DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The uncertainty facing 17 go-or-go-home drivers on the eve of Thursday's two qualifying races for the Daytona 500 is so monstrous that even a guy who's been successful the past two years, Joe Nemechek, isn't perfectly comfortable with his prospects.

"Well, there's a lot of unknowns," Nemechek said. "I'd much rather be locked-in the show in one of those top-three qualifying spots -- but unfortunately we're not there, so you've got to deal with what you have."

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I'd much rather be locked-in the show in one of those top-three qualifying spots -- but unfortunately we're not there, so you've got to deal with what you have.

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-- JOE NEMECHEK

Two years ago Nemechek raced his way into the 500 by finishing ninth, the first go-or-go-homer, in his qualifier. Last year he was racing in a qualified position in a car that had the second-fastest qualifying speed among the go-or-go-home crowd when he gave up that spot to help his Furniture Row Racing teammate, Kenny Wallace, get into the race.

That move earned the team an extra $256,735 that Wallace won for last place in the 500.

Three days ago, Nemechek posted only the fifth-best time among the go-or-go-homers, which means if two of the locked-in drivers -- Bill Elliott, Travis Kvapil or Tony Stewart -- finishes as one of the top-two locked-out drivers in their respective 150, Nemechek will be locked-in via his speed. If they don't, Nemechek has to finish as either the first or second go-or-go-homer in his qualifier.

"I think Tony Stewart's going to be fast in his race," Nemechek said. "So if he gets locked-in [by his finishing position] that moves that safety net back a little bit. But I want to race my way in, and I think I've got a car capable of doing it."

Three weeks ago Nemechek, the owner of NEMCO Motorsports, didn't have a Cup team, so he's not only proud of the job that crew chief Philippe Lopez and his small band have done -- he's also optimistic.

"I think we've got a pretty good package and our Toyota is actually driving pretty well," Nemechek said. "Qualifying was a little frustrating because we needed more runs. Starting this deal three weeks ago, it was hard to put this whole package together, because we've got a small group of guys doing this, and we just needed more runs to evaluate the car -- like we'd do in testing and we just didn't get through 'em all."

Speculation was that NASCAR's testing ban would hurt small single-car teams the most. But Nemechek said he'd fall back on experience.

"For race conditions, the old car is driving good and I'm very happy with it," Nemechek said. "The track is very, very slick and they're a handful to drive -- just like in the Shootout, and being out in the middle of it [Wednesday] it was all the same. But our Toyota's running strong and I'm impressed.

"I know what I have to do, but you have to do it and the biggest thing for me is not getting caught up in a wreck. If we can just avoid the wrecks and make our own destiny here with what we have, I feel very confident."

Drafting speed charts are notorious for masking cars and drivers' abilities at superspeedways, and the two sessions held Wednesday were typical.

Scott Riggs in Tommy Baldwin Racing's No. 36 Toyota was the most consistent, but he was 24th in the first session and 19th in the second. Mike Skinner was the fastest of the "outs" group in the first session, 15th in his Chevrolet; while Regan Smith was ninth in the second practice.