Date: Saturday, February 25th
Start Time: 1:15 p.m. (ET)/Green Flag: 1:30 p.m. (ET)
Site: Daytona International Speedway -- Daytona Beach, Florida
Track: 2.5-mile tri-oval - 3,800 feet (Frontstretch); 3,000 feet (Backstretch)
Laps: 120
Miles: 300
Capacity: 147,000 (Grandstand Seating)
Total purse: $2,500,865 (2011 figures)
Payouts: 1st Place - $103,695; 2nd Place - $87,650; 3rd Place - $74,875
Year: 31st
On TV: ESPN
Announcers: Marty Reid, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree
On Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SiriusXM Satellite
Race record: Geoffrey Bodine, 1985 (157.137 m.p.h.)
Qualifying record: Tommy Houston, 1987 (194.389 m.p.h.)
2011 Finish
Defending champion: Tony Stewart
Runner up: Clint Bowyer
Pole winner: Clint Bowyer (180.821 m.p.h.)
Top 10:
1. Tony Stewart (Start: 14)
2. Clint Bowyer (1)
3. Landon Cassill (2)
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr (3)
5. Reed Sorenson (16)
6. Jason Leffler (22)
7. Kyle Busch (8)
8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (10)
9. Michael Waltrip (26)
10. Trevor Bayne (7)
Average speed: 139.679 m.p.h.
Time of race: 2 hours, 8 minutes, 52 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.007 second
Caution flags: 5 for 23 laps
Lead changes: 35 among 8 drivers
Past winners
2011 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 139.679 m.p.h.
2010 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 123.683 m.p.h.
2009 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 138.479 m.p.h.
2008 Tony Stewart, Toyota, 154.154 m.p.h.
2007 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 156.227 m.p.h.
2006 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 125.129 m.p.h.
2005 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 150.021 m.p.h.
2004 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 127.179 m.p.h.
2003 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 143.770 m.p.h.
2002 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 147.662 m.p.h.
2001 Randy Lajoie, Pontiac, 135.152 m.p.h.
2000 Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet, 140.735 m.p.h.
1999 Randy Lajoie, Pontiac, 138.391 m.p.h.
1998 Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 137.213 m.p.h.
1997 Randy Lajoie, Chevrolet, 149.688 m.p.h.
1996 Steve Grissom, Chevrolet, 140.772 m.p.h.
1995 Chad Little, Ford, 150.732 m.p.h.
1994 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 144.135 m.p.h.
1993 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 146.440 m.p.h.
1992 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 132.434 m.p.h.
1991 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 144.192 m.p.h.
1990 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 149.357 m.p.h.
1989 Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 131.211 m.p.h.
1988 Bobby Allison, Buick, 132.825 m.p.h.
1987 Geoffrey Bodine, Pontiac, 155.106 m.p.h.
1986 Dale Earnhardt, Pontiac, 148.924 m.p.h.
1985 Geoffrey Bodine, Pontiac, 157.137 m.p.h. (race record)
1984 Darrell Waltrip, Pontiac, 156.613 m.p.h.
1983 Darrell Waltrip, Pontiac, 147.642 m.p.h.
1982 Dale Earnhardt, Pontiac, 154.529 m.p.h.
Last race
Race: Ford 300 (November 19, 2011)
Site: Homestead-Miami Speedway -- Homestead, Florida
Miles: 300
Laps: 200
Finish line order: Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin
Time of Race: 2 hours, 30 minutes, 47 seconds
Average speed: 119.377 m.p.h.
Margin of victory: 0.268 second
Caution flags: 9 for 36 laps
Lead changes: 17 among 9 drivers
Lap leaders: B. Keselowski - pole; E. Sadler 1-7; B. Keselowski 8-16; C.B. Keselowski - pole; E. Sadler 1-7; B. Keselowski 8-16; C.Bowyer 17; B. Keselowski 18-59; C. Edwards 60-91; S. Hornish Jr.92-94; C. Edwards 95-98; T. Bayne 99-100; C. Edwards 101-133; M.Annett 134; C. Edwards 135-146; C. Bowyer 147-154; R. StenhouseJr. 155-176; D. Stremme 177-179; B. Keselowski 180-187; C.Edwards 188-193; B. Keselowski 194-200.
Entry list
#01 Mike Wallace (St. Louis, MO) Chevrolet/I Hate Steven Singer
#1 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Chevrolet/Hendrickcars.com
#2 Elliott Sadler (Emporia, VA) Chevrolet/One Main Financial
#3 Austin Dillon (Lewisville, NC) Chevrolet/Advocare
#4 Danny Efland (Irmo, SC) Chevrolet/Danny Efland Racing
#5 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/TaxSlayer.com
#6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr (Olive Brnch,MS) Ford/Kellogg's Pop Tarts
#7 Danica Patrick (Roscoe, IL) Chevrolet/GoDaddy.com
#08 Casey Roderick (Lawrenceville, GA) Ford/TBA
#09 Kenny Wallace (St. Louis, MO) Toyota/Family Farmers
#10 Jeff Green (Owensboro, KY) Toyota/TBA
#11 Brian Scott (Boise, ID) Toyota/Dollar General
#12 Sam Hornish Jr. (Defiance, OH) Dodge/Alliance Truck Parts
#14 Eric McClure (Chilhowie, VA) Toyota/Hefty Reynolds Wrap
#15 Timmy Hill (Port Tobacco, MD) Ford/Poynt.com
#18 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/Z-Line Designs
#19 Tayler Malsam (Seattle WA) Toyota/G-Oil
#20 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Toyota/Game Stop
#22 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hls, MI) Dodge/Discount Tire
#23 Robert Richardson Jr (McKinney, TX) Chevrolet/North Texas Pipe
#24 Benny Gordon (DuBois, PA) Toyota/Kentucky Antler Co. & VFI
#27 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/Certainteed
#28 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Chevrolet/TBA
#30 James Buescher (Plano, TX) Chevrolet/FOE
#31 Justin Allgaier (Riverton, IL) Chevrolet/Brandt
#33 * Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Oreo/Ritz
#36 Ryan Truex (Mayetta, NJ) Chevrolet/TBA
#38 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Chevrolet/Great Clips
#39 Joey Gase (Cedar Rapids, IA) Ford/TBA
#40 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Chevrolet/TBA
#41 Blake Koch (West Palm Beach, FL) Ford/Rise Up and Register
#42 Erik Darnell (Beach Park, FL) Chevrolet/TBA
#43 Michael Annett (Des Moines, IA) Ford/Pilot Flying J
#44 Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) Toyota/TBA
#46 Chase Miller (Denver, NC) Chevrolet/TBA
#47 Scott Speed (Manteca, CA) Chevrolet/TBA
#50 T.J. Bell (Reno, VA) Chevrolet/Eastbound and Down
#51 Jeremy Clements (Spartanburg, SC) Chevrolet/Curry Roofing
#52 Reed Sorenson (Peachtree City, GA) Chevrolet/TBA
#54 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/Monster Energy
#60 Trevor Bayne (Knoxville, TN) Ford/Roush Fenway Racing
#70 Johanna Long (Pensacola, FL) Chevrolet/Foretravel
#73 Derrike Cope (Spanaway, WA) Chevrolet/TBA
#74 Mike Harmon (Birmingport, AL) Ford/American Fallen Heroes
#76 Donnie Neuenberger (Brandywine, MD) Ford/Eagle Convenience Stores
#81 Jason Bowles (Ontario, CA) Dodge/pledgetovote.com
#87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/D.A.B. Constructors
#88 Cole Whitt (Alpine, CA) Chevrolet/Hellmann's
#89 Morgan Shepherd (Conover, NC) Chevrolet/Victory in Jesus Racing
#97 Johnny Sauter (Necedah, WI) Toyota/TBA
Leading contenders
| Name | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Stewart | Won | Won | 8th | Won | Won | Won | Won | ||
| Dale Earnhardt Jr | Won | Won | 3rd | 17th | 7th | 3rd | 7th | 29th | 4th |
| Kyle Busch | 24th | 32nd | 25th | 37th | 2nd | 4th | 18th | 7th | |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 36th | 8th | |||||||
| Trevor Bayne | 41st | 10th | |||||||
| Kasey Kahne | 8th | 43rd | 5th | 33rd | 41st | 35th | 9th | 11th | |
| Joey Logano | 20th | 7th | 12th | ||||||
| Danica Patrick | 35th | 14th | |||||||
| Justin Allgaier | 40th | 3rd | 27th | ||||||
| Brad Keselowski | 16th | 22nd | 13th | 30th | |||||
| Sam Hornish Jr. | 31st | 36th | |||||||
| Elliott Sadler | 28th | 38th | |||||||
| Denny Hamlin | 33rd | 14th | 9th | 8th | |||||
| Kurt Busch |
Notes
Tony Stewart will attempt to capture the season-opener at Daytona for the fifth straight season, as he defends his title in an effort to equal the feat of legendary driver Dale Earnhardt, who he won this race five consecutive years from 1990-94.
Last year, Stewart defeated Clint Bowyer by the slimmest of margins. Stewart nipped Bowyer, the pole sitter, by only 0.007 seconds in a race that featured a track record-tying 35 lead changes.
During a caution period with less than 15 laps remaining, Stewart cut his right-rear tire and had to pit unexpectedly. He ran in the 11th spot for the final restart with six laps to go.
Stewart hooked up with Landon Cassill in the closing laps to advance through the field. Bowyer held the lead on the final lap, with pushing help from Dale Earnhardt Jr. Stewart and Cassill were riding on the outside lane, while Bowyer and Earnhardt Jr. held the inside lane.
Cassill pushed Stewart well enough for him to cross the finish line by about one foot ahead of Bowyer for his sixth Nationwide race win at Daytona.
In 2010, Stewart captured the season-opening race in impressive fashion, as he defeated Carl Edwards by less than a second. Stewart started 32nd but moved in front halfway through the race. After trading the lead with Steve Wallace 30 laps later, Stewart reclaimed the advantage on the 96th lap and then held it for the rest of the way for his ninth career Nationwide title and third straight in this race.
If it's numbers you want, you don't have to look further than Stewart at Daytona. In his 12 Nationwide starts at DIS, going back to 1996, Stewart has six wins and eight top-10 finishes.
The Earnhardt family had dominated this race over the years, as Dale Sr won this race straight times and seven overall, and Dale Jr. three times in a row from 2002-04. Dale Jr has posted eight top-10 finishes in his 12 Daytona season-opener starts. Dating back to 1998, Dale Jr has 12 top-10s, including six wins, in Nationwide competition at Daytona.
Danica Patrick will race for the fourth time on the Nationwide Circuit at Daytona. In her three previous starts there, she has improved each race, from 35th in 2010 to 14th and 10th, respectively, last season.
The Nationwide Series moves on to Phoenix International Raceway for the March 3 Bashas' Supermarkets 200. Kyle Busch is the defending race winner.
