DAYTONA 500 - Odds to Win
Jeff Gordon 5 - 1
Jimmie Johnson 5 - 1
Dale Earnhardt Jr 5 - 1
Tony Stewart 7 - 1
Kurt Busch 12 - 1
Matt Kenseth 15 - 1
Carl Edwards 18 - 1
Kevin Harvick 18 - 1
Kyle Busch 20 - 1
Clint Bowyer 20 - 1
Martin Truex Jr 20 - 1
Mark Martin 25 - 1
Denny Hamlin 25 - 1
Jeff Burton 25 - 1
Casey Mears 30 - 1
Field (Any Other Driver) 30 - 1
Ryan Newman 30 - 1
Greg Biffle 30 - 1
Kasey Kahne 30 - 1
Jamie McMurray 40 - 1
Juan Pablo Montoya 50 - 1
David Gilliland 50 - 1
Sam Hornish Jr 100 - 1
Paul Menard 100 - 1
JJ Yeley 100 - 1
Robby Gordon 100 - 1
Dave Blaney 100 - 1
David Ragan 100 - 1
Elliott Sadler 100 - 1
Reed Sorenson 100 - 1
Bobby Labonte 100 - 1
Travis Kvapil 100 - 1
Dario Franchitti 100 - 1
Jacques Villeneuve 100 - 1
Start revving up for Daytona
In honor of the upcoming running of (and hoopla surrounding) the 50th Daytona 500, let's start with a Daytona trivia question. Three times in the history of the Daytona 500 a driver has won NASCAR's biggest race in consecutive years. Name the drivers. Answer later. ...
Kevin Harvick won last year's 500. It was his only points win of the year. I guess if you are going to win only one race in a season, the 500 is the way to go. ...
Tony Stewart is winless in nine Daytona 500s. He has two Cup championships. Dale Earnhardt won all seven of his Cup championships before winning his only 500 in 1998. ...
Great move by DEI to extend crew chief Kevin Manion's contract another three years. With Manion making the calls, Martin Truex posted his best season in 2007 when he won his first Cup race and qualified for the Chase. Much is expected of the No. 1 team in 2008. The two were together for Truex's Busch Series titles in 2004 and '05. ...
Chris Carrier has been named crew chief for NASCAR neophyte Sam Hornish. An open-wheel champion, Hornish didn't fare well in his limited time at the Cup level in 2007. He failed to qualify six times before finally making it into the final two races of the season. Because of the switch of owners points with Kurt Busch's No. 2 Dodge, Hornish has a free pass into the first five races of 2008. One of Carrier's goals will be to keep Hornish in the top 35 in owners points because what Hornish needs most is seat time. Cars in the top 35 after five races do not have to qualify on time. ...
Trivia answer: Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95) are the only drivers to win consecutive Daytona 500s
sportingnews.com
Teams and TV get ready for Daytona testing
January 3, 2008
There may be 45 days left until the Daytona 500 as of Thursday, but there are only four days left until NASCAR fans can get their fix of roaring engines on television.
The SPEED channel is planning 22 days of testing coverage -- across the Cup, Nationwide and Truck series -- leading up to the start of the 2008 NASCAR season.
Brendan Gaughan will be filling in for Robby Gordon during the Sprint Cup testing at Daytona, SceneDaily.com reports. Gordon will be in Africa competing in the Dakar Rally through January 20. A former Cup driver, Gaughan doesn't have a NASCAR contract for the 2008 season at this point.
In more testing news from SceneDaily.com, Tony Stewart will be participating in the Daytona test after skipping it the past three years.
This is Stewart's and Joe Gibbs Racing's first year racing a Toyota, and Daytona will also be the first full NASCAR test of the car of tomorrow at the superspeedway.
sportingnews.com