Jeff Gordon won the first of
Thursday's twin Daytona 500 qualifying races, his first trip to
Victory Lane since October 2007.
The non-points Gatorade Duel doesn't count to Gordon's overall
victory total, but it gives him a second-row starting spot in
Sunday's Daytona 500. It also gives the four-time Cup champion a
boost after last year's winless season, his first since his 1993
rookie year.
Tony Stewart finished second and defending three-time series
champion Jimmie Johnson was third.
Stewart and Scott Riggs both earned transfer spots into the
Daytona 500, but Stewart already had one based on last week's time
trials. That opened a position for Regan Smith, last year's top
rookie who lost his ride at the end of the season.
Kyle Busch won the second Daytona 500
qualifying race, holding off Mark Martin in a frantic push to the
finish.
Busch will now start in the second row of Sunday's
season-opening race. Jeff Gordon earned the other spot by winning
the first of Thursday's twin 150-mile races.
Four spots were up for grabs to cars not otherwise qualified for
NASCAR's biggest event of the year. Those went to Jeremy Mayfield
and AJ Allmendinger, who raced their way in during the second
event, and Scott Riggs and Regan Smith, who earned the two spots
from the first race.
Allmendinger failed to qualify for the 500 driving for Red Bull
Racing in his first two NASCAR seasons, but finally got a spot in
an entry fielded by Richard Petty Motorsports.
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