Daytona 500 - Daytona
Intl. Speedway
Qualifying-
Jeff Gordon initially
qualified as the sixth fastest driver in first round
qualifying at Daytona with a lap of 182.747 mph (49.322
sec).
Bill Elliott, in
one of the new Dodges fielded by former Gordon crew
chief Ray Evernham, grabbed the pole for the event
with a speed of 183.565 mph. Stacy Compton, another
Dodge driver, will start beside him in the front
row after Jeff's team mate Jerry Nadeau's run was
disallowed because of a rules violation. This
disqualification of Nadeau made Gordon fifth
fastest.
However, only the top-two spots are set for the Daytona 500. The Twin 125 qualifying races will be held on Thursday, and will set the field for positions 3-30. The qualifiers from first round who qualified in an odd position will start in the first 125, those in the even positions will race in the second 125.
Jeff will start third in the first 125, behind pole-sitter Elliott, and third-place qualifier Dale Jarrett. If he finishes first in this race besides Bill Elliott, Jeff will start the Daytona 500 in third place. If he finishes second, he will start the 500 in fifth, and so on.
The first Gatorade 125-mile qualifying race will start at 1 pm EST, with the second immediately following. You can watch the race on FOX Sports Net, listen on MRN, or follow along with live timing and scoring on NASCAR.com. Whatever you do, check out the Jeff Gordon Garage Thursday night for a complete race run-down.
