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Practice, practice, practice

Teams work to get all the kinks out before Sunday

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Bobby Labonte (left) will defend his Winston Cup championship in Mike Helton's first year as president of NASCAR. AP

By John Donovan, CNNSI.com

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The speed part of qualifying down, and the Gatorade Twin 125s ahead, Winston Cup drivers are getting serious this week. Serious about practice.

Between now and the Twin 125s on Thursday -- races that will determine positions 3-30 for Sunday's Daytona 500 -- race teams here at Daytona International Speedway have one thing to do.

Practice. A lot.

"We want to see how the car is going to run after 30 or 40 laps," said Jerry Nadeau, who has had a strange first week in his No. 25 Chevrolet. Nadeau qualified with the second-fastest time in Saturday's 500 qualifying, putting him in the front row next to pole-sitter Bill Elliott.

But NASCAR officials disallowed the time -- Nadeau's car didn't pass inspection -- which forced him to try to qualify again Monday and puts a premium on his performance in Thursday's 125.

"If our car can stand it, with 40, 50 lap-tires on it," Nadeau said, "then I think we'll be in good shape."

All the teams will try to learn more about their cars in the next few days: How they fare during the longer distances, for instance, or how the tires fare.

Drivers, too, will get a better feel for how the cars react in traffic and how the new aerodynamics package that NASCAR has implemented affects the car over a longer stretch.

"I need to get out there in the draft ... and learn as much as possible," said rookie Jason Leffler, in the No. 01 Dodge. "I haven't drafted with the Dodge. With these hour sessions they're giving us, it's going to be a big help for me."

Winston Cup drivers have a 1 1/2-hour practice session early Tuesday afternoon, then one almost that long Wednesday morning. After Thursday's 125s, Cup drivers get a couple more practices Friday and Saturday, too. So, counting Tuesday, that makes four practices and a qualifying race before the Super Bowl of stock-car racing begins at 1 p.m. Sunday.

They better get cracking.

The Dead Zone It's really practice all around. There is some qualifying for the truck series today and Wednesday, and qualifying for the Busch series on Wednesday. Other than that, though, this is work time. Garage time. Getting ready time. The Dodge Question Bill Elliott showed the new Dodges can run. The question is whether they can run in a race. With no drafting partners in the Budweiser Shootout on Sunday, Elliott struggled. He'll have some in the big race. Will it help? Fine With Us You better believe that car owners and crew chiefs will be taking things a bit more carefully when running in the 125s. Eighteen crew chiefs were fined, some suspended and one placed on probation for various violations regarding the setup of the cars. In all, more than $40,000 in fines were doled out.

Brett Bodine He needed to run faster to make sure he got a spot in the big field, so even though the weather was nasty Monday, he took a chance and got up to 21st in the speed standings. No matter what happens Thursday, he's probably in.

Dave Marcis Still going strong, after all these years Tony Furr Nadeau's crew chief got caught -- big, big time NASCAR cops It's them against the garages: Give 'em credit Truck series What can you haul to the dump in those? IROC Great concept: Where the drivers make a difference It is the calm before the storm, both on and off the track. Practice only, for the most part, on it. And off it, the streets of Daytona Beach are practically deserted -- for now. But it's coming, we all know it.

 

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Daytona 500 Qualifying Results 2001 Gatorade Twin 125 Lineups Rules violations result in heavy fines, suspensions
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