For Duel, the real winners aren't seen in Victory Lane

How heavy is an asterisk? Ask anyone who lives outside NASCAR's top 35 in owners' points and their voice trembles under the burden.

History confirms a division of class has existed since land and sea itself -- the Roman patricians and the plebs, the aristocrats and the commoners, the haves and the have-nots. In NASCAR, the dividing line is 35th place in car owners' points.

Watch the Duel

The two 150-mile qualifying races will determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500.

• 2 p.m. ET Thursday on SPEED

Many NASCAR fans and participants view the Gatorade Duel 150-mile races as merely dress rehearsal for the Great American Race, a formality really. After all, the Daytona 500 can and has been won from any starting position.

But on Thursday's stage, the most intense drama of the year will be played out -- if you know what to watch. Some 19 race teams/drivers will race with reckless abandon for four automatic transfer spots. The top two finishing "star" cars in each Duel will make the 500. The rest of the field will be filled on qualifying times posted this past Saturday by "star" cars. The final spot in the 500 will either go to former past champion who hasn't otherwise made the event or the next-fastest qualifying time by a "star" competitor. Eleven will make the empty trek north on I-95.

This race has produced emotional moments and the typical David slaying Goliath storylines. I remember watching Mike Wallace drive through the field in independent Phil Barkdoll's No. 73 car to make the race. Phil didn't get back to the track until Saturday. Recently, severely under-funded Kirk Shelmerdine raced into the 500, as did Tommy Baldwin's last-minute entry last year with driver Scott Riggs, and 70-plus-year-old James Hylton was two laps from making the race three years ago. Or in 1995, when Kyle Petty fought back from a half-lap down and passed four cars between Turn 3 and the checkered flag to secure the final spot, continuing a legacy of Pettys in the 500.

These stories don't always trump who is spraying champagne in Victory Lane, but they are the ones you never forget. (Continued)