Earnhardt, Martin have 500 front row locked down

Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were the two fastest drivers this past Saturday on qualifying day for the Daytona 500, earning them guaranteed front-row status for the start of Sunday's event.

Martin and Earnhardt also get the respective pole positions for Thursday's two 150-mile qualifying races called collectively the Gatorade Duel at Daytona. "The 5 and the 88 [on the front row] ... it's a really special accomplishment," Martin said.

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This pole-day pairing sprouted a string of storylines, starting with the fact that the two are teammates at Hendrick Motorsports. There's the age thing. Martin is on the Daytona 500 pole for the first time in his long career and at 51 years old, is the oldest Daytona 500 pole winner in history. Earnhardt is a kid by comparison, only 35.

How about the career path angle? Martin's seems on the upswing, since last year was perhaps his best yet en route to a second-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. Earnhardt, meanwhile, struggled to his worst points finish to date in 2009, 25th.

Tony Stewart owns the three highest Driver Ratings recorded at Daytona since the stat's inception in 2005. Additionally, three of his single-race Average Running Positions also rank 1-2-3. But for whatever reason, a Daytona 500 triumph has eluded Stewart. It's not that Daytona gives him fits. Far from it. Stewart has three wins in the annual July race, including last season,his first as a driver-owner.

Kyle Busch drives the No. 18 ahead of a group of cars during practice for the Daytona 500.

By the Numbers

0 -- Noted drivers who have never won at Daytona:
• Dave Marcis (67 starts) -- 33 500s
• Ricky Rudd (60 starts) -- 29 500s
• Terry Labonte (56 starts) -- 28 500s
• Kyle Petty (52 starts) -- 27 500s
• Mark Martin (49 starts) -- 25 500s
• Ken Schrader (45 starts) -- 23 500s
• Rusty Wallace (45 starts) -- 23 500s

0 -- The Daytona 500 has never been won by a driver making his first 500 start, except for the inaugural race in 1959.

1 -- Only once in the last 10 races at Daytona has Tony Stewart scored a Driver Rating lower than 85.8. In six of the last 10 races, Stewart has had a Driver Rating over 100.0.

3 -- Drivers who won the pole for the Daytona 500 in their rookie season:
• Loy Allen -- 1994 (sixth career race)
• Mike Skinner -- 1997 (16th career race)
• Jimmie Johnson -- 2002 (fourth career race)

7 -- Number of consecutive Driver Ratings over 100.0 at Daytona scored by Kyle Busch. In his 10 Daytona races, Busch has a Driver Rating of 101.0, an Average Running Position of 10.9, 33 Fastest Laps Run, a Laps In the Top 15 percentage of 77.4 and 235 Laps Led. Busch's Laps in the Top 15 percentage ranks tops among drivers at Daytona.

8 -- Times the winner of the Daytona 500 has gone on to win the Cup Championship: Lee Petty (1959), Richard Petty (1964, 1971, 1974 and 1979), Cale Yarborough (1977), Jeff Gordon (1997) and Jimmie Johnson (2006)

9 -- Daytona 500 wins by the pole winner, the last in 2000 by Dale Jarrett.

10 -- Career victories by Richard Petty at Daytona, the most by any driver. Jeff Gordon has won six races at Daytona International Speedway and leads all active drivers.

33 -- Drivers have won the Daytona 500 and only eight have won more than once. The least four 500s have been won by first time 500 winners. Jeff Gordon was the last repeat winner (2005).

52 -- This year marks the 52nd annual Daytona 500. Lee Petty won the inaugural race in 1959 by leading 38 laps in his Oldsmobile. Petty collected the winning check for $19, 050. It is the 126th Cup point race at Daytona, the most of any track.

63/64-inch -- Width of the largest carburetor restrictor plate openings since the one-inch mandate in 1988, the first year the horsepower-reducing plates were used in the Cup Series at Daytona.

191.188 mph -- Mark Martin's pole qualifying speed for the Daytona 500 this year -- the fastest since 1999 when Jeff Gordon claimed the starting position with a speed of 195.067 mph.

350 -- Consecutive Cup Series start for Elliott Sadler when the green flag drops at Sunday's Daytona 500. Sadler has competed in 393 Cup Series races.

633 -- Career laps led by Tony Stewart at Daytona, leading all full-time drivers. Stewart ranks eighth all-time in laps led at Daytona.

1,286 -- Career laps led at Daytona by Dale Earnhardt in 46 starts, the most by any driver.

Daytona standouts

• Jeff Gordon leads all full time drivers scoring 11 top-five finishes in 34 races.
• Terry Labonte has 26 top-10 finishes in 56 races, most among active drivers.
• Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with an 8.63 average start in eight races.
• Clint bowyer has a 13.38 average finish in eight races, the best active drivers.
• Jimmie Johnson follows close behind with a 14.19 average finish in 16 races.

Drivers to watch

• Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Elliot Sadler and Kurt Busch scored top-10 finishes in both Daytona races last season
• Kurt Busch scored top-10 finishes in the last five races at Daytona.
• Matt Kenseth scored top-10 finishes in the last three races at Daytona.

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