Guide: Daytona 500

It's a three-word phrase that is only heard four weeks a year. Still, the mere mention of it makes drivers and fans alike sit up and take notice.

Restrictor-plate racing.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE Give the right side of your brain the day off as you juggle a field of NASCAR drivers while staying under a salary cap.  •   To play,  click here For Reese's, it's all about the Cup. Pick the best drivers from each group and walk away with the top prize. Build your point total week after week! Earn great prizes! Are you ready to make the hard choices?  •   To play, click here Streak to the Finish challenges you to guess a top-10 driver in next week's NASCAR race.  •   To play, click here Who do you want to make a superstar? The Superstar Fantasy Cap Challenge gives you that power. Just don't use the same driver twice this year.  •   To play,  click here Play the Ultimate Fantasy League. Draft, trade, add, and drop drivers throughout the season. Dominate your opponents with the best team of drivers you can assemble.  •   To play,  click here

Of course, each season starts with a restrictor-plate race. Sure, it's the Daytona 500, it's the Super Bowl of NASCAR, yada, yada, yada. However, at it's heart, it's a restrictor-plate race, complete with bump-drafting -- and the big wreck.

The NBC crew will explore the ins and outs of restrictor-plate racing and their effects on the race during Sunday's 60-minute pre-race show leading up to the network's coverage of the 48th Daytona 500.

Of course, Tony Stewart brought the danger of restrictor-plate racing to light again with his comments following last Sunday's Budweiser Shootout -- a race filled with bump drafting.

"Five years from now, we're probably going to have to do another tribute to another driver because we're probably going to kill somebody,'' Stewart said. "It could be me. It could be Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. "It could be anybody out there.''

Also on tap for Sunday's pre-race activities:

• Jay Leno will drive the pace car
• Fergie, the lead singer of the Black Eyed Peas, will sing the national anthem
• Bon Jovi will perform

The network will deploy 76 cameras, including 10 in-car cameras, "Crew-Cam," "Grass-Cam" and "Fan-Cam" around the 2.5-mile Superspeedway. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton, on the pole for the first time in five years, are among the Nextel Cup drivers whose cars will have cameras on-board.

Pre-race coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with green-flag racing set to begin at about 2:30 p.m.

SPEED has a special broadcast planned for Sunday morning at 10 a.m. ET. Dave Despain takes a look at Daytona Beach's racing history in Dave Despain On Assignment.

"So much happened in Daytona before the first stock car ever touched the beach," said Despain. "We'll set the record straight, separate fact from fiction and, ultimately, offer the answer to the question: 'Why Daytona Beach?' "

	Sam Flood
	E-MAIL •   Send Mark your take or an "Ask The Producer" question

In this week's "Ask the Producer" question, several fans want to know how many of NBC/TNT's races this year will be broadcast in high definition.

NBC/TNT producer Sam Flood says the answer is simple.

"All of them," he said. "More and more people are getting HD-compatible televisions, so it's important for us to give them that option."

Each week, we'll choose a fan's question to ask a NASCAR on FOX producer. Send your puzzler by e-mail using the link to the right.

Now on to this weekend's schedule.

Nextel Cup Series: Daytona 500

Track: Daytona International Speedway

• 2.5-mile oval
• 31 degree banking in corners
• 18-degree banking in tri-oval
• Length of frontstretch: 3,800 feet
• Length of backstretch: 3,000 feet

Race length: 200 laps/500 miles

TV schedule (All times ET)

• NASCAR Live: 1, 5:30 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Practice: 1:30 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Trackside: 7 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 9 a.m., noon, 5 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• Final Practice: 10:30 a.m. Sat., SPEED
• Inside Nextel Cup Special Edition: 8 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 8 a.m. Sun., SPEED
• NASCAR Raceday: 11 a.m. Sun., SPEED
• Pre-race: 1:30 p.m. Sun., NBC
• Race: 2:30 p.m. Sun., NBC

2005 FlashbackCheck out all the highlights from last year's Daytona 500 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

One year ago, Jeff Gordon grabbed the lead from Dale Earnhardt Jr., then held off Kurt Busch and Earnhardt in extra laps to win his third Daytona 500.

The most recent checkered flag went to Denny Hamlin. who got the better of teammate Tony Stewart and Earnhardt Jr. to win Sunday's Budweiser Shootout.

Keep an eye on MB2 Motorsports. Between the three members of that team -- Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott and Joe Nemechek -- they have four Daytona 500 victories.

Busch Series: Hershey's Kissables 300

Track: Daytona International Speedway

• 2.5-mile oval
• 31 degree banking in corners
• 18-degree banking in tri-oval
• Length of frontstretch: 3,800 feet
• Length of backstretch: 3,000 feet

Race length: 120 laps/300 miles

TV schedule (All times ET)

• Busch Pole Qualifying: 3 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Race: 1 p.m. Sat., TNT

2005 FlashbackHarvick and Stewart team up to tackle DEI Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

One year ago, teammates Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick ganged up on the Chance 2 duo of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. in order for Stewart to sweep past with less than three laps remaining to win the Busch Series' season-opening Hershey's Take 5 300.

The most recent checkered flag went to Ryan Newman, who got by Greg Biffle to snag his sixth win of the season last November at Homestead.

Keep an eye on Todd Kluever. The 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year, headlines a strong Busch Series rookie class for 2006.

Craftsman Truck Series: GM FlexFuel 250

Track: Daytona International Speedway

• 2.5-mile oval
• 31 degree banking in corners
• 18-degree banking in tri-oval
• Length of frontstretch: 3,800 feet
• Length of backstretch: 3,000 feet

Race length: 100 laps/250 miles

TV schedule (All times ET)

• Pole Qualifying: 6:30 p.m. Thurs., SPEED
• Race: 8 p.m. Fri., SPEED

2005 FlashbackHamilton wins while Spencer backs out of Victory Lane Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

One year ago, Bobby Hamilton was awarded a victory in the wreck-filled Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona International Speedway after Jimmy Spencer initially took the checkered flag and drove into the winner's circle. It was the perfect ending for a wild race that included countless lead changes, several major crashes and two flipping trucks.

The most recent checkered flag went to Todd Bodine, whose victory in the 2005 season finale at Homestead was his third consecutive trip to Victory Lane in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Keep an eye on Mark Martin. Although his debut as a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck competitor is a year away, Martin will take the green flag Friday night.

The Domino's Viewer's Guide appears each Thursday during race weeks.