Daytona 500 preview: Time to party

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 21: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, leads the field during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Budweiser Duel 2 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
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DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 21:  Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, leads the field during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Budweiser Duel 2 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida.  (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 21: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, leads the field during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Budweiser Duel 2 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

It’s time to get this party started. The lineup has been set and the green flag is ready to fall on the 55th running of the Daytona 500, the Great American Race and the start of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. The end to Speedweeks is the most anticipated race of the season and winning carries more significance than anywhere else.

After last Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited and Thursday’s Duel qualifying races, choosing favorites is a bit easier. But the 500 is also one of the longest and more grueling races in motorsports so anything can and usually will happen.

The top driver so far this week has been Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing team. Harvick won last Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited and repeated the performance Thursday during the first Duel. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.