Daytona 500 preview

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The first official green flag of the season is set to wave Sunday in the Daytona 500. NASCAR's biggest race of the season has kicked off the year for more than three decades but this one has a much different flavor to it.
Daytona's new asphalt surface, which was installed over the winter in the wake of last year's pot hole debacle that ruined the 500 with a two and a half hour delay to repair the giant crater that developed between turns one and two, has changed racing completely on the 2.5-mile speedway.
Big packs of cars running in the draft all day long are gone replaced by two car tandem drafting as drivers search for the best partner to help run to the front of the field.
The change has the potential to turn Sunday's race into something completely different than the previous 52 editions of "The Great American Race" and also has the possibility of producing a surprise winner with so many unkowns.
But with that here's a look at the 53rd running of the Daytona 500 by the numbers:

Daytona International Speedway Data
Track Size: 2.5 miles
Race Length: 500 miles
Banking/Corners: 31 degrees
Banking/Straights: 3 degrees
Banking/Tri-Oval: 18 degrees

Race Facts
Although the first Daytona 500 was held in 1959, it has been the season-opener only since 1982.
514 drivers have competed in at least one Daytona 500; 304 in more than one.
34 drivers have won a Daytona 500.
Eight drivers have won more than one Daytona 500, led by Richard Petty, with seven victories.
The eight drivers who have won the Daytona 500 more than once: Richard Petty (seven), Cale Yarborough (four), Bobby Allison (three), Dale Jarrett (three), Jeff Gordon (three), Bill Elliott (two), Sterling Marlin (two) and Michael Waltrip (two).
Fred Lorenzen posted a top-10 finish in eight of his nine Daytona 500s, the best percentage of drivers who have competed in more than two Daytona 500s.
Dale Earnhardt finished in the top 10 in 16 of his 23 Daytona 500s.
Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty each had 16 top 10s in the Daytona 500, more than any other driver.
Dale Earnhardt had 12 top fives in the Daytona 500, more than any other driver.
Only 12 drivers have an average finish of 10th or better in the Daytona 500, five of those competed in the Daytona 500 only once.
Clint Bowyer has an 11.2 average finish in five appearances, the best of the active drivers who have competed in more than one Daytona 500.
Other than Lee Petty, who won the inaugural Daytona 500, no driver has ever won in his first appearance.
28 of the 34 drivers who have won, participated in at least two Daytona 500s before visiting Victory Lane.
Dale Earnhardt competed 19 times before winning his only Daytona 500 (1998), the longest span of any of the 34 race winners.
Six drivers made 10 or more attempts before their first Daytona 500 victory: Dale Earnhardt (19), Buddy Baker (18), Darrell Waltrip (16), Bobby Allison (14), Michael Waltrip (14) and Sterling Marlin (12).
The most Daytona 500s all-time without a victory was Dave Marcis (33 races).
Mark Martin (26) leads active drivers without a victory.
Six drivers posted their career-first victory with a win in the Daytona 500: Tiny Lund (1963), Mario Andretti (1967), Pete Hamilton (1970), Derrike Cope (1990), Sterling Marlin (1994) and Michael Waltrip (2001).
Three other drivers posted their career-first victory in (point-paying) qualifying races: Johnny Rutherford (1963), Bobby Isaac (1964) and Earl Balmer (1966).
A driver has won back-to-back Daytona 500s three times. Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95).
Kevin Harvick’s 0.020-second margin of victory over Mark Martin in the 2007 Daytona 500 is the 10th-closest overall since the advent of electronic timing in 1993, and the closest in a Daytona 500.
26 of the 52 Daytona 500s have been won from a top-five starting position.
Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500 from the 39th starting position in 2009, the deepest a race winner has started.
Nine have been won from the pole. The last to do so was Dale Jarrett, in 2000.
16 Daytona 500s have been won from the front row.
Who's Hot at Daytona
Kurt Busch - Has led everything at Daytona in 2011 including January's testing, Speedweeks practices, the Bud Shootout and his Gatorade Duel. While he does not have a points win at a restrictor plate race in his career, Busch has mastered the two-car tandem that will play such an important part in determining Sunday's race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Karma points to Junior winning on the tenth year anniversary of his father's tragic death in the 2001 Daytona 500. Things seemed to be pointing in his favor early in Speedweeks when he drew the number one starting spot in the Shootout and then went on to win the pole for the 500. But a practice crash forced Earnhardt off the front row and he'll start 43rd on Sunday. However there's a potent back-up No. 88 ready to roll on Sunday and look for Earnhardt to be near the front at some point with a drafting partner.
Kevin Harvick - The Richard Childress Racing team has been a powerhouse throughout Speedweeks with all four RCR Chevrolets showing strength. While teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer will be in the mix, Harvick's past Daytona success including a pair of Bud Shootout victories as well as the 2007 Daytona 500 triumph give him the edge in the experience department.
Who's Not
David Reutimann - Has only one top five finish in his Daytona Sprint Cup career and the non Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas haven't shown much in the days leading up to the 500.
Joey Logano - An average finish over 27th in four Daytona starts tells Logano's story which got worse last week when he crashed in his Gatorade Duel.
Brad Keselowski - The defending Nationwide Series champion hasn't finished inside the top twenty in three career Daytona Cup starts and his crash in Saturday's Nationwide race sure wasn't a harbinger that luck is on Keselowski's side this weekend.
Notebook
There have been 127 NASCAR Sprint Cup races since the track hosted its first race in 1959: 52 have been 500 miles, 48 were 400 miles and four 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifier races that were point races.
Fireball Roberts won the inaugural pole at Daytona.
Bob Welborn won the first race at Daytona, the 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, 1959.
Fireball Roberts won the first 400-mile race at Daytona, the 1963 Firecracker 400.
52 drivers have posted poles at Daytona.
Cale Yarborough leads all drivers with 12 poles at Daytona.
Bill Elliott leads all active drivers with five poles at Daytona.
54 drivers have won at Daytona.
Richard Petty leads all drivers in victories at Daytona with 10.
Jeff Gordon has six victories at Daytona, more than any other active driver.
The Wood Brothers have won 14 races at Daytona, more than any other car owner.
17 full-length races at Daytona have been won from the pole, the last to do it was Kevin Harvick in last year’s Coke Zero 400.
A driver has swept both races at Daytona only four times, most recently by Bobby Allison in 1982.
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