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CUP: Rain Halts Qualifying
Written by: Tom Jensen   
07/03/2009
Daytona Beach, FL
 
Tony Stewart will start from the pole at the Coke Zero 400 due to rained out qualifying. (PHOTO: LAT Photographic) ยป More Photos

Persistent rain at Daytona International Speedway Friday afternoon forced the cancellation of qualifying for the Coke Zero 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

Coke Zero 400 starting-lineup

So for the second weekend in a row, the field will line up by owner points, which puts Tony Stewart on the pole with his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Impala SS, flanked by Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

The Daytona 500 in February was shortened by rain, and weather could be a factor again on Saturday night. That, in turn, could affect race strategy.

“We normally watch the radar pretty closely and while you can’t predict everything that pops up on the radar these days, especially here in Florida, I think you have to be prepared for anything and you have to race pretty hard throughout the race,” said Gordon, who leads active drivers with six victories at DIS. “Once you get to the halfway point or as you’re closing in on the halfway point, if it looks like the potential for rain then you’re going to see guys racing a lot harder. We saw it last week and we’ve seen it in the past. I think we’ll see it again here. It’s up to the team and the spotter on the roof to really be paying attention to what’s going on with the weather or what’s closing in.”

Stewart, meanwhile, said he’s more concerned with coping with the brutal July heat and humidity at the 2.5-mile track. “I just stay in the air conditioning as long as I can, honestly,” said Stewart, a two-time Sprint Cup champion. “Every time you go out, it's a thousand percent humidity here and 80 or 90 degrees, so it's hot. It's hot for everybody. The best way to stay hydrated is to stay cool to where you're not sweating
the fluids out and just keep pounding away at it all week. We've been drinking water and trying to stay hydrated since Monday. That's about the only way you can combat it right now.”

With 45 cars entered for the 43-car field, Regan Smith and Max Papis missed the race.

Coke Zero 400 starting-lineup

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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