DAYTONA 500 : DUEL & QUALIFYING PREDICTIONS (WHO'S IN & WHO'S OUT)

#08 James Hylton - Great story for the Duels, but history afterwards (OUT)
#09 Brad Keselowski- This will be a Hendrick Racing car running under James Finch. Should be a threat for the pole & should be able to race during the duels. (IN)
#14 Tony Stewart - No worries here, Past Champions Provisional secures him a spot in the field (IN)
#21 Bill Elliott - If Stewart & Labonte get in without using the Champs Prov, then Bill can use it, but with Roush/Yates engines and a limited schedule, along with Terry likely to use the provisional (OUT)
#23 Mike Skinner- Skinner does well in pressure situations & plate tracks, not sure if he has the people around him to get the job done though.(OUT)
#27 Kirk Shelmerdine- Kirk has made the show before, but this likely won't be the year (OUT)
#28 Travis Kvapil- Don't be surprised if Travis doesn't win the pole, should have the speed to fall back on, but should be able to race his way in also (IN)
#33 Clint Bowyer- Things could get hairy for Clint, but he's good enough to race his way in (IN)
#36 Scott Riggs- SLEEPER ALERT! This is my pic for the cinderella story, he has some solid people around him and has alot to prove (IN)
#46 Carl Long- Carl will make a few shows this year, but not the big one (OUT)
#51 Kelly Bires-Not the Daytona 500 (OUT)
#57 Norm Benning- NO CHANCE! (OUT)
#60 Boris Said- Could win the pole & will have the speed, but must get a good drafting partner early and race cautiously (IN)
#66 Terry Labonte- Likely to benefit by Stewart making the show without a Champs Prov. (IN)
#71 Mike Wallace- Wreckers or Checkers, Mike will not hold back to race into the big show (OUT)
#75 Derrike Cope- Previous Daytona Winner, but history won't help Cope get in (OUT)
#78 Regan Smith- The driver has the talent (see 08 Dega), but will have to fight for every position (IN)
#87 Joe Nemechek- Front Row Joe? NO! (OUT)
## Jeremy Mayfield- Highly unlikely, but stranger things have happened. (OUT)

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The 41 is already in the Top 35. They were 33rd in the Owner Points Standings at the end of 2008 (with the 15 and 01 going away, it moves them up to 31st). As it stands right now, if all the teams that finished inside the Top 35 last year (minus the 15 and 01) and the 47 and 44 (was the 10) go to Daytona, the 77 needs to qualify through the dual or on time. If the 22, 41 or 44 (was the 10) don't show up, then the 77 is locked in.
My mistake- I was thinking of the #40 regarding owner points.
I would say EGR still has them. All they would need to do is change the nose piece to a chevy.
#08 James Hylton - nope (OUT)
#09 Brad Keselowski- I really don't think Brad will have the speed to get in and I don't think he has the drafting experience to make it in (OUT)
#14 Tony Stewart - Could use the past champions provisional but won't need it, he's in (IN)
#21 Bill Elliott -Call me crazy but I think Bill's in on speed (IN)
#23 Mike Skinner- With Slugger Labbe, and Skinner's drafting ability this could be a darkhorse but I say he's out(OUT)
#27 Kirk Shelmerdine- It would take a massive amount of luck to get him in (OUT)
#28 Travis Kvapil- I think Travis is in on speed (IN)
#33 Clint Bowyer- Clint won't be fast enough on qualifying day unless they let the EGR guys tune the engine, I think he'll race his was in (IN)
#36 Scott Riggs- I think this team could be competitive this year. Tommy Baldwin knows what he's doing (IN)
#46 Carl Long-no way(OUT)
#51 Kelly Bires-nope (OUT)
#57 Norm Benning- negatory(OUT)
#60 Boris Said- He will have to make it in on Sunday because it won't happen on Thursday. I think I will cautiously say he's in (IN)
#66 Terry Labonte-Past Champions Provisional for a highly questionable team (IN)
#71 Mike Wallace- It is between the 78 and the 71 for me on this, but I think I'm going with the 78 because I know more about what they can do (OUT)
#75 Derrike Cope- not enough horses (OUT)
#78 Regan Smith- This team has shown speed in the superspeedway events (IN)
#87 Joe Nemechek- don't see it happening (OUT)
## Jeremy Mayfield- will be lucky if he shows up at Daytona (OUT)

Recap:

In on speed

Tony Stewart
Bill Elliott
Boris Said
Travis Kvapil

Duel Races

Scott Riggs
Regan Smith
Clint Bowyer

PCP (not the drug)

Terry Labonte
Bill Elliot should get in on speed because he's running roush/yates engines. In your run down you said that like it's a bad thing (???). And he's one of the better drivers in the draft. Also, there's an abundance of Roush/Yates engined cars out there that should make good drafting partners. Riggs could surprise people with Tommy Baldwin. I hope Boris does make it but, MAN he's been unlucky in the past. As for Mayfield, I have nothing against the guy, and he's a proven winner on the Cup level, but I don't think he'll even have a deal together by then.

Either way, the duels will probably be way more dramatic and exciting than the actually 500.
Boris should stay home... For some reason the Speed Channel and Fox loves him but what has he done lately in Nascar. There are better stories out there.
Speed and Fox love Boris because his fans make a spectacle of themselves with the wigs and stuff. Shows good on TeeVee.
Said Heads!
What has he ever done in Nascar? I count 0 wins in Sprint Cup and Nationwide road course action.
Nothing. I have no idea why he's popular...he's a total journeyman, his 'fans' must have a tough time following him. Sponsors seem to love him though, SoBe and Ford jump at the first chance to give him money for a race
Ahh ok makes sense...thanks both of you :)
As of right now, there will be 27 cars in each Duel Race.

2008- About the same as last year (27) in the first Duel and (26) in the second Duel.

The biggest difference is the drivers fighting for spots are alot bigger names. In 2008, AJ Allmendinger was the biggest name driver that had to race his way in. Kurt Busch was locked by Champ Prov, and Michael Waltrip, David Reutiman, Brian Vickers & Boris Said were okay on speed.

This year several name drivers will be looking to secure on speed or race their way in: #28-Kvapil, #09 Brad Keselowski, #21 Bill Elliott, #23 Mike Skinner, #33 Clint Bowyer, #36 Scott Riggs, #60 Boris Said, #66 Terry Labonte, #71 Mike Wallace, #78 Regan Smith, #87 Joe Nemecheck & Jeremy Mayfield. All of these drivers are capable of racing into the show or could have a good speed to fall back on. IT WILL BE VEY INTERESTING! Tony is in regardless, so really only 7 spots are up for grabs, with 12 solid drivers and 5 more trying to play spolier. As of now 10 cars will go home!

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