John Tharp is going for 3-in-a-row in the Daytona 500. Showing relative signs of life during the 2nd Daytona Duel, he is not the favorite to win it again. He will be starting 17th in the field, which where the PHR teams normally qualify during the restrictor-plate events. Ryan Heuser and John Battista come in as the heavy favorites. Heuser dominated most of the Bud Shootout and won his Daytona Duel, while Battista was easily the fastest car in the first Daytona Duel. Dark-horses coming in include Ken Pettit and Steven Spears, who are the only other drivers to score a top-10 in the last two 500's. Tony Pizzaro and Johnny Reed Foley also looked strong during speedweeks. Quantum Racing has picked up the pace as well. It will be interesting to see who can avoid the big wrecks, and find themselves racing in the front-pack by the end.

Monday, February 15th, 8:00 ET