10 to watch at Daytona

A look at 10 drivers to watch in Sunday's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. All statistical references are for Cup Series races at Daytona unless otherwise indicated.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
As if we had to remind anyone to keep an eye on Junior. His driver rating is a mediocre 83.2 (13th best), but that's because his finishes in both Daytona races last year were 36th and 32nd. He knows how to race at Daytona and has two wins and nine top 10s in 16 starts. He also won the Bud Shootout and the first Gatorade Duel 150.

• Daytona Countdown
• 50 Years of the 500
• Acceleration
• Preseason Thunder
• Get your tickets
• Book your travel

Jimmie Johnson
Johnson's driver rating is 98.1, second to Tony Stewart's 109.0. It would be even better if you kicked out two of his past three races at Daytona -- 39th in last year's 500 and 32nd in the 2006 Pepsi 400. Johnson is on the pole and is looking very strong.

Jeff Gordon
There is a theme among Hendrick drivers: They all race well at Daytona but haven't done consistently well the past two years. Gordon finished 10th in last year's 500 and followed it with a fifth in the Pepsi 400. But his finishes in 2006 were 26th and 40th. That drops his driver rating to 93.1, sixth best.

Casey Mears
We'd feel bad if we left out the "other" Hendrick driver, so here goes. Mears' driver rating is 64.2 ... 28th. Hmm. Seems like the odd driver out here. He did finish second in the 2006 500, though.

Tony Stewart
Is Smoke going to be the fourth-coming of great drivers who wait years before winning the Daytona 500? Buddy Baker, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt raced for years before finally winning. This is Stewart's 10th. If he can keep from duking it out with someone -- Kurt Busch, teammate Denny Hamlin? -- perhaps he will end up in victory lane. His 399 laps led are the most by far in the past six races at Daytona.

Kurt Busch
He needed a champion's provisional to make the race. His 96.8 driver rating is third best and his 141 laps led are second to Stewart. Busch has consecutive third-place finishes in the Pepsi 400, but his past two 500 finishes are 41st and 38th. Will Busch and Stewart tangle Sunday? I doubt it.

Kyle Busch
Here's an interesting parallel of the Busch Bros.: This Busch has finished second in the past two Pepsi 400s, but his past two 500 finishes are 24th and 23rd. Busch is racing with a new team (Joe Gibbs Racing) and a new car (Toyota) but don't expect that to change the way Busch drives, which is all out. Busch has the eighth-highest driver rating at 89.1.

Denny Hamlin
He took a Toyota to victory lane for the first time in Thursday's second Gatorade Duel 150. Sunday's 500 will Hamlin's fifth Cup race at Daytona. Although he has qualified well (8.5 average start), he doesn't have the finishes to show for it (29.5). His driver rating, 65.7, ranks 26th. This could be his year to break out. Toyota has spent months working on its restrictor-plate package.

Kevin Harvick
Despite winning last year's 500, Harvick's driver rating is 83.2, 12th best. He set a record for lowest starting position for a 500 winner (34th) and his average start in the past six Daytona races is a humbling 23.2. Don't expect his Childress-Earnhardt engine to carry Harvick to a second consecutive win.

Kenny Wallace
This may be the only opportunity to give a shout out to Wallace in 2008. His strong run in the first Duel put him in the 500, which continues a streak of at least one Wallace in a 500 since 1984. This will be Kenny's 10th 500; his best finish was 16th in 2003. His driver rating of 41.3 is better than only Kirk Shelmerdine and Chad Chaffin.