Friday, 15th February 2008

Starting line-up for Daytona 500 settled in Thursday night gun-fights.

After some tough times in recent seasons, Dale Jarrett, Kenny Wallace and John Andretti all made the field, although the 1988 series champion was made to work for his place when Kurt Busch slowed just ten laps into the opening heat. With just one champion's provisional on offer, the Penske man ensured that all other title winners on the cusp would have to race their way in, but Jarrett made sure by finishing ninth in race two, the best of those running under the banner of 'go or go home'.

Wallace joined fellow borderline case Joe Nemechek, his team-mate at Furniture Row Racing, in Sunday's race after finishing eighth in race one, while Andretti completed the top ten in race two after a late stop for tyres, ensuring his week continued to the finale.

The veteran's result, achieved after he passed David Reutimann on the last lap, was bad news for Boris Said, who had been sitting pretty based on qualifying times until that point. The wild-haired journeyman joined a group of ten drivers missing the cut for the biggest race of the season which already included Jacques Villeneuve, who had lost control of his Bill Davis-run Toyota in race two and triggered a pile-up that also wiped out Jamie McMurray, Dario Franchitti and Stanton Barrett, the Canadian and Barrett not qualifying as a result. Villeneuve was joined on the sidelines by countryman Patrick Carpentier, who hit the wall two laps from the flag in race two, Red Bull's AJ Allmendinger and veterans Bill Elliott, Ken Schrader and Sterling Marlin.

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Franchitti will start his first Daytona 500 from 40th in the 43-car field, while fellow high-profile converts Sam Hornish Jr and Juan Montoya both made the field, in 19th and 15th respectively. Brian Vickers ensured that Red Bull will be represented, surviving a spin early in race one to claim 23rd in the line-up, while Dave Blaney, who led Toyota's charge in the closing stages of last weekend's Bud Shootout, had to make do with 34th after engine woes slowed his CAT Toyota.

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