Daytona 500 Pre-Race Notes
CEDHOnline.com - February 08, 2010
Daytona International Speedway
February 14, 2010
Carl Edwards hopes that the Budweiser Shootout is a sign of a strong effort to come in the Daytona after the driver led the first third of the Shootout. This weekend will be the sixth Daytona 500 that Edwards has competed in.
The Duck's Back: The No. 99 Ford Fusion will be sporting the green, black and blue colors of the Aflac sponsorship this weekend in the Daytona 500. Edwards ran the Scotts colors in the Budweiser Shootout last weekend.
Chassis for the Daytona 500: The No. 99 will be running a brand new chassis this week end in the Daytona 500. The No. 99 Aflac Racing has prepared a brand new car for the Daytona 500, chassis RK-677 for the biggest event of the season.
Carl Edwards at Daytona: In 10 starts, Carl Edwards has completed 1619 of 1762 laps, leading 3 laps, while taking in 3 top-five finishes, and 3 top-ten efforts. He has an average start of 17.2 and an average finish of 19.7, with two dnf's at the track. He has $2,257,483 in money winnings at the track.
Last Season: Carl Edwards finished 18th in the 2009 after rain shortened the race and his teammate Matt Kenseth took home the Daytona 500 for the first time.
Carl Edwards on the Daytona 500: "Our No. 99 Aflac team has been working really hard in the off-season. We have put together a great pit crew. The racing will be more competitive than ever. We were really competitive in 2008, but like a lot of other people we just couldn’t catch Jimmie Johnson last year, so I hope this is the year we can knock them off the top. I had fun in the Shootout last Saturday and think we’ll be good for the 500.
“The Duels are short races, they are a lot of fun and I have yet to win at Daytona other than the truck race in 2004. For me I’m still chasing that win and it would be a great way to start off Speedweeks at Daytona. It’s like a heat race, you just go out there and race as hard as you can and with the new rules there will be a lot of aggression and a lot of people trying to prove themselves."
Bob Osborne on the Daytona 500: “The Duels on Thursday will be a test for the 500. We will try to get the best starting position possible for the 500 and go from there. Daytona has not been the bumper-to-bumper racing as we have seen in the past so I am not sure if the new rules will impact the race a great deal. If the cars stay bunched up, the new rules will most likely end in a wreck. We’re taking a brand new car to Daytona that should run well based on the wind tunnel and k-rig data we have.” |
