PEPSI 400

DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

TRACK FACTS

Opened: 1959

Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.

First NASCAR Cup Series Race: February 22, 1959 (Lee Petty, Winner)

Qualifying Record: Bill Elliott, Ford; 210.364 mph (42.783 seconds), February 9, 1987

Race Record: 500 Miles - Buddy Baker, Oldsmobile; 177.602 mph (2:48:55), February 17, 1980; 400 Miles - Bobby Allison, Mercury; 173.473 mph (2:18:21), July 4, 1980

Distance: 2.5 Miles

Front Stretch: 3,800 feet

Back Stretch: 3,000 feet

Banking in Turns 1-4: 31 degrees

Banking in Trioval: 18 degrees

Banking on Back Stretch: 3 degrees

Miles/Laps: 500 Miles/200 Laps; 400 Miles/160 Laps

Grandstand seats: 168,000

Tickets: 386-253-7223

Website: www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com

Did You Know: The speedway's lighting system can light a two-way road from Daytona to Iowa (more than 2,000 miles).

Did You Also Know:  The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse located 12 miles south of Daytona Beach is the tallest lighthouse in Florida and the second tallest in the nation.

Rusty's Spin:  "It's a really narrow, slick superspeedway.  It's banked over 30 degrees.  Turn 2 is tough to negotiate.  When you leave Turn 2, the track starts to flatten out and the car picks up a real bad push.  Many cars hit the wall there; many cars get passed there because guys just can't hold onto the car.  The rest of the track is pretty straightforward.  If you can figure out how to hold your car wide open all day long there, nine times out of 10, you're going to win the race."

2006 Rewind: Tony Stewart dominated the mid-summer festival under the lights, proof that his injured shoulder was healthy enough to win and return to his fence-climbing antics.

July Race Top 10: 1) Tony Stewart, 2) Kyle Busch, 3) Kurt Busch, 4) Boris Said, 5) Matt Kenseth, 6) Elliott Sadler, 7) Casey Mears, 8) Jamie McMurray, 9) Kevin Harvick, 10) Clint Bowyer 

Top 5 Lap Leaders:  1) Tony Stewart - 86, 2) Jeff Gordon - 27,    3) Brian Vickers - 13, 4) Boris Said - 9, 5) Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 8

Who To Watch: Don't be shocked if July sees a first-time Daytona winner from a restrictor-plate winning stable:  Mark Martin, Clint Bowyer, Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, or Kyle Busch.  Others not in the Top 20 (Below) to watch include Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards,  Martin Truex Jr., and Denny Hamlin.

TRACKING THE TOP 20

Best drivers at Daytona based on average finish 

Driver                  Races   Avg Fin   Wins   Top 5s   Top 10s   DNF   Avg Start   Poles

Clint Bowyer            2          8.0         0          0           2           0        33.5          0   Jimmie Johnson      10         9.5         1          5           7           0          8.6          1

Dale Earnhardt Jr    14        11.4         2          6           9           0        12.4          0

Jeff Gordon             28        14.4         6        10          15          3        10.1          3

Bill Elliott                54        15.1         4        15          24          6        15.7          5

Tony Stewart          16         15.6         2         5           9           3        11.4          1

Dale Jarrett             39        16.0         4         9           17          7        15.8          4

Kevin Harvick          11         16.2        0         2            4           1        14.9          1

Sterling Marlin         49        16.4         3        12          21         11        15.6         4

Ken Schrader          44        16.9         0         7           22         10        18.0         3

Ricky Rudd             58        17.1         0         7           21         12        17.5         1

Elliott Sadler           16         17.2        0         3             5           2        24.6         0

Jeff Burton               26        17.5         1         5            7           4        22.1         1

Mark Martin             43        18.0         0         8           15          11       16.2         1

Ryan Newman         10        19.0         0         1             2           2        23.3         0

Casey Mears            8         19.4         0         1             2           1        25.2         0

Matt Kenseth           14        19.6         0         1             5           3        24.9         0

Boris Said                3          19.7         0         1            1           0        15.3         1

Michael Waltrip        41         20.2         3         6           12         10        16.1         0

Kurt Busch              12         20.3         0         5             5           1        23.7         0

Brian Vickers            6          20.5         0         0             2           1        24.2        0

Okay there it is.  Hope you find this information to be helpful and informative.  Good luck to ALL my fellow Thread Headed Strangers and may your team(s) be "Bad Fast" & "Stay Outta Trouble"!  Peace as Always...."Da Nut"