Jeff Gordon
Chevrolet No. 24
Sorry, boo-birds, but he’s likely to win this race for the fourth time, tying Cale Yarborough for second on the all-time Daytona 500 victory list behind only Richard Petty’s seven. Gordon’s car has been working perfectly in practice, while others have been struggling with chassis setups. All that keeps Gordon from being a lock is the unpredictability of restrictor-plate racing.
Tony Stewart
Chevrolet No. 20
The reigning NASCAR champion singlehandedly brought Daytona racing back to sanity last week. He sounded the alarm that made NASCAR ban dangerous “bump drafting” in the turns. He can take advantage of the smoother racing to become Gordon’s most serious challenger in a duel to equal Richard Petty vs. David Pearson in the greatest NASCAR finish ever, 30 years ago here in 1976.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Chevrolet No. 8
He will cause the most commotion among the crowd of 200,000, whatever he does. He’s the rock star of this race and every pass he makes will bring a thunderous roar from the grandstands. Not nearly as dominant at Daytona as he has been in recent years, he thinks his car just might rise to the occasion with some midrace adjustments.
Jimmy Johnson
Chevrolet No. 48
Gordon’s protege has been flying all week, despite NASCAR’s ejection of his crew chief for “cheating up” the car for last Sunday’s qualifying. Gordon has a history of thriving on trouble at Daytona and Johnson thinks he can do the same. Can he win it without pit boss Chad Knaus? “Absolutely,” Johnson says. “All our pride is riding on it.”
Carl Edwards
Ford No. 99
NASCAR’s meteoric star is an on- and over-the-edge driver, entirely capable of winning “The Great American Race.” As for his car . . . well . . . Ford would need attrition of the mighty Chevrolets to win. He will stir something up, at some point, and if it’s at the right time, you could see him do one of his trademark acrobatic back-flips off the car in Victory Lane.
