Day at a Glance

All hell breaks loose at Daytona on Thursday

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Thursday February 17, 2000 11:19 AM

Dale Earnhardt (left, with Rusty Wallace) will have to fight through a tough field to win his 11th straight 125-mile race. AP

By Ryan Smithson, CNNSI.com

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- For about an hour Thursday morning, 30 or so nice Busch Series cars will hold a routine practice for Saturday's NAPA 300.

Then, all hell will break loose.

The quiet of the past three months will be shattered just after noon with the first of the Gatorade Twin 125-milers.

The lineups are set; the teams know what they have to do. On Thursday, they will go out and do it.

Dale Earnhardt has won 10 straight 125-mile races at Daytona -- and he will start ninth in Thursday's opener. The first race has the strongest field; Earnhardt will have to fight through a group that includes Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace and Bill Elliott.

And those are just some of the drivers starting ahead of him.

The second race has only three drivers (Ricky Rudd, Jeff Burton, Dave Marcis) with more than three career victories. Marcis hasn't won a race since 1982.

Some of the most exciting racing of the year will come in the second 125-miler. That race features a slew of drivers who need to finish no worse than 14th if they want to make the Daytona 500 field, so expect a lot of jockeying for position in the opening laps.

Storylines We're Following

Warm, fuzzy feeling A lot of people figured Joe Ruttman's long NASCAR career was over when he was unceremoniously dumped by Jack Roush's Truck Series program after the 1998 season. Winston Cup regular Bobby Hamilton gave Ruttman a chance to resurrect his career by giving him a job to drive the No. 18 Dodge in the Truck Series for 2000. Ruttman has responded in a big way. On Wednesday night, Ruttman took the pole for Friday's Daytona 250 by edging out Mike Wallace. No, not the guy from "60 Minutes" - it's Rusty's brother. Is Bill back? Bill Elliott has kept a very low profile at Daytona this week, but his car has been quietly impressive. Elliott was second in final practice Wednesday with a lap of 194.049 mph. Elliott just missed a spot on the outside pole last week - Ricky Rudd edged by a mere .065 mph.

Our New Favorite Drivers

Rick Carelli Carelli was nearly killed last season in a horrifying Truck Series accident at Memphis Motorsports Park. Carelli was in the hospital for a month with severe head and facial injuries. But he's back - big-time. The 45-year-old showed courage by making his comeback at Daytona at an ultra-fast, dangerous track where trucks have never raced. Did we mention that he qualified ninth?

Bandwagon

Hut Stricklin Nice guy got pole when Nemechek was busted Tony Stewart If he said what they said he said ... Robby Gordon Took some of the blame Rusty Wallace Best shot ever for Daytona 500 win Lyndon Amick Another Truck Series surprise The Bottom Line Talk about a tough pack to pass If you can't make the Daytona 500 field, then good luck trying to get that hauler through traffic to I-95.   Related information Stories Marcis' streak of Daytona starts in jeopardy Against the odds: Making Daytona without a sponsor Stewart, Robby Gordon scuffle at Daytona practice Stats Twin 125s Lineups Multimedia Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video Search our site Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV. Copyright © 2000 CNN/Sports Illustrated An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.