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Cup Corner – Daytona

DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
Daytona. Fast, history making, dangerous, world-class, unforgiving, Mecca. A track where winning means everything and second place is the first loser. They started running on the famous sand beaches of Daytona in 1947. In February 1959, the first Daytona 500 was held on the brand new 2.5-mile superspeedway. In February 1988, the era of restrictor-plate racing was ushered in, as cars were run for the first time using horsepower-reducing carburetor restrictors. The plates are used exclusively at Daytona and Talladega.

This year marks the 50th running of the Daytona 500. As I see it, the following drivers have the best chance of pulling out a top finish this Sunday. I have compiled my ranking by analyzing drivers? success at this track and Talladega, then factoring in recent testing and racing results from the famed superspeedway.

TOP TWENTYONE
1) 24 Jeff Gordon
2) 48 Jimmie Johnson
3) 20 Tony Stewart
4) 2 Kurt Busch
5) 12 Ryan Newman
6) 17 Matt Kenseth
7) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
8) 26 Jamie McMurray
9) 07 Clint Bowyer
10) 18 Kyle Busch
11) 29 Kevin Harvick
12) 19 Elliott Sadler
13) 31 Jeff Burton
14) 1 Martin Truex Jr.
15) 8 Mark Martin
16) 11 Denny Hamlin
17) 5 Casey Mears
18) 99 Carl Edwards
19) 6 David Ragan
20) 9 Kasey Kahne
21) 38 David Gilliland

SELECTED DAYTONA HIGHLIGHTS
Keys To Victory
? One of the biggest keys to success at Daytona is having a good handling racecar. It?s imperative that your car turns the corner well so you can run wide open on the straightaways.
? Pit strategy is critical. You want to pit with a group of cars if at all possible. It?s difficult to be on the track by yourself when everyone else is pitting and maintain the high speeds that you need.
? Tire strategy late in the race. You could see some teams opting for two tires during a late caution in order to gain some track position.

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
? Six wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s; three poles
? Average finish of 13.9
? Average Running Position of 12.4, third-best
? Driver Rating of 93.1, sixth-best
? 1,122 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
? Average Green Flag Speed of 185.108 mph, sixth-best
? 739 Laps in the Top 15 (67.9%), sixth-most
? 728 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe?s Chevrolet)
? One win, five top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
? Average finish of 12.0
? Series-best Average Running Position of 9.0
? Driver Rating of 98.1, second-best
? Average Green Flag Speed of 185.145, third-best
? Series-high 857 Laps in the Top 15 (78.8%)
? 783 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota)
? Two wins, five top fives, nine top 10s; one pole
? Average finish of 18.4
? Average Running Position of 12.9, fourth-best
? Series-high Driver Rating of 109.0
? 32 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
? 746 Laps in the Top 15 (68.6%), fifth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
? Six top fives
? Average finish of 20.6
? Average Running Position of 13.7, sixth-best
? Driver Rating of 96.8, third-best
? 23 Fastest Laps Run, tied for ninth-most
? 781 Laps in the Top 15 (71.8%), third-most

Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge)
? One top five, two top 10s
? Average finish of 20.2
? Average Running Position of 11.5, second-best
? Driver Rating of 96.6, fourth-best
? 24 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
? Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 185.224 mph
? 827 Laps in the Top 15 (76.0%), second-most
? 837 Quality Passes, third-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford)
? One top five, six top 10s
? Average finish of 19.4
? Average Running Position of 15.3, 10th-best
? Driver Rating of 94.1, fifth-best
? 35 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
? Average Green Flag Speed of 185.165 mph, second-best
? 733 Laps in the Top 15 (67.4%), seventh-most
? 828 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Jamie McMurray (No. 26 Crown Royal Ford)
? One win, two top fives, three top 10s
? Average finish of 25.2
? Driver Rating of 91.4, seventh-best
? Average Running Position of 13.6, fifth-best
? 23 Fastest Laps Run, tied for ninth-most
? 1,256 Green Flag Passes, tied for second-most
? Series-high 861 Quality Passes

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M?s/Interstate Batteries Toyota)
? Two top fives
? Average finish of 20.0
? Average Running Position of 14.0, seventh-best
? Driver Rating of 89.1, eighth-best
? 761 Laps in the Top 15 (69.9%), fourth-most
? 847 Quality Passes, second-most

Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet)
? One win, six top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
? Average finish of 16.9
? Driver Rating of 86.4, 10th-best
? Average Running Position of 15.2, ninth-best
? 25 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
? 1,256 Green Flag Passes, second-most
? Average Green Flag Speed of 185.079, ninth-best
? 747 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), seventh-most

Other Daytona Highlights
? Although the first Daytona 500 was held in 1959, it has been the season-opener only since 1982.
? 501 drivers have competed in the Daytona 500.
? Bill Elliott, Sterling Marlin and Kyle Petty have all competed in the Daytona 500 26 times ? more than any other active drivers.
? 31 drivers have won a Daytona 500, but only eight drivers have multiple victories: 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).
? Jimmie Johnson has the best average finish of all active drivers who have competed in more than one Daytona 500.
? Six drivers have 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) and Michael Waltrip (2001).
? Four former winners of the Indianapolis 500 will attempt to qualify for the 2008 Daytona 500: Jacques Villeneuve (1995), Juan Pablo Montoya (2000), Sam Hornish Jr. (2006) and Dario Franchitti (2007).

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