#99-Carl Edwards (starts 1st): Trying to become the first polesitter to win the Daytona 500 since Dale Jarrett in 2000. None of Edwards ‘ 19 career victories have come on a restrictor plate track.
#16-Greg Biffle (2nd): Seeking to become the first *outside polesitter* to win Daytona since Dale Jarrett (again, not a misprint) in 1993. How bad has it been to be on the outside of the front row? In the last six Daytona 500s, second-place starters have finished inside the top 10 just once.
#14-Tony Stewart (3rd): Looking to end an 0-for-13 streak at the Daytona 500 despite 17 career wins there in various series. He would also be the first reigning champion to win the 500 since Dale Jarrett in 2000.
#88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (5th): Seeking to snap his winless streak at a whopping 129 Sprint Cup races. A second Daytona 500 trophy would also give him more than his Hall of Fame father, who won the event just once, in 1998.
#9-Marcos Ambrose (7th): With a win, becomes the first foreign-born winner of the Daytona 500 since Mario Andretti back in _1967.
#24-Jeff Gordon (16th) – Seeking a fourth 500 victory, an accomplishment that would leave him second all-time only to Richard Petty’s seven with Cale Yarborough who has four.
#55-Mark Martin (22nd) – Bidding to become the oldest driver in history to win a Cup race, let alone break an ominous 0-for-27 track record in the 500. Harry Gant currently holds the record: he was 52 years, seven months and six days old when winning Michigan in August of 1992.
#10-Danica Patrick (29th) – Needs a 10th or better to become the highest-finishing woman in the history of the Daytona 500. Janet Guthrie (1980) holds the record with an 11th-place result.
#42-Juan Pablo Montoya (35th) – See Ambrose above re: foreign-born driver. Montoya is also bidding to be the first former Formula One driver to win it since Andretti in ’67.
#21-Trevor Bayne (40th) – Everyone remembers the upset of the NASCAR season last February. If the 21-year-old can do it again, he ‘d be the first back-to-back Daytona 500 winner since Sterling Marlin in 1994-95. Only two other drivers have ever done it, and both are Hall of Famers: Richard Petty (1973-74) and Cale Yarborough (1983-84).
#32-Terry Labonte (43rd) – The two-time Cup Series champion is making his 30th career start at Daytona’¦ but he’s never captured the 500. Only Dave Marcis (0-for-32) has run more Daytona 500s without scoring a victory.(se a few more at frontstretch.com)(2-27-2012)
