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On the track
Posted: Wednesday February 13, 2002 2:26 PM
All times Eastern
WINSTON CUP
What: Daytona 500
Site: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Schedule: Thursday, twin 125-mile qualifying races (TNT, 1 p.m.); Sunday, race (NBC, 12:30 p.m.).
Track: Daytona International Speedway (tri-oval, 2.5 miles, 31 degrees banking in turns, 18 degrees in tri-oval).
Race distance: 500 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Michael Waltrip recorded his first career Winston Cup victory in a race marred by the death of Dale Earnhardt in a crash on the last lap.
Fast facts: Rookie Jimmie Johnson won the pole Feb. 9 with a speed of 185.831 mph. Nine pole sitters have won the race, with Dale Jarrett the last to do it in 2000. ... Twenty-seven drivers have won the race in the event's 43-year history, with Richard Petty the most successful with seven victories. ... Only three racers have won the Daytona 500 in consecutive years, most recently, Sterling Marlin in 1994-95. ... Petty won the race in a Dodge in 1973-74. They are the only two wins Dodge has in the race. ... The winner of the Daytona 500 has gone on to win the series title seven times, most recently Jeff Gordon in 1997. ... Buddy Baker holds the record for fastest winning speed (177.602 mph in 1980), while Junior Johnson owns the mark for the slowest (124.740 mph in 1960). ... Bill Elliott won the pole in 2001, but has not finished first in the race since 1987. ... Earnhardt has a record 34 victories in all forms of racing at the speedway.
Next race: Subway 400, Feb. 24, Rockingham, N.C.
BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL
What: EAS/GNC Live Well 300
Site: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Schedule: Wednesday qualifying; Saturday, race (TNT, 1 p.m.)
Track: Daytona International Speedway (tri-oval, 2.5 miles, 31 degrees banking in turns, 18 degrees in tri-oval).
Race distance: 300 miles, 120 laps.
Last year: Randy LaJoie survived a crash with two laps to go that eliminated Jeff Purvis and Joe Nemechek to win the Napa Auto Parts 300 at Daytona.
Fast facts: LaJoie has won the Daytona event three times in the past five years, also taking the checkered flag in 1997 and '99. ... Eight drivers have won both the NAPA Auto Parts 300 and the Daytona 500. Only three did it in the same year, most recently, Darrell Waltrip in 1989. ... Kevin Harvick, the 2001 points champion, finished second to LaJoie at the Daytona event last year. ... The NAPA Auto Parts 300 has been delayed by rain in three of the last five years. ... Jeff Green has not won his last eight starts at Daytona.
Next race: 1-866rbcterm.com 200, Feb. 23, Rockingham, N.C.
CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS
What: Florida Dodge Dealers 250
Site: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Schedule: Friday, race (ESPN, 1 p.m.).
Track: Daytona International Speedway (tri-oval, 2.5 miles, 31 degrees banking in turns, 18 degrees in tri-oval).
Race distance: 250 miles, 150 laps.
Last year: Joe Ruttman, 56, held off Ricky Hendrick to become the oldest winner of a stock car race at the speedway.
Fast fact: Ted Musgrave won the pole in a Dodge Truck with a speed of 187.215 mph Tuesday. ... Joe Wood had the fastest one-lap speed (184.790 mph) during two days of preseason testing last week at the speedway. ... The 2000 inaugural race was the first for the series on a track greater than two miles in length. ... Mike Wallace won the inaugural race, during which Geoffrey Bodine was injured after his truck flew toward a crowded grandstand in a fiery crash that injured nine fans and two drivers.
Next race: Darlington 200, March 15, Darlington S.C.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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