Race given Mile High flavor

Furniture Row pair earn spots in Daytona 500

By Jim Benton, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Friday, February 15, 2008

Reinhold Matay / Associated Press

Kenny Wallace, right, earned a spot in Sunday's Daytona 500 during twin qualifying races Thursday in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Kenny Wallace, Joe Nemechek and Joe Garone were feeling a Mile High on Thursday afternoon.

Thanks to them, Denver- based Furniture Row Racing will have two drivers in Sunday's Daytona 500.

Wallace won a transfer spot into the 50th anniversary race in Thursday's first Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway. Nemechek had secured a spot in NASCAR's biggest race during qualifying Sunday.

Garone, FRR's team manager, called Thursday a "milestone" day for the third-year Sprint Cup team.

Wallace finished eighth in the qualifying duel, which was won by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is driving for a new team, Hendrick Motorsports, this season.

Nemechek finished 12th in the 60-lap first qualifier.

Nemechek, nicknamed Front Row Joe because of his ability to qualify - and that's what FRR must do because it's not in the top 35 in owner's points - signed a two-year contract to drive the No. 78 Impala this season.

"It's a special day," Nemechek said. "The team has been trying for three years to get into the race, and now, all of a sudden, we have two cars in the 500. We've seen the Furniture Row team come a long way from last year."

Brian Vickers finished 11th to claim the second transfer spot available in the race for drivers who were not guaranteed a position in Sunday's Great American Race.

But the story of the day belonged to Wallace.

"Besides my wife and my children, this moment right now is the greatest time in my life," he said. "This is the 50th annual Daytona 500, the biggest sporting event in the United States right now, and I raced myself into it."

Wallace drove for FRR for a while last season but was asked to exit the driver's seat so the team could try other drivers.

The Daytona 500 will be Wallace's only race in the No. 87 Impala unless sponsorship can be found for FRR's No. 2 car.

"My story, the way I feel, is just incredible," Wallace said. "Last year, Furniture Row didn't know where to turn, what to do to make their team better. I don't think I was fired. What they said is, '(We) want to try other drivers but we're going to keep paying you.' "

Wallace compared his situation with Earnhardt's "on a real small level.

"He wanted to change teams to prove how good he was," Wallace said. "My team gave me one chance, one opportunity to prove my ability. They've made it clear, they would like a second team and would like for me to drive."

Denny Hamlin, driving a Joe Gibbs Toyota, notched his second Gatorade win in the second 150-mile qualifier.

Dale Jarrett, a three-time Daytona 500 champion, and John Andretti were the third and fourth race-in-or-go-home drivers to make Sunday's starting field.

bentonj@RockyMountainNews.com

QUALIFYING RACES

Daytona International Speedway,

Daytona Beach, Fla.

Lap length: 2.5 miles

(Car number in parentheses)

Race 1

1. (5) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 60. 2. (18) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 60. 3. (9) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 60. 4. (3) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 60. 5. (15) Carl Edwards, Ford, 60. 6. (23) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 60. 7. (19) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 60. 8. (11) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 60. 9. (20) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 60. 10. (16) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 60.

11. (6) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 60. 12. (2) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 60. 13. (7) AJ Allmendinger, Toyota, 60. 14. (17) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 60. 15. (8) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 60. 16. (22) Bill Elliott, Ford, 60. 17. (10) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 60. 18. (21) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 60. 19. (4) Boris Said, Ford, 60. 20. (12) Jeremy Mayfield, Chevrolet, 60.

21. (25) Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet, 60. 22. (14) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 60. 23. (1) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 60. 24. (27) Carl Long, Dodge, 59.

25. (26) J.J.Yeley, Toyota, 59. 26. (24) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 59. 27. (13) Kurt Busch, Dodge, Electrical, 9.

Average speed of race winner: 160.81 mph. Time of race: 55 minutes, 58 seconds. Margin of victory: .146 of a second. Caution flags: 2 for 5 laps. Lead changes: 16 among 9 drivers. Lap leaders: J. Nemechek 1-2; R. Newman 3-8; J. Nemechek 9-11; R. Sorenson 12-13; C. Edwards 14-15; M. Truex Jr.16-17; D. Earnhardt Jr. 18-20; R. Newman 21; D. Earnhardt Jr. 22-34; P. Menard 35; S. Riggs 36-37; J. Johnson 38-44; R. Newman 45-46; J. Johnson 47; R. Newman 48-51; D. Earnhardt Jr. 52-60. Leaders summary (driver, times led, laps led): Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3 times for 25 laps; Ryan Newman 4 times for 13 laps; Jimmie Johnson 2 times for 8 laps; Joe Nemechek 2 times for 5 laps; Carl Edwards 1 time for 2 laps; Scott Riggs 1 time for 2 laps; Reed Sorenson 1 time for 2 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 2 laps; Paul Menard 1 time for 1 lap.

Race 2

1. (5) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 64, 107.4. 2. (8) Tony Stewart, Toyota, 64, 97.6. 3. (6) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 64, 108.9. 4. (18) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 64, 87.9. 5. (12) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 64, 96.5. 6. (9) David Ragan, Ford, 64, 82.1. 7. (21) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 64, 107.0. 8. (15) Greg Biffle, Ford, 64, 67.0. 9. (14) Dale Jarrett, Toyota, 64, 64.2. 10. (25) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 64, 64.1.

11. (20) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 64, 105.9. 12. (2) David Reutimann, Toyota, 64, 60.0. 13. (1) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 64, 99.5. 14. (17) Robby Gordon, Dodge, 64, 51.5. 15. (10) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 64, 72.3. 16. (4) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 64, 59.6. 17. (13) David Gilliland, Ford, 64, 41.7. 18. (22) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 64, 46.6. 19. (7) Patrick Carpentier, Dodge, Accident, 57, 51.7. 20. (19) Eric McClure, Chevrolet, Transmission, 43, 28.7.

21. (3) Dave Blaney, Toyota, Oil Line, 24, 93.2. 22. (24) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, Suspension, 16, 48.2. 23. (11) Jacques Villeneuve, Toyota, Accident, 14, 56.4. 24. (16) Jamie McMurray, Ford, Accident, 14, 33.4. 25. (26) Stanton Barrett Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 14, 46.6. 26. (23) Dario Franchitti, Dodge, Accident, 14, 28.4.

Average speed of race winner: 128.428 mph. Time of race: 1 hour, 14 minutes, 45 seconds Margin of victory: .091 of a second. Caution flags: 3 for 15 laps. Lead changes: 14 among 9 drivers. Lap leaders: M. Waltrip 1-7; T. Kvapil 8; M. Waltrip 9-12; M. Kenseth 13; K. Kahne 14; M. Kenseth 15-18; K. Kahne 19; M. Kenseth 20-23; M. Waltrip 24-29; J. Gordon 30-31; K. Busch 32-42; K. Harvick 43-49; K. Busch 50-53; T. Stewart 54-62; D. Hamlin 63-64. Leaders summary (driver, times led, laps led): Michael Waltrip 3 times for 17 laps; Kyle Busch 2 times for 15 laps; Matt Kenseth 3 times for 9 laps; Tony Stewart 1 time for 9 laps; Kevin Harvick 1 time for 7 laps; Jeff Gordon 1 time for 2 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 2 laps; Kasey Kahne 2 times for 2 laps; Travis Kvapil 1 time for 1 lap.

DAYTONA 500 LINEUP

Race is Sunday

1. (48) Jimmie Johnson, 187.075 mph. 2. (55) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 186.734. 3. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet. 4. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota. 5. (41) Reed Sorenson, Dodge. 6. (20) Tony Stewart, Toyota. 7. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge. 8. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet. 9. (5) Casey Mears, Chevrolet. 10. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge.

11. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford. 12. (8) Mark Martin, Chevrolet. 13. (43) Bobby Labonte, Dodge. 14. (6) David Ragan, Ford. 15. (42) Juan Montoya, Dodge. 16. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet. 17. (187) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet. 18. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford. 19. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge. 20. (44) Dale Jarrett, Toyota.

21. (15) Paul Menard, Chevrolet. 22. (34) John Andretti, Chevrolet. 23. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota. 24. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota. 25. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet. 26. (7) Robby Gordon, Dodge. 27. (66) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet. 28. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford. 29. (01) Regan Smith, Chevrolet. 30. (28) Travis Kvapil, Ford.

31. (07) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet. 32. (38) David Gilliland, Ford. 33. (70) Jeremy Mayfield, Chevrolet. 34. (22) Dave Blaney, Toyota. 35. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge. 36. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet. 37. (96) J.J. Yeley, Toyota. 38. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford. 39. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge. 40. (40) Dario Franchitti, Dodge.

41. (78) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet. 42. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota. 43. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge.

Did not qualify

44. (84) A.J. Allmendinger, Toyota. 45. (21) Bill Elliott, Ford. 46. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge. 47. (160) Boris Said, Ford. 48. (10) Patrick Carpentier, Dodge. 49. (137) Eric McClure, Chevrolet. 50. (109) Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet. 51. (27) Jacques Villeneuve, Toyota. 52. (150) Stanton Barrett, Chevrolet. 53. (08) Carl Long, Dodge.

GIVING THANKS

Brian Vickers, who struggled last year in his first season with Toyota's Red Bull team, thanked Joe Nemechek of Furniture Row Racing for ushering him into the first transfer spot in the first qualifying race, thus pushing him into the Daytona 500.

Vickers passed Nemechek, who then helped teammate Kenny Wallace to ensure A.J. Allmendinger didn't run Wallace down.

"Passing Joe got us in the race, but Joe not passing us back is really what got us in the race," Vickers said.

HE SAID IT

"This day, as much as everybody is talking about Dale Jarrett, is about UPS and Michael Waltrip Racing."

Dale Jarrett, after qualifying for the final Daytona 500 of his career.

BIT FOREIGN

Denny Hamlin's victory in a Toyota in the second qualifying race was the first for a non-American manufacturer in a major series in 59 years.

Al Keller drove a Jaguar to a win June 13, 1954, on the road course at Linden (N.J.) airport.

BAD BREAK

Jamie McMurray's hard luck continues.

He wrecked in Saturday's Bud- weiser Shootout and again Thursday in the second qualifying race.

Jim Benton