Grapevine: Rankings: Daytona set to shake order

But the odd thing is that there is no IndyCar or NASCAR Sprint Cup round for quite a while yet...

Instead, leading stars such as Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe and Ryan Hunter-Reay (IndyCar) and Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya (NASCAR) will be contesting the opening round of the Grand-Am Sports Car Series, the Daytona 24 Hours.

Johnson, who lies eighth in the Castrol Rankings, will team up in the Bob Stallings/GAINSCO Riley-Chevrolet with former Grand-Am champions Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney, who hold 128th and 129th positions respectively. Meanwhile, Franchitti (9), Dixon (18), McMurray (24) and Montoya (32) collaborate in an all-star line-up in one of Chip Ganassi Racing's Riley-BMWs.

But it is the other Ganassi car, which features dominant 2010 Grand-Am champions Scott Pruett (64) and Memo Rojas (65) in its line-up, which arguably starts as favourite for victory. Similarly, the SunTrust Dallara-Chevy that Briscoe (21) will drive is always strong, and he teams up with, among others, 103rd place sharers Max Angelelli and Ricky Taylor.

Last year's winners are dispersed, with Joao Barbosa (289) and racing reverend Terry Borcheller (334) remaining in the Action Express Riley-Porsche line-up, but Ryan Dalziel (158) is now driving a Starworks Riley-Ford. Scotsman Dalziel topped testing earlier this month, but could not maintain that form in qualifying: instead it is Jorg Bergmeister (287) who will start from pole in the Flying Lizard Riley-Porsche.

And if you're looking for a returning old stager to make a belated 'new entry' to the Castrol Rankings, in the manner of Francois Delecour on the Monte Carlo Rally last week, we've got two for you this time around: British Formula 1/sportscar veterans Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell are teaming up in a Michael Shank Racing Riley-Ford. And, as 1988 Daytona victor Brundle could attest, anything can happen in a 24-hour race.

To see the full Castrol Rankings and the latest positions in the Race for 2011, visit www.castroldriverrankings.com.