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closeLengthy Daytona entry list means 18 NASCAR teams will be on the outside looking in
Friday, Feb. 09, 2007
There are 61 entries for the 43 spots in the Daytona 500, meaning that 18 drivers are going to be watching the big race from somewhere other than the cockpit of their race car – perhaps on TV or from a luxury suite.
Among the drivers who will have to race their way in are five former race winners, including two-time winners Michael Waltrip, Bill Elliott and Sterling Marlin, along with Derrike Cope and Ward Burton.
Also among the drivers needing to qualify are Boris Said, who won the pole and finished fourth in last July’s Pepsi 400 here, and veteran Joe Nemechek.
“That’s pretty impressive, that many good teams coming out here to race,” Blaney said. “And it’s a shame some of them don’t get to race on Sunday.”
Kyle Petty, who finished 32nd in the 2006 points – meaning he has a free pass into the race – joked, “They need to change it to the top 43 in points.”
