26,36,97,23,09,49
See the full entry list at my Jayski's Daytona 500 Entry List.(2-16-2012)

added towards the end of the week of the race

Tire:
Goodyear Eagle Superspeedway Radials (Sprint Cup and Nationwide);
Goodyear Wrangler Superspeedway Radials (Camping World Truck)

Number of Tires:
Sprint Cup (total): Left-side -- 1,500, Right-side -- 1,500;
Nationwide: Left-side -- 550, Right-side -- 550;
Camping World Truck: Left-side -- 350, Right-side -- 350

Set limits:
Shootout: 6 sets for event;
Daytona 500: up to 10 sets through Friday's practice sessions, and up to 10 sets for Saturday's final practice through the race;
Nationwide: 6 sets for event;
Camping World Truck: 4 sets for event

Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-4138; Right-side -- D-4412

Tire Circumference: Left-side -- 87.9 in; Right-side -- 88.4 in.

Technical Inspection Inflation:
Left Front -- 30 psi; Left Rear -- 30 psi;
Right Front -- 55 psi; Right Rear -- 50 psi

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 27 psi; Left Rear -- 27 psi;
Right Front -- 50 psi; Right Rear -- 48 psi

Notes: Teams in all three NASCAR series will run the same tire codes at Daytona, though the Sprint Cup and Nationwide tires will be branded "Goodyear Eagle," while the Camping World truck tires will be branded "Goodyear Wrangler" . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that teams in all three of these series ran at both Daytona and Talladega last season . . . this left-side code (D-4138) has been run by Sprint Cup teams at Talladega since 2009 . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Daytona . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.