Christmas came early for owner Larry McClure of Morgan-McClure Motorsports, with a spot in the Daytona 500 nicely wrapped. Credit: Autostock

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Christmas in Abingdon, Va., just got a lot merrier.

By dissolving its No. 77 team, Penske Racing may have indirectly sent owner Larry McClure a priceless early Christmas present -- a guaranteed starting position in the 2006 Daytona 500.

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During the first five races of a new season, NASCAR reverts to the previous season's final championship owner points to determine which teams will benefit from the top-35 rule.

To receive a guaranteed starting assignment at Daytona, California, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Bristol, a team must be among the 35 highest-ranked teams present from the previous season's owner points standings, must have entered the event prior to the entrance deadline and must make an attempt to qualify for the event.

Therefore, by virtue of the No. 77's absence, McClure's 36th-ranked team inherits the final guaranteed starting position for the first five races of the 2006 season.

Remember, though, if Penske does opt to enter the No. 77 in the race, McClure is out. And, considering that making the Daytona 500 field guarantees a quarter-million dollar payday (roughly), that very well may happen

This is no small development, especially for an under-funded, single-car program. Using last year's race results as a barometer, the first five events paid out between a half-million and $600,000, total, for last place.

Solace is a fine Christmas present. Had Penske not shut down the No. 77 operation, which held the 34th position in '05 owner points, McClure would have entered '06 faced with having to qualify for each of the first five events on speed.

Now he can rest easier knowing he may have a guaranteed slot.

(Ironic, isn't it, that Kodak left Morgan-McClure after many years to sponsor the Penske No. 77? Just a thought.)

PhiTau9Fan: I heard during commentary the other week that two drivers, during a random lap in the race, had crossed the line at exactly the same time.

A tie in NASCAR? Not likely. Credit: Autostock

If somehow there was a photo finish, and both cars crossed the line at exactly the same time, who would the win go to? I know that this is highly improbable, but apparently actually possible.

Great question, one I'd never really thought about. According to Nextel Cup race director David Hoots, given the infinitesimal chance this scenario did happen, NASCAR officials would use video documentation to determine a single winner rather than relying on transponder data.

NASCAR continuously records the start-finish line in every lap of every race with a high-speed camera just in case.

Roll_Tide48: Marty, I ask this question every time that you have an "Ask Marty" board and it never seems to get answered, and its one of the few things about this sport that I really don't understand. How are the winnings from a race divided amongst the drivers?

The points payout is obvious, the higher you finish, the more you make. The races themselves are different though. It's quiet common that a driver will finish say 13th and make more that a driver that finishes say 10th, even though neither driver lead a single lap during the race. How is this calculated?

From my estimation, this is the most-asked question among the NASCAR fan base. It is also the most convoluted system known to man. There's a page on NASCAR.COM that spells out the process, but it may as well be Swahili as far as I'm concerned.

	MONEY EXPLANATION Drivers earn their paychecks in several ways. Explaining the breakdown of how money is distributed after a race is no easy task.  •   Complete story,  click here

I'll do my best to break it down simply, Curtis Dawson.

Each Nextel Cup Series race carries a purse figure, commonly labeled its "posted awards." That purse is comprised of a number of segments, the first being the racing purse, which designates a set amount of money paid for positions 1-43 that decreases on an incremental, sliding scale.

The same 1-43 systematic breakdown is used for the television awards.

The television and race purse monies that are indicated on the race's entry blank are available to every team and driver.

But after that there are contingency awards, which pay out varying amounts to participating teams only. To reap the benefits of these awards, teams must run the company's decal on their car and they must finish in a certain position.

Some contingency sponsors award the first- through third-place finishers that run their respective decal. Some reward first, fifth, 10th, 20th, 30th, etc. But due to sponsor conflicts, not all teams run all contingency stickers, and therefore don't reap the monetary reward even if they finish well.

But here's where a guy can make a big jump in winnings. There are various car owner incentive programs that reward teams/owners for their participation and performance.

Used to be guys would only run 16, 18 races. But these programs -- there are three, total -- encourage owners to run the entire schedule. The champion owner plan, which includes a formula for how much an owner would get paid based on performance over a three-year span (don't ask), is the most lucrative.

Then there's the Winner's Circle program, which takes the 12 winningest drivers from the previous season and awards them a monetary bonus in every single race of the current season.

These days, about 75 percent of the posted awards are paid after each event, per the official NASCAR race report. The balance of the posted awards is the "Manufacturer's Point Fund Awards," a prorated share of nearly $15 million in manufacturer and sponsor funds that are distributed at the end of the season.

While payment of a certain portion of each purse is guaranteed after an event, some of the cash is placed in the purse simply for appearance sake.

That cash, which was formerly referred to as "Studebaker Money," refers to money offered on a purse, say "$10,000 to the winner if he is driving a Studebaker."

The $10,000 would be reflected in the total posted awards, making them more impressive, but the chance of a Studebaker winning would be miniscule.

Hope that helps. I'll be surprised if it did.

UR24ORURDUST: Marty, How about an update on the status of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I live in Kansas City and rumor has it that we are the home of The Hall now. Can you confirm or deny this rumor?

Totally bogus, Steve Martin. In fact, sources close to the situation tell me Atlanta and Charlotte are the frontrunners to get the NASCAR Hall of Fame -- Atlanta for its corporate sponsorship influence (UPS, Coca-Cola and The Home Depot are all headquartered there) and Charlotte for obvious reasons.

Kansas City's biggest assets are its centralized location and standing as Sprint's home base. But rest assured, reports that K.C. has already locked down the Hall are further off than Ryan Newman in race trim.

(Even Newman fans must admit that's a good line.)

Y'all have a good one ...

The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.