Big guns come out to play in first 125-miler

Two-time winner Bill Elliott's Dodge is joined on the front row by triple winner Dale Jarrett in a Ford, while behind them, 1994-95 winner Sterling Marlin will start his Dodge alongside Jeff Gordon, who took his Chevrolet to victory lane in 1997 and 1999. Meanwhile, 1998 winner and seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt lies up a fired-up 14th, with 1990's rather fortuitous winner Derrike Cope 21st out of the 26-car field.

With only the front row of the Daytona 500 locked in after Saturday qualifying, the results of the 'Twins' determine starting spots three to 30. Finish outside of the top 15 in either race (or the top 14 if pole man Bill Elliott and fellow '500' front row man Stacy Compton finish lower than that magic 15th spot in their respective races) and you must hope your qualifying speed is good enough to give you one of the slots from 31 to 36.

Drivers disappointed with their lap speeds from Saturday's pole day were allowed to scrub those times and run again on Monday, with Brett Bodine making the biggest jump in speed. The New York State native set the 21st fastest time of the week and is now virtually guaranteed a '500' slot, regardless of his 'Twin' performance. But Bodine must start the first 125-miler in 23rd place, since the grids for the 'Twins' are decided on Saturday's times.

"Our goal was to come here and be in the top twenty in speed, so 21st is pretty darn close to that goal," said a relieved Bodine. "It's all a credit to the team, 'cos I just held it wide open. No matter what happens on Thursday we're gonna be in the Daytona 500 and it's been a long time since I've been able to say that."

One driver who will be anxious to move through the field in Thursday's first race will be Jerry Nadeau. The Hendrick Chevy driver set the second fastest time on Saturday, but was thrown to the back of the grid when found to be running illegal suspension, for which crew chief Tony Furr has received a four-race ban. Nadeau was only 47th fastest when he attempted to re-qualify on Monday, so must hope for a top 15 slot.

In race two, Bud Shootout winner Tony Stewart's Pontiac lines up alongside Stacy Compton's Dodge, with Ward Burton's Dodge in third. Compton, like Elliott, will be guaranteed his front row slot for Sunday's 500, regardless of his 'Twin' performance, but is keen to see how his Dodge Intrepid R/T handles in the draft for the very first time.

"We're hoping to win the 'Twin'," said Compton. "We don't have to, but Ward's right behind me and there's nothing I'd like better than to hook up with him and John Andretti and try to get away from some of these guys."

Should a driver fail to record a top 15 finish in a 'Twin', or hav equalified well enough to start on the next three rows, spots 37 to the 43rd and final slot are reserved for provisonal starters, who qualify courtesy of last year's points or by being a former champion.



1 Bill Elliott, Dodge, 49.029, 183.565
2 Dale Jarrett, Ford, 49.282, 182.622
3 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 49.322, 182.474
4 Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 49.412, 182.135
5 Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 49.419, 182.116
6 Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 49.453, 181.995
7 Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 49.534, 181.693
8 Bobby Hamilton, Chevrolet, 49.544, 181.664
9 Andy Houston, Ford, 49.569, 181.569
10 Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 49.632, 181.335
11 Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 49.745, 180.923
12 Steve Park, Chevrolet, 49.769, 180.835
13 Casey Atwood, Dodge, 49.798, 180.730
14 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 49.808, 180.694
15 Buckshot Jones, Dodge, 49.836, 180.592
16 Ron Hornaday, Pontiac, 49.853, 180.531
17 Jimmy Spencer, Ford, 49.928, 180.270
18 Kenny Wallace, Pontiac, 50.033, 179.881
19 Mike Wallace, Ford, 50.151, 179.465
20 Rick Mast, Chevrolet, 50.396, 178.589
21 Derrike Cope, Pontiac, 50.764, 177.294
22 Carl Long, Ford, 51.053, 176.287
23 Brett Bodine, Ford, 49.740, 180.941 *
24 Jason Leffler, Dodge, 50.169, 179.394 *
25 Jeff Purvis, Ford, 50.431, 178.462 *
26 Jerry Nadeau, Chevrolet, 50.485, 178.271 *



1 Stacy Compton, Dodge, 49.266, 182.682
2 Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 49.306, 182.534
3 Ward Burton, Dodge, 49.337, 182.419
4 Mike Skinner, Chevrolet, 49.419, 182.116
5 Ricky Craven, Ford, 49.430, 182.076
6 Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 49.502, 181.811
7 Dave Blaney, Dodge, 49.543, 181.668
8 John Andretti, Dodge, 49.566, 181.576
9 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 49.586, 181.503
10 Ricky Rudd, Ford, 49.671, 181.192
11 Rusty Wallace, Ford, 49.763, 180.861
12 Jeff Burton, Ford, 49.792, 180.748
13 Mark Martin, Ford, 49.805, 180.705
14 Ken Schrader, Pontiac, 49.822, 180.643
15 Kyle Petty, Dodge, 49.839, 180.581
16 Elliott Sadler, Ford, 49.899, 180.361
17 Todd Bodine, Ford, 50.003, 179.996
18 Matt Kenseth, Ford, 50.127, 179.544
19 Hut Stricklin, Ford, 50.282, 178.990
20 Kurt Busch, Ford, 50.417, 178.494
21 Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 51.049, 176.305
22 Morgan Shepherd, Ford, 51.526, 174.672
23 Dave Marcis, Chevrolet, 49.869, 180.473 *
24 Robert Pressley, Ford, 50.303, 178.916 *
25 Jeremy Mayfield, Ford, 50.449, 178.398 *
26 Dwayne Leik Chevrolet, 51.529, 174.659 *