Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished a close second to teammate Michael Waltrip in the first of the qualifying races Thursday. AP
	Daytona 500 lineup 1. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 188.312 mph, 150-2. 2. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 188.170 mph, 150-2. 3. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 1st 150-1. 4. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 1st 150-2. 5. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 2nd 150-1. 6. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 2nd 150-2. 7. (23) Mike Skinner, Dodge, 3rd 150-1. 8. (37) Kevin Lepage, Dodge, 3rd 150-2. 9. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 4th 150-1. 10. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 4th 150-2. 11. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 5th 150-1. 12. (10) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 5th 150-2. 13. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 6th 150-1. 14. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 6th 150-2. 15. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 7th 150-1. 16. (22) Scott Wimmer, Dodge, 8th 150-1. 17. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 8th 150-2. 18. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 9th 150-1. 19. (5) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 9th 150-2. 20. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 12th 150-2. 21. (00) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 10th 150-1. 22. (32) Bobby Hamilton Jr., Chevrolet, 13th 150-2. 23. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 13th 150-1. 24. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 15th 150-2. 25. (77) Travis Kvapil, Dodge, 14th 150-1. 26. (43) Jeff Green, Dodge, 16th 150-2. 27. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 15th 150-1. 28. (25) Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 19th 150-2. 29. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 17th 150-1. 30. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 21st 150-2. 31. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 19th 150-1. 32. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 22nd 150-2. 33. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 20th 150-1. 34. (01) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 23rd 150-2. 35. (0) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, 22nd 150-1. 36. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 24th 150-2. 37. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 24th 150-1. 38. (07) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 25th 150-2. 39. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 26th 150-1. 40. (11) Jason Leffler, Chevrolet, 187.715 mph. 41. (36) Boris Said, Chevrolet, 187.122 mph. 42. (14) John Andretti, Ford, 186.324 mph. 43. (4) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 185.908 mph. Failed to qualify 44. (33) Kerry Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 183.012 mph. 45. (7) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 184.911 mph. 46. (09) Johnny Sauter, Dodge, 184.528 mph. 47. (27) Kirk Shelmerdine, Ford, 184.665 mph. 48. (66) Hermie Sadler, Ford, 184.211 mph. 49. (89) Morgan Shepherd, Dodge, 182.789 mph. 50. (73) Eric McClure, Chevrolet, 183.963 mph. 51. (13) Greg Sacks, Dodge, 183.024 mph. 52. (92) Stanton Barrett, Chevrolet, 183.098 mph. 53. (55) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 182.275 mph. 54. (34) Randy LaJoie, Chevrolet, 181.159 mph. 55. (52) Larry Gunselman, Ford, 178.409 mph. 56. (80) Andy Belmont, Ford, 174.683 mph. NOTE: The top two positions in the Daytona lineup were determined at last weekend's time trials. Positions 3-39 were determined by Thursday's twin 150-mile races. Michael Waltrip won the first 150-mile race, Tony Stewart won the second race, etc. Positions 40-43 were given to the four fastest cars from last weekend's time trials that did not qualify through Thursday's races.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. strode into the Daytona International Speedway media center Thursday afternoon wearing a bright yellow T-shirt emblazoned with the words, "I shot J.R." As he spoke to the standing-room-only media crowd for 15 minutes, he was confident, funny and relaxed. This was telling, because Little E is usually a glass-is-half-empty kind of guy when it comes to assessing his chances for winning a big race. "It's cool," he said of finishing second in the first of the two 150-mile qualifying races Thursday. "We aren't falling off."

Though it isn't the sexiest of picks, I'm taking Junior to repeat as Daytona 500 champ. Much ink has been spilled this week about the demise of DEI's superspeedway supremacy, but don't buy it. It's true that the Hendrick operation has gained ground on DEI in its restrictor-plate engine program, but after watching Junior and teammate Michael Waltrip finish 1-2 in the first qualifying race, which Waltrip won, it appears that everyone is still chasing the DEI drivers.

Neither Junior nor Waltrip qualified well last Sunday -- Junior was 39th fastest; Waltrip 33rd -- but those results were somewhat by design. The DEI cars, you see, don't run well when they're not drafting with other cars. I had a lengthy conversation Thursday afternoon with Richie Gilmore, DEI's director of motor sports, and Gilmore was very confident that Junior and Waltrip would run well once they were on the track with other cars. After Thursday's results, it's hard to argue with Gilmore's take.

The two drivers that Junior will be watching most closely Sunday are Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. The Hendrick engines have been the talk of Speedweeks -- four of the top six fastest cars in qualifying had Hendrick power under the hood -- and Hendrick cars have won two of the last four restrictor-plate races. Everyone in the Hendrick organization desperately wants to win for their boss, Rick Hendrick, who is still grieving the loss of his son (Ricky), his brother (John), his nieces (Jennifer and Kimberly), his best friend (Randy Dorton) and his team vice president (Jeff Turner), all of whom were killed in a plane crash last October as they were en route to race in Martinsville, Va.

Of the Hendrick drivers, I think Gordon has the better chance of taking the checkers Sunday. Though Johnson has been dominate during Speedweeks -- he won the Bud Shootout last Saturday and he qualified on the front row Sunday -- he got spun out by Kevin Harvick during the second qualifying race Thursday and his No. 48 Chevy sustained some damage. Johnson won't have to use a backup car, but the accident may stem his momentum. Still, JJ's a threat, if for no other reason than he's getting better by the day at riding the draft.

Two other drivers to keep an eye on are Ryan Newman and Elliott Sadler. Newman was giddy after he finished fourth in the first qualifying race Thursday; he said he's never had a car this good at Daytona. Newman isn't the kind of driver who exaggerates, so he could surprise Sunday. (In fact, he's perhaps the most popular pick in the press box.)

As for Sadler, he's been relatively quiet for the last week. But he's got a wealth of horsepower under his right foot -- his owner Robert Yates once again has given Sadler and his teammate Dale Jarrett championship-caliber engines -- and I just got a gut feeling that Sadler is poised to become NASCAR's next breakout star.

So, race fans, here's how the top 10 will look when the checkered flag waves late Sunday afternoon:

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Ryan Newman
5. Elliott Sadler
6. Dale Jarrett
7. Joe Nemecheck
8. Tony Stewart
9. Greg Biffle
10. Kurt Busch