Daytona 500: 8 Days Away [David Stefanini]

The Super Bowl of racing is only 8 days away. The Daytona 500 is the first race in the Nascar Nextel Cup season and is the biggest race of them all. Every year 42 drivers start the race with a goal of winning and having their name said amongst past winners such as; Dale Jarret, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, and others. So which driver is the early favorite this year to win the big race?

It seems the early favorite is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Daytona is a restrictor plate race track, thus Jr. has to be the favorite. For the past several years Jr. has become the dominating driver at this type of track. In 2004 he won the Daytona 500 and has continued his dominance in restrictor plate races. At one point he won three consecutive. Last season Jr. should have won a race at Talladega (also a restrictor plate race track) but was spun out on the final lap, all but ruining his chance at the Nextel Cup.

This year promises to be an exciting one with Jr. going after his first Nextel Cup, Jeff Gordon looking to re-capture his championship swagger, and Jimmie Johnson looking to repeat as champ.