Leffler looks to ride wave to Daytona Busch race (cont'd)

Enter Kevin Harvick.

The defending series champion's worst Daytona finish in 10 Busch Series starts is eighth. His average finish is 3.5, and he's led laps in six races there for a total of 159 laps led. But it wasn't until February this year that he won his first race at the track.

"It's way more mental than physical," Harvick said of Daytona. "You're worn out by the end of the race. You spend a lot of time looking in the mirrors anticipating the other guy's next move."

And even if that other guy is a teammate who helped you get to the front in the draft, it may not matter.

"When it comes to about five to go, you've kind of got to start fending for yourself a little bit," said Casey Mears, who last raced at Daytona in 2004. "You want to help your teammate as much as you can, but at the same time I'd much rather win the race than finish second. But if you don't work with somebody you could very easily finish 32nd as well."

Fortunately for Leffler, he'll have support. Teammate Dave Blaney finished second at Daytona in February, and Brian Vickers will be running a third car for Braun Racing. He finished second in this race one year ago.

Leffler just hopes it's his turn.

"With restrictor-plate racing, it doesn't always come down to who has the best car -- luck is a pretty big factor because you are at the mercy of the 42 other cars on the track," he said. "I expect the team to continue building on this momentum throughout the second half of the season and to accomplish two of the goals that we set at the beginning of the season -- to finish in the top five in the point standings and to give Toyota its first Busch Series victory."