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July 1, 2008, 6:30 PM

Daytona trends and notes

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By Mark Garrow
Jayski.com
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• This is the 18th race of 36 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008.
• This is the third of four restrictor-plate races this season.
• This is the 123rd time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has competed at Daytona International Speedway since 1959.
• Loudon is a 2.5-mile tri-oval with 31-degree banking in the turns and 18-degree banking in the tri-oval.
• 46 drivers are on the pre-entry list to compete for one of the 43 starting slots in Saturday's 160-lap, 400-mile race. Of those 46 entrants, 11 must get into Saturday's field based on qualifying times: J.J. Yeley, Patrick Carpentier, Jon Wood, Sterling Marlin, Johnny Sauter, Terry Labonte, Dario Franchitti, Boris Said, Scott Riggs, A.J. Allmendinger and Joe Nemechek.
• Of the go-or-go-home drivers, Labonte is eligible for a champions' provisional.
• If qualifying were canceled, Marlin, Said and Sauter would miss the show.
• The drivers who are on the bubble for the top 35 in owners' points are:

30. Dave Blaney/Davis Racing: 1394 +125
31. Reed Sorenson/Ganassi Racing: 1378 +109
32. Regan Smith/DEI: 1345, +76
33. Robby Gordon/Gordon: 1329 +60
34. Sam Hornish/Penske Racing: 1294 +25
35. Michael McDowell/Waltrip Racing: 1294 20 points ahead of 36th

These teams/drivers must qualify by speed but are close to the top-35:

36. Riggs/Haas CNC Racing: 1269, 25 points out of 35th
37. Yeley/Hall of Fame Racing: 1137 -157
38. Allmendinger/Red Bull Racing: 1133 -159

• Sauter is once again driving the No. 70 car for CNC/Haas Racing. This car has not had a regular driver since Jeremy Mayfield was released prior to Phoenix.
• Wood is driving the No. 21 car for Wood Brothers Racing.
• A Dodge won the Daytona 500 (Ryan Newman) and a Ford won this race last year (Jamie McMurray). Prior to that, though, Daytona was Chevy country with the Bowtie Brigade winning seven straight races here. Greg Biffle won this race in 2003 and Chevy won four of five before that as well (Michael Waltrip (-3), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-1).
• Speaking of Earnhardt, while he hasn't won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race here since the 2004 Daytona 500, Junior was dominant in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevy earlier this year, winning the Budweiser Shootout and his Gatorade 150. He also has 10 top-10s in 17 starts with only one DNF and an average finish of 13.9, the second-highest average of all active drivers with 10 or more starts here.
• The highest-average finisher here is Junior's HMS teammate, Jimmie Johnson (13.2 in 13 starts). Johnson also has only one DNF here with eight top-10s, five top-5s, two poles, and a win in the 2006 Daytona 500. Johnson also has the highest average start of all drivers with 10 or more Cup races at Daytona (8.6).
• Historically, Daytona has been Jeff Gordon's house. The six-time winner here has 31 starts with 17 top-10s, 11 top-5s, three pole positions and an average finish of 14.7 here.
• One driver whose name doesn't come up much in plate-racing discussion, but has become one of the masters in recent years, is Tony Stewart. Smoke won this race in consecutive years (2005, 2006), has finished second at Talladega six times and was leading this year's Daytona 500 on the last lap, finishing third. He has only 19 starts to Jeff Gordon's 31, but has led 531 laps to Gordon's 511. In fact, Stewart's amount of laps led among active drivers is second only to Marlin (589).
• If you're looking for a young dark horse, Clint Bowyer may be the way to go. Bowyer has five starts with three top-10s and an average finish of 13.0, finishing all five races on the lead lap. He finished this race in seventh last year.
• Another potential surprise is David Gilliland. His Yates Racing team has been surprisingly strong this season and Gilliland has had success at Daytona, with the pole in last year's Daytona 500 and two top-11 finishes.
• Of the drivers guaranteed entry into Saturday's race, Blaney has the worst average finish (25.9). The go-or-go-homer with the best average finish is Marlin (16.9 in 51 starts). Nemechek has the worst average finish of the go-or-go-homers (25.9).

• There are 11 previous Daytona winners entered this weekend with 22 victories among them:

1. Kyle Busch (2,496) finished 25th and remains first in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. Busch has seven starts here with three top-5s and an average finish of 17.7.
2. Burton (-64) was the 12th-place finisher at Loudon and is still second in the Sprint Cup Series standings. In 29 starts here, Burton has eight top-10s, six top-5s, a win and an average finish of 16.8.
3. Earnhardt (-144) finished 24th Sunday at NHMS and maintains his hold on third place in the Cup Series standings. Earnhardt has 17 starts here with 10 top-10s, six top-5s, two wins and an average finish of 13.6.
4. Edwards (-234) was the 17th-place finisher Sunday and continues to be fourth in the Cup Series standings. Edwards has seven starts here with one top-5 and an average finish of 24.7.
5. Johnson (-276) finished ninth Sunday at Loudon and maintains his hold on fifth in the Cup Series standings. Johnson has 13 starts here with eight top-10s, five top-5s, a win and an average finish of 13.2.
6. Jeff Gordon (-325) finished 11th at New Hampshire Sunday and remains sixth in the Cup Series standings. In 31 starts here, Gordon has 17 top-10s, 11 top-5s, six wins and an average finish of 14.7.
7. Hamlin (-346) was the eighth-place finisher Sunday and moves up one place in the Cup Series standings to seventh. Hamlin has five starts here with an average finish of 27.0.
8. Biffle (-377) finished 21st at Loudon Sunday and falls one spot to eighth in the Cup Series standings. In 11 starts at Daytona, Biffle has three top-10s and a win with an average finish of 20.8.
9. Stewart (-454) was the 13th-place finisher Sunday, moving up two places in the Cup Series standings to ninth. Stewart has 19 starts here with 10 top-10s, six top-5s, two wins and an average finish of 17.6.
10. Kahne (-465) finished 30th at Loudon and falls one place to 10th in the Cup Series standings. In nine starts here, Kahne has three top-10s and an average finish of 18.1.

Mark Garrow covers fantasy racing for ESPN.com.