NASCAR Nextel Cup 2004 Daytona 500/Gatorade 125s Qualifying - February 8 @ noon Eastern on NBC

NASCAR ^

[steveegg]

Daytona Beach, FL - Want to enjoy a nice, relaxing week at Daytona International Speedway?

All it takes is two fast laps around the 2.5-mile trioval.

Forty-six drivers will hit the track Sunday, but only two will get the coveted prize -- a spot on the front row for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15.

Those guys get what is akin to a bye week in the NFL playoffs. They'll have time to work on their race setup while everyone else is prepping for the twin 125-mile qualifying races Thursday -- which basically set the rest of the 43-car field for the Great American Race.

[steveegg]

February 8, 2004

Bud Pole Qualifying for the Daytona 500
Sunday afternoon on NBC
Qualifying starts noon Eastern/9 am Pacific

Daytona International Speedway

Since 1959, Daytona International Speedway has hosted the Daytona 500,
now the culmination of a two-week festival of speed known as Speedweeks.
In early July, the track hosts the night-time running of the Pepsi 400.
In addition to Busch Series and Craftsman Truck events, the track also
hosts the sports-car Rolex 24 at Daytona, and motorcycle and karting events.

Track Facts
Banking/Turns: 31 degrees
Distance: 2.5 miles
Shape: Tri-Oval

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What's New for NASCAR in 2004?

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Nextel Cup Series Upcoming Action at Daytona
2/8/2004 - Bud Pole Qualifying for the Daytona 500/Gatorade 125s
2/12/2004 - Gatorade 125, Qualification Race 1
2/12/2004 - Gatorade 125, Qualification Race 2
2/15/2004 - Daytona 500

[steveegg]

Daytona 500 Qualifying order

Order	Car	Driver	Make	Sponsor
1	#4	Kevin Lepage	Chevrolet	YokeTV.com
2	#77	Brendan Gaughan*	Dodge	Kodak/Jasper Engines
3	#01	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet	U.S. Army
4	#5	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	Kellogg's
5	#40	Sterling Marlin	Dodge	Coors Light
6	#6	Mark Martin	Ford	Viagra
7	#90	Andy Hillenburg	Ford	Donlavey Racing
8	#38	Elliott Sadler	Ford	M&M's
9	#88	Dale Jarrett	Ford	UPS
10	#19	Jeremy Mayfield	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW
11	#8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Budweiser
12	#0	Ward Burton	Chevrolet	NetZero HiSpeed
13	#99	Jeff Burton	Ford	NBA All-Star Game on TNT
14	#20	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Home Depot
15	#10	Scott Riggs*	Chevrolet	Valvoline
16	#9	Kasey Kahne*	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW
17	#7	Jimmy Spencer	Dodge	Ultra Motorsports
18	#49	Ken Schrader	Dodge	Schwan's Home Service
19	#15	Michael Waltrip	Chevrolet	NAPA Auto Parts
20	#133	Mike Skinner	Chevrolet	RCR
21	#24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	DuPont
22	#30	Johnny Sauter*	Chevrolet	America Online
23	#48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's
24	#16	Greg Biffle	Ford	National Guard
25	#32	Ricky Craven	Chevrolet	Tide
26	#18	Bobby Labonte	Chevrolet	Interstate Batteries
27	#45	Kyle Petty	Dodge	Georgia Pacific/Brawny
28	#29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	GM Goodwrench
29	#43	Jeff Green	Dodge	Cheerios
30	#172	Kirk Shelmerdine	Ford	Freddie B's
31	#14	Larry Foyt	Dodge	A.J. Foyt Racing
32	#21	Ricky Rudd	Ford	Motorcraft Quality Parts
33	#12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	ALLTEL
34	#17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	DeWalt Power Tools
35	#1	John Andretti	Chevrolet	Kraft Foods
36	#95	Andy Belmont	Ford	Burger King
37	#22	Scott Wimmer*	Dodge	Caterpillar
38	#97	Kurt Busch	Ford	Sharpie
39	#25	Brian Vickers*	Chevrolet	GMAC Financial Services
40	#31	Robby Gordon	Chevrolet	Cingular Wireless
41	#23	Dave Blaney	Dodge	Whelen Engineering
42	#50	Derrike Cope	Dodge	Arnold Development Companies
43	#09	Johnny Benson	Dodge	Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts
44	#41	Casey Mears	Dodge	Target
45	#42	Jamie McMurray	Dodge	Havoline
46	#2	Rusty Wallace	Dodge	Miller Lite

* Denotes Rookie

[steveegg]

NASCAR uses a unique qualifying setup for the Daytona 500. Today's qualifying run sets the front row for the Daytona 500, the field for the Gatorade Twin 125s on Thursday (used to set positions 4-30 in the 500), and establishes the times used for positions 31-38. The drivers who qualify "odd" (1, 3, 5, etc.) will run in the first Twin 125 for the inside row, while those who qualify "even" (2, 4, 6, etc.) will run in the second Twin 125.

[steveegg]

Practice speeds, first session

Rank	Car	Driver	Make	Sponsor	Speed	Time	Behind
1	#01	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	188.166	47.830	Leader
2	#16	Greg Biffle	Ford	National Guard	188.064	47.856	-0.026
3	#21	Ricky Rudd	Ford	Motorcraft Quality Parts	187.958	47.883	-0.053
4	#8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Budweiser	187.837	47.914	-0.084
5	#31	Robby Gordon	Chevrolet	Cingular Wireless	187.641	47.964	-0.134
6	#38	Elliott Sadler	Ford	M&M's	187.598	47.975	-0.145
7	#4	Kevin Lepage	Chevrolet	YokeTV.com	187.570	47.982	-0.152
8	#15	Michael Waltrip	Chevrolet	NAPA Auto Parts	187.551	47.987	-0.157
9	#2	Rusty Wallace	Dodge	Miller Lite	187.445	48.014	-0.184
10	#88	Dale Jarrett	Ford	UPS	187.430	48.018	-0.188
11	#24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	DuPont	187.410	48.023	-0.193
12	#0	Ward Burton	Chevrolet	NetZero HiSpeed	187.317	48.047	-0.217
13	#29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	GM Goodwrench	187.297	48.052	-0.222
14	#48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's	187.278	48.057	-0.227
15	#1	John Andretti	Chevrolet	Kraft Foods	187.161	48.087	-0.257
16	#42	Jamie McMurray	Dodge	Texaco/Havoline	187.110	48.100	-0.270
17	#40	Sterling Marlin	Dodge	Coors Light	187.056	48.114	-0.284
18	#97	Kurt Busch	Ford	Sharpie	187.013	48.125	-0.295
19	#99	Jeff Burton	Ford	NBA All-Star Game on TNT	186.865	48.163	-0.333
20	#49	Ken Schrader	Dodge	Schwan's Home Service	186.749	48.193	-0.363
21	#5	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	Kellogg's	186.745	48.194	-0.364
22	#25	Brian Vickers*	Chevrolet	GMAC Financial Services	186.734	48.197	-0.367
23	#43	Jeff Green	Dodge	Cheerios	186.691	48.208	-0.378
24	#10	Scott Riggs*	Chevrolet	Valvoline	186.509	48.255	-0.425
25	#17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	DeWalt Power Tools	186.478	48.263	-0.433
26	#09	Johnny Benson	Dodge	Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts	186.405	48.282	-0.452
27	#41	Casey Mears	Dodge	Target	186.285	48.313	-0.483
28	#77	Brendan Gaughan*	Dodge	Kodak/Jasper Engines	186.201	48.335	-0.505
29	#45	Kyle Petty	Dodge	Georgia Pacific/Brawny	186.185	48.339	-0.509
30	#19	Jeremy Mayfield	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW	186.054	48.373	-0.543
31	#20	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Home Depot	186.043	48.376	-0.546
32	#9	Kasey Kahne*	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW	186.008	48.385	-0.555
33	#23	Dave Blaney	Dodge	Whelen Engineering	185.962	48.397	-0.567
34	#32	Ricky Craven	Chevrolet	Tide	185.851	48.426	-0.596
35	#30	Johnny Sauter*	Chevrolet	America Online	185.693	48.467	-0.637
36	#7	Jimmy Spencer	Dodge	Ultra Motorsports	185.609	48.489	-0.659
37	#6	Mark Martin	Ford	Viagra	185.575	48.498	-0.668
38	#18	Bobby Labonte	Chevrolet	Interstate Batteries	185.517	48.513	-0.683
39	#22	Scott Wimmer*	Dodge	Caterpillar	185.124	48.616	-0.786
40	#50	Derrike Cope	Dodge	Arnold Development Companies	185.029	48.641	-0.811
41	#12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	ALLTEL	184.968	48.657	-0.827
42	#133	Mike Skinner	Chevrolet	RCR	184.532	48.772	-0.942
43	#14	Larry Foyt	Dodge	A.J. Foyt Racing	183.812	48.963	-1.133
44	#172	Kirk Shelmerdine	Ford	Freddie B's	179.062	50.262	-2.432
45	#90	Andy Hillenburg	Ford	Donlavey Racing	177.333	50.752	-2.922
46	#95	Andy Belmont	Ford	Burger King	-	-	-

* Denotes Rookie

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Practice speeds, second session

Rank	Car	Driver	Make	Sponsor	Speed	Time	Behind
1	#38	Elliott Sadler	Ford	M&M's	189.366	47.527	Leader
2	#21	Ricky Rudd	Ford	Motorcraft Quality Parts	189.087	47.597	-0.070
3	#88	Dale Jarrett	Ford	UPS	188.739	47.685	-0.158
4	#48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's	188.407	47.769	-0.242
5	#45	Kyle Petty	Dodge	Georgia Pacific/Brawny	188.403	47.770	-0.243
6	#4	Kevin Lepage	Chevrolet	YokeTV.com	188.391	47.773	-0.246
7	#16	Greg Biffle	Ford	National Guard	188.359	47.781	-0.254
8	#01	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	188.285	47.800	-0.273
9	#40	Sterling Marlin	Dodge	Coors Light	188.277	47.802	-0.275
10	#8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Budweiser	188.273	47.803	-0.276
11	#1	John Andretti	Chevrolet	Kraft Foods	188.182	47.826	-0.299
12	#97	Kurt Busch	Ford	Sharpie	187.962	47.882	-0.355
13	#32	Ricky Craven	Chevrolet	Tide	187.880	47.903	-0.376
14	#24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	DuPont	187.817	47.919	-0.392
15	#15	Michael Waltrip	Chevrolet	NAPA Auto Parts	187.782	47.928	-0.401
16	#0	Ward Burton	Chevrolet	NetZero HiSpeed	187.774	47.930	-0.403
17	#17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	DeWalt Power Tools	187.645	47.963	-0.436
18	#41	Casey Mears	Dodge	Target	187.629	47.967	-0.440
19	#2	Rusty Wallace	Dodge	Miller Lite	187.586	47.978	-0.451
20	#99	Jeff Burton	Ford	NBA All-Star Game on TNT	187.531	47.992	-0.465
21	#20	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Home Depot	187.496	48.001	-0.474
22	#43	Jeff Green	Dodge	Cheerios	187.473	48.007	-0.480
23	#49	Ken Schrader	Dodge	Schwan's Home Service	187.340	48.041	-0.514
24	#19	Jeremy Mayfield	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW	187.293	48.053	-0.526
25	#9	Kasey Kahne*	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW	187.258	48.062	-0.535
26	#42	Jamie McMurray	Dodge	Texaco/Havoline	187.098	48.103	-0.576
27	#77	Brendan Gaughan*	Dodge	Kodak/Jasper Engines	187.052	48.115	-0.588
28	#10	Scott Riggs*	Chevrolet	Valvoline	187.044	48.117	-0.590
29	#5	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	Kellogg's	186.970	48.136	-0.609
30	#23	Dave Blaney	Dodge	Whelen Engineering	186.959	48.139	-0.612
31	#30	Johnny Sauter*	Chevrolet	America Online	186.912	48.151	-0.624
32	#22	Scott Wimmer*	Dodge	Caterpillar	186.637	48.222	-0.695
33	#6	Mark Martin	Ford	Viagra	186.559	48.242	-0.715
34	#18	Bobby Labonte	Chevrolet	Interstate Batteries	186.509	48.255	-0.728
35	#25	Brian Vickers*	Chevrolet	GMAC Financial Services	186.216	48.331	-0.804
36	#09	Johnny Benson	Dodge	Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts	186.077	48.367	-0.840
37	#50	Derrike Cope	Dodge	Arnold Development Companies	185.724	48.459	-0.932
38	#7	Jimmy Spencer	Dodge	Ultra Motorsports	185.693	48.467	-0.940
39	#12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	ALLTEL	185.445	48.532	-1.005
40	#133	Mike Skinner	Chevrolet	RCR	185.117	48.618	-1.091
41	#14	Larry Foyt	Dodge	A.J. Foyt Racing	184.339	48.823	-1.296
42	#172	Kirk Shelmerdine	Ford	Freddie B's	179.852	50.041	-2.514
43	#90	Andy Hillenburg	Ford	Donlavey Racing	178.098	50.534	-3.007
44	#95	Andy Belmont	Ford	Burger King	-	-	-
45	#31	Robby Gordon	Chevrolet	Cingular Wireless	-	-	-
46	#29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	GM Goodwrench	-	-	-

* Denotes Rookie

[tubebender]

Just had another near miss here in Eureka. Local NBC had some sports show on then they switched to Nascar. Did you get a complete ping list?

[steveegg]

Nope.

Kevin Lepage is out right now, and Andy Belmont pulled out (acording to NASCAR.com's Live Leaderboard).

[steveegg]

Lepage first lap - 185.70 mph while running a high line getting that restrictor-plate-choked engine up to speed. Second lap - 187.88 mph.

Brendan Gaughan now taking his laps.

[WestCoastGal]

Here, thanks for the ping. That was a great race last night, wow!!!! Being an Earnhardt fan I do believe that if DJ wasn't up front, Jr would have won but it certainly was time for someone else to win a plate race I guess. I did love the fact that Jr said DJ was a good friend of his and he was happy to push him up there. He's also given way in the past for Michael. That two tire stop didn't hurt some of them considering the red flag pit stops either.(that was a lucky break) That was a rule I had never seen before on non points races.

Ok, let go with qualifying....wind and cold weather. I guess it will depend a lot now on whether your guy gets that gust of wind during his laps or not.

[steveegg]

It's strange to see Kodak on something other than #4.

It's a wicked headwind in the backstretch. Gaughan's 2nd lap - 48.110 seconds (behind Lepage's 47.904).

[steveegg]

The cold's good, the wind isn't so good. I didn't have a chance to repost the story from NASCAR.com about that, but Jr has a lifetime helicopter ride into Martinsville from DJ.

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Front Row Joe won't be on the front row for long with his 47.936.

[WestCoastGal]

I think considering last year we need to also give the Rocketman front row status. Although he does not look good so far at Daytona and he certainly ended last night with a bang. I believe last year was the big end over end for him there also.

Texas Terry up now.

[steveegg]

Terry Labonte - 48.337 (4 out of 4)

[steveegg]

Don't know what it is with Newman and plate tracks; can't be the speed.

Marlin the Mechanic out now (he's gotta still be steamed that they got to work on the cars under the red flag :-)

[WestCoastGal]

Brendan Gaughan interview now reminds me of his interview last night re: his helmet signed by the guys of the 82nd Airborne and 10th Mountain Division and one other which I can't remember. He said there are hundreds of signatures on there , but two of them are no longer with us. I hope he does very well in the race...for the guys over there.

I wish Jr would get rid of those dumb hats.

[steveegg]

After 5 of 45 -

Kevin Lepage - 47.904
Joe Nemechek - 47.936
Sterling Marlin - 48.006
Brendan Gaughan - 48.110
Terry Labonte = 48.337

[steveegg]

Agreed; Jr looks like my thug nephew with sideburns. He doesn't need that.

[steveegg]

Mark Martin - 48.132 (5th of 6)

[WestCoastGal]

What time are the two races on Thursday?

[Pete-R-Bilt]

morning kids, thanks for the wake up call...

[steveegg]

First race is at 1 pm Eastern; both races are on TNT.

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Looks like Junie Donlavey will be making an early exit unless Andy Hillenburg picks it up; qualifying lap was 50.700 (177.5 mph, while Lepage and Nemecheck are both more than 10 mph faster). Elliot Sadler (fastest in the second practice) is out, and is looking good.