Qualifying: Stacy repeats his feat

Compton put his Dodge on the pole late in Friday's qualification session with a lap at 185.240 miles per hour. Compton also won the pole for April's Talladega 500, but finished last in the 43-car field after suffering an engine problem early in the race.

"We came and tested in the spring, but we didn't come back for this race," he said. "We made some changes and we felt like we were going to be a little bit better for qualifying. We got a lucky draw, too. We got a late draw and it cooled down a little bit and maybe the motors made a little bit more horsepower."

Compton's run knocked Bobby Hamilton off the pole. The Chevrolet driver will start second after running a lap at 184.438 mph. Hamilton won April's Talladega 500 at the 2.66-mile tri-oval.

Sterling Marlin, another Dodge driver, starts third after running a lap at 184.058 mph. With the current aerodynamic rules and restrictor-plate package at Talladega and Daytona, he believes many drivers will lay back in the race until there are about 10 laps remaining before trying to race for the win.

"It doesn't matter where you start," Marlin said. "You can start 43rd and be leading in 10 laps with the rules we've got. With the big wicker we've got on the Dodges, I just hope we don't get the rear wheels picked up off the ground."

Johnny Benson Jr was the highest Pontiac driver at 184.019 mph and will start fourth, followed by Dodge's Bill Elliott at 183.942 mph. Dale Jarrett was the highest Ford driver and will start 10th.

Jeff Gordon, who enters Sunday's race with a 334-point lead over Ricky Rudd in the battle for the Winston Cup title with six races remaining, will start 11th. Rudd will start 23rd.