NASCAR Talk

What a couple of great races! There were close calls, crashes, cut tires, and all around edge of your seat suspense in both races. Congratulations to the winners, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin, as well as all of the drivers who raced their way into the 50th running of the Daytona 500.

To see a list of where everyone placed in both races and who is now locked in for the Daytona 500, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Gatorade Duels, Gatorade Duels Results

Gatorade Duel #1 Race Results

Pos. | Start | Car | Driver
1 5 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2 18 41 Reed Sorenson
3 9 12 Ryan Newman
4 3 5 Casey Mears
5 15 99 Carl Edwards
6 23 43 Bobby Labonte
7 19 42 Juan Pablo Montoya
8 11 87 * Kenny Wallace
9 20 77 Sam Hornish Jr. #
10 16 15 Paul Menard
11 6 83 * Brian Vickers
12 2 78 Joe Nemechek
13 7 84 AJ Allmendinger
14 17 1 Martin Truex Jr.
15 8 66 Scott Riggs
16 22 21 Bill Elliott
17 10 01 Regan Smith #
18 21 07 Clint Bowyer
19 4 60 Boris Said
20 12 70 Jeremy Mayfield
21 25 09 Sterling Marlin
22 14 19 Elliott Sadler
23 1 48 Jimmie Johnson
24 26 96 J.J. Yeley
25 24 45 Kyle Petty
26 13 2 Kurt Busch
27 27 08 Carl Long

#-denotes rookie
*-raced way into Daytona 500

Gatorade Duel #2 Race Results

Pos. | Start | Car | Driver
1 5 11 Denny Hamlin
2 8 20 Tony Stewart
3 6 24 Jeff Gordon
4 18 9 Kasey Kahne
5 12 8 Mark Martin
6 9 6 David Ragan
7 21 29 Kevin Harvick
8 15 16 Greg Biffle
9 14 44 * Dale Jarrett
10 25 34 * John Andretti
11 20 18 Kyle Busch
12 2 00 David Reutimann
13 1 55 Michael Waltrip
14 17 7 Robby Gordon
15 10 17 Matt Kenseth
16 4 28 Travis Kvapil
17 13 38 David Gilliland
18 22 49 Ken Schrader
19 7 10 Patrick Carpentier #
20 19 37 Eric McClure
21 3 22 Dave Blaney
22 24 31 Jeff Burton
23 11 27 Jacques Villeneuve #
24 16 26 Jamie McMurray
25 26 50 Stanton Barrett
26 23 40 Dario Franchitti #

#-denotes rookie
*-raced way into Daytona 500

So, yesterday we talked about the first race of the Gatorade Duels at Daytona, and now it’s time to find out how things are going to line up at the second race of the Gatorade 150 Duels. The first race will set the field on the inside lane behind Jimmie Johnson, while the second race will take care of lining up the drivers behind Michael Waltrip for the outside lane at the start of the 50th running of the Daytona 500.

Some of the drivers outside of the top 35 have the opportunity to race their way into the Daytona 500 by doing well in their particular duel race. The drivers already in the top 35 also have a lot at stake. They want to try to win and secure a starting spot as close to the front as possible for Sunday.

If you want to see the starting lineup for the second race of the Gatorade Duels, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Gatorade Duels, Gatorade 150 Duels, Gatorade Duels race 2 Starting grid

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The only two drivers right now who know where they are starting come Sunday at the 50th running of the Daytona 500 are Jimmie Johnson and Michael Waltrip who qualified for the pole and outside pole respectively this weekend on Pole Qualifying Day. Where does that leave the rest of the field? Well, it leaves them in a race to see where they will start. The two Gatorade 150 Duels will happen on Thursday February 14th and will finish setting the field and doling out starting positions. The drivers in the first race will be trying to jockey for a starting position on the inside lane in rows 2-20 depending on how they finish in their duel race.

To see who is racing in the first Gatorade 150 Duel and where they will start that race, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Gatorade Duels, Gatorade 150 Duels, Gatorade Duels race 1 starting grid

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So Daytona 500 Qualifying happened on Sunday, but only 2 people have been set in the field. Are you confused yet? Don’t worry, it gets even more crazy. The only two positions that have been set by this qualifying round, as of now anyway, are Jimmie Johnson on the pole and Michael Waltrip on the outside pole. Everyone else now has to qualify a different way. Here are the ways everyone else can qualify:

1. Via the Gatorade 150 Duels to be held on Thursday.
2. Champion’s provisional (only one and it looks to be going to Kurt Busch unless he wins his duel)
3. Be in the top 35 from last year
4. Have a fast qualifying time (only if all other avenues are exhausted)

So, really, there are 35 teams who are guaranteed a spot as of now (well, I guess 36 since Michael Waltrip has his spot secured now and 37 if you count one of the past champions will definitely get a spot). That leaves about 6 more spots available which will go to 3 from the duels and 3 on fast qualifying times. Whew! What a crazy mess.

If you would like to see how everyone qualified, even if it doesn’t make that big of a difference for most of them, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Daytona 500 Qualifying, Daytona 500 Qualifying results

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Are you as excited as I am? I don’t know if that’s even possible, but NASCAR racing is back! WOO HOO! Tonight we will get a preview of what’s to come in the 2008 Sprint Cup season as we watch the first (non-points) race of the season at Daytona, the Budweiser Shootout. I love the Shootout because everyone is in it to win it and not play it safe (as was shown by Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch’s battle in practice that wrecked both of them). What a great way to kick of Speed Weeks at Daytona. Tomorrow is Daytona 500 qualifying, and then on Thursday you can catch the Gatorade Duels, all leading up to the 50th running of the Daytona 500 next Sunday.

To see the entire starting grid for the Budweiser Shootout (determined by blind draw on Thursday on SPEED Channel), keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Budweiser Shootout, Budweiser Shootout Starting Grid

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Can you feel it? It’s Speed Weeks and I couldn’t be more excited! Not only do I get to watch non-stop NASCAR coverage on Speed Channel over the next 2 weeks, but the first race of the season is this weekend. That’s right! The Bud Shootout will run this weekend in Daytona (airs Saturday Feb. 9th at 8 PM ET on Fox) , and while it may not be for points, I find it to be one of the best and most exciting races of the season. Maybe it’s just because it’s the first one and it’s been a long winter, or maybe it’s the format, but whatever it is gets my motor running.

This year, 23 drivers are eligible to participate. There were 18 different Budweiser Pole winners last season and 5 drivers who have one the event before that are considered “active”.

Eligible drivers based on 2007 pole award(s):

1. Jeff Gordon (7)
2. Ryan Newman (5)
3. Jimmie Johnson (4)
4. Clint Bowyer (2) *
5. Kasey Kahne (2)
6. Kurt Busch
7. Carl Edwards
8. Martin Truex Jr.*
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Greg Biffle
11. Casey Mears
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13. Jamie McMurray
14. J.J. Yeley *
15. Reed Sorenson *
16. David Gilliland
17. Dave Blaney
18. Michael Waltrip
* - First-time participants

Drivers eligible based on being past winners of the Shootout (years won in parentheses):

19. Tony Stewart (2001, 2002, 2007)
20. Dale Jarrett (1996, 2000, 2004)
21. Mark Martin (1999)
22. Ken Schrader (1989, 1990)
23. Bill Elliott (1987)

Who is going to win the race? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and keep reading after the jump for some more fun statistics about the Budweiser Shooutout.

NASCAR, Budweiser Shootout, Budweiser Shootout statistics

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