RaceBud

The 51^st running of the Daytona 500 is counting down to the green flag. In spite of the economic crisis, a very prolonged silly season, and a mad scramble of teams trying to buy their way into the Top 35, the Great American Race will go green as scheduled on Sunday.

At no time in modern racing has the 500 seen such a scrambling of drivers, owners, sponsors and manufacturers. It’s almost as if the racing gods put all the players in a box and shook real hard. Predictably, race programs will be a big seller at the track, for what could well be called the “Who’s Running What for Whom 500.”

How did we get here?

• The COT, already in place before the economic mess we currently call the Crisis, was designed for added safety and reduced expense;
• NASCAR suspended practice sessions at its sanctioned tracks to further reduce expenses and level the playing field;
• Teams folded, sold and partnered so quickly and so often that they found NASCAR a willing partner in playing loose with Top 35 asset rule;
• And, a certain amount of grassroots racing passion guided a few to take advantage of the reduced expenses and leveled playing field. Tommy Baldwin and Jeremy Mayfield were both able to qualify for the 500.

What now?

It’s fairly safe to say that the first race of the season will be an action-packed, exciting event. The mature, well-funded, experienced teams are more likely to finish better than their cash-strapped, newcomer counterparts. But, it’s not over just yet, and it’s Daytona. They don’t call it the Great American Who’s Running What for Whom 500 for nothing.

Here’s the lineup:

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