Qualifying races have much at stake

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Kenny Wallace really wants to be in Sunday's Daytona 500.

"If I get to the last lap of my 150-mile qualifying race on Thursday with a chance to make the 500, I'll finish the race on my roof if that's what I have to do to get in," Wallace said.

Wallace, in the first of two races, will be one of 22 drivers vying for four starting positions -- two from each event -- today.

Also desperate to get in are Brian Vickers, who changed teams and lost his 15th-place points from last season; 2002 Daytona winner Ward Burton and former series champion Bill Elliott, a two-time Daytona winner.

Kyle Petty, not among the "go or go home" guys in today's races, said even drivers who already have qualified for the big event are susceptible to going wild.

"You'd think you'd focus on the 500," Petty said. "But race car drivers are idiots when they get out there."

Under the unique Daytona qualifying format, 35 of the 43 starters automatically make it into the race based on last year's car owner points.

Last Sunday's time trials locked in the front row -- pole-sitter David Gilliland and Robert Yates Racing teammate Ricky Rudd.

Two-time Daytona winner Sterling Marlin, Boris Said and Johnny Sauter were the three fastest qualifiers last Sunday among those not guaranteed a starting spot, meaning they, too, are in.

For them -- plus the rest of the top 35 and Dale Jarrett, guaranteed a spot as the past champion -- only starting positions are in question.

But all drivers will battle one hurdle today, when gusts up to 30 mph are expected. During practice Wednesday, winds gusted to 25 mph, baffling just about everyone.

Among the non-qualified drivers joining Wallace in the first race are Burton, Elliott, Jeremy Mayfield, Mike Bliss, Stanton Barrett, rookies A.J. Allmendinger and Brandon Whitt and 72-year-old James Hylton, the longest of long shots to make the race.

In race No. 2, the non-qualified roster includes Cope, Menard, Mike Skinner, Kevin Lepage, Vickers, Joe Nemechek, Frank Kimmel, Eric McClure, Kirk Shelmerdine, Mike Wallace and rookies David Reutimann and Regan Smith.

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NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule

Feb. 10 -- x-Budweiser Shootout, Daytona Beach, Fla. (Tony Stewart)

Feb. 18 -- Daytona 500, Daytona Beach, Fla.

Feb. 25 -- Auto Club 500, Fontana, Calif.

March 11 -- UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400, Las Vegas.

March 18 -- Atlanta 500, Hampton, Ga.

March 25 -- Food City 500, Bristol, Tenn.

April 1 -- Goody's 500, Martinsville, Va.

April 15 -- Samsung 500, Fort Worth, Texas.

April 21 -- Subway Fresh 500, Avondale, Ariz.

April 29 -- Aaron's 499, Talladega, Ala.

May 5 -- Crown Royal 400, Richmond, Va.

May 12 -- Dodge Avenger 500, Darlington, S.C.

May 19 -- x-NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge, Concord, N.C.

May 27 -- Coca Cola 600, Concord, N.C.

June 3 -- TBA, Dover, Del.

June 10 -- Pocono 500, Long Pond, Pa.

June 17 -- TBA, Brooklyn, Mich.

June 24 -- Dodge/Save Mart 350, Sonoma, Calif.

July 1 -- LENOX Industrial Tools 300, Loudon, N.H.

July 7 -- Pepsi 400, Daytona Beach, Fla.

July 15 -- USG Sheetrock 400, Joliet, Ill.

July 29 -- Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Indianapolis.

Aug. 5 -- Pennsylvania 500, Long Pond, Pa.

Aug. 12 -- NEXTEL Cup at The Glen, Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Aug. 19 -- TBA, Brooklyn, Mich.

Aug. 25 -- Sharpie 500, Bristol, Tenn.

Sept. 2 -- TBA, Fontana, Calif.

Sept. 8 -- Chevy Rock-and-Roll 400, Richmond, Va.

Sept. 16 -- Sylvania 300, Loudon, N.H.

Sept. 23 -- TBA, Dover, Del.

Sept. 30 -- Kansas 400, Kansas City, Kan.

Oct. 7 -- UAW-Ford 500, Talladega, Ala.

Oct. 13 -- Bank of America 500, Concord, N.C.

Oct. 21 -- TBA, Martinsville, Va.

Oct. 28 -- TBA, Hampton, Ga.

Nov. 4 -- Dickies 500, Fort Worth, Texas.

Nov. 11 -- Checker Auto Parts 500, Avondale, Ariz.

Nov. 18 -- Ford 400, Homestead, Fla.

(x -- non-points race)