Who's Not In The Daytona 500 Yet And How Are They Going to Get There?

As you all know, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle are in the Daytona 500 this upcoming weekend, having secured front row starting spots for the race.  But that's all last Sunday's qualifying did, lock those two in.  Roush-Fenway Racing is represented!

But with the qualifying session over, we still have several spots to fill and more drivers than spots willing to fill them.

The first 35 spots are already filled because of the Owner's Points from last year.  How you get those points, with either racing and earning them last year, of buying them from another team in some fashion, well, doesn't matter.  Those in possession of the much coveted Owner's Points are in the race.

But that leaves several drivers on the outside looking in.  Or maybe, leering at each other, wondering who is going to get what.

There are a few drivers who have to figure out how to get into the Daytona 500 and it's mildly complicated.  You can either wait until after the Gatorade Duels on Thursday and the media will tell everyone who is in or going home.  Or, if you like trying to understand the process, well, here we go...

(I have a simplified explanation, without names of The Qualifying Process for the Daytona 500 here.)

Those drivers that need to nab just a few spots left in the starting grid are:

1. Defending Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne,
2. Dave Blaney,
3. Bill Elliott,
4. Robby Gordon,
5. Terry Labonte,
6. Michael McDowell,
7. Joe Nemechek,
8. Tony Raines,
9. Robert Richardson,
10. David Stremme,
11. Kenny Wallace and
12. JJ Yeley.

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Drivers Bayne, Raines and Stremme are in fact, in the race because they had the next three fastest times from Sunday outside of the teams with Owner's Points.  So if they fail to race their way in on Thursday, they are still in.

If they do race their way into the Daytona 500, then the qualifier for getting into the race, that's the next three fastest runners from Sunday, will be Dave Blaney, Kenny Wallace and Michael Waltrip.

If all those cards fall into place, then that leaves Robby Gordon, McDowell, Nemechek, Raines, Richardson and Yeley racing for the four remaining spots of the Daytona 500.

Oh!  Terry Labonte IS in the race.  He can use his Past Champion's Provisional to participate.  If he manages to actually race his way into the Daytona 500 though, then Bill Elliott can use that provisional.

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See, what did I tell you?  How hard was that?

(I actually had help and pinged off of Dave Moody's post on the subject!)