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Now that Bud Pole Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is over, it is time for the drivers to race in the Daytona 500, right? Wrong!

The Daytona 500 is a very unique race in NASCAR. Even though qualifying for the race is over, the only positions locked in are pole winner David Gilliland and second place starter Ricky Rudd. All other positions are still up for grabs.

Here is the 411 on how the Gatorade Duels work. 35 drivers are already locked into the Daytona 500 due to last years owner points. Also some drivers locked themselves into the race by having fast speeds in qualifying on Sunday. But some drivers are currently not locked in, and will need to race their way in. Thursday the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series will run the Gatorade Duels. The Gatorade Duels are two races that determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500. This year there are 61 cars trying to make the Daytona 500, but there are only 43 spots.

In each Gatorade Duel there will only be two drivers that make it into The Great American Race. Basically this means four more drivers will be locked into the Daytona 500 after Thursdays running of the Gatorade Duels. This will fill the field to 43 drivers, so the rest of the 18 drivers and teams will be sent home packing.

This years duels will definitely be very exciting, and intense at the same time. There will be two different agendas on Thursday. Drivers that are already locked into the Daytona 500 will be taking it easy in the Gatorade Duels. This is because you do not want to get in an accident and damage your car since these cars are the same that will be used in the Daytona 500. Ruining your car in the Gatorade Duels would be the worse case scenario for drivers like David Gilliland, Ricky Rudd, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and many others because they will have to use a backup car, which usually is not as fast as your primary car.

The other agenda will be drivers that race their hearts out and go for the win. These drivers don’t really care what happens, only if they make the Daytona 500. If this means possibly making evasive moves in the race, they will do it. They have to make the Daytona 500. The Daytona 500 is the Super bowl of NASCAR and is the first race of the season.

Now I usually pick who I think will win the race. But this time I am going to pick the four drivers that I believe will advance to the Daytona 500, who are not locked in already. My picks are Brian Vickers, Michael Waltrip, Kevin Lepage, and Jeremy Mayfield. Now the reason I picked Brian Vickers was because he was strong in the Budweiser Shootout last Saturday. I also picked Kevin Lepage because in the last two years, he has raced his way into the Daytona 500 by means of the Gatorade Duels. Michael Waltrip I think will make the Daytona 500 because he has worked hard with his new team over the offseason, and it would be devastating to him to miss the first race of the season. Jeremy Mayfield is also in the same boat as Michael Waltrip. Mayfield missed being in a racecar last season, and it would also devastate him to miss the Daytona 500. I think both Waltrip and Mayfield have the mental drive to make the Daytona 500.

You can catch the drama of the Gatorade Duels At Daytona on Thursday. Coverage of the race begins at 2:00 PM ET on SPEED Channel. Now I know most of us NASCAR fans will miss the race because either we don’t get SPEED Channel or we will be at work/school. This brings up a good question that I may use in my next article. Should NASCAR change the Gatorade Duels to a night race and place them on network television?

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Brett Baldeck
Owner - RacingWire
www.geocities.com/nascar_zone24