NASCAR: Yates stable grabs the front row for the 500

The #38 M&M’s car driven by David Gilliland earned the poll for the Datyona 500. Team mate Ricky Rudd is second.

A quick guide to this week’s action and another look at this past weekend in preperation for the Great American Race

by Mike Zimmer, racin’ fan

David Gilliland

The Daytona 500 has a rather complex system for determining who is in and who is where when it comes to being in it. After the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday, the drivers turn around and enter new cars for qualifying on Sunday for the poll positions with the top 2 speed qualifyers grabbing guarenteed spots. After that, depending on how drivers qualify, they are deposited into Twin 150-mile races that effectively determine who is in and where they will start for the big race on Sunday. Got all that? It’s a fun process in starting the season that gets all the drivers off to a running start and gets the fans amped up in as well for their first race of the NASCAR season.

This year, Robert Yates racing was supposed to be in dire straights, rebuilding after a defection of its’ mainstay drivers Dale Jarrett and Elliot Sadler to other rides. However, the so-called depleted stable was nothing short of brilliant over the weekend with Rookie David Gilliland finishing Second in the Budweiser Shootout behind Tony Stewart and then winning the Poll (or #1 spot for the uninitiated who I know sometimes see these posts) for the race this next Sunday. Retired Ricky Rudd returned to Yates racing this season to help out and amazingly enough has a tenitive spot as the #2 going into the Twin 150′s on Thursday.

As for those 150′s, here are the links to the line-ups that are scheduled to run come Thursday. In the first group Gilliland will get to test his moxy against a rather veteran group. Including 72-year old James Hylton who is trying to become the oldest driver ever to qualify for the 500. Amazingly enough, his car sponcor? Retirement Living TV. Also in this group of 31-cars is Series Champion Jimmie Johnson, Super Soph Denny Hamlin, Dale Jr., Greg Biffle and Bud Shootout winner Tony Stewart.

In Race #2, Ricky Rudd will lead the way ahead of 30-cars including Carl Edwards, both Busch brothers and Jeff Gordon. Also in this group and starting from the very back of the field are former Series Champ Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne who had their qualifying times thrown out due to irregularities in their cars.

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