Daytona grid set as Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton take Duel wins

The Gatorade Duel set the table for Sundays 500, and the outlook for the race can be summed up in a statement by Duel-2 winner, Jeff Burton:

“It’s a shame two cars can’t fit in here you know. With the way this thing is going its really important to have somebody to work with you. Clint and I decided we were just going to find each other early and it worked out well for both of us. I didn’t know who won but it was a good race.”

He really said that. He really said that it’s a shame he can’t share his victory with another driver. I just can’t imagine Dale Earnhardt ever saying that.

But yes, it’s true, it is going to take two-to-tango on Sunday, but only one car gets to roll into Victory Lane. While this isn’t going to make for good racing, “tandem racing” clearly the story of 2011 at Daytona and may make for a good “show”.

STARTING GRID FOR THE 2011 DAYTONA 500

Row 1:
1 – No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet
2 – 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet

Row 2:
3 – No. 22 Kurt Busch Shell/Pennzoil Dodge
4 – No. 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet

Row 3:
5 – No. 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
6 – No. 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet

Row 4:
7 – No. 29 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
8 – 15 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
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Row 5:
9 – No. 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Black Ford
10 – No. 18 Kyle Busch M&amp;M’s Toyota

Row 6:
11 – No. 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota
12 – No. 92 Brian Keselowski K-Automotive Dodge

Row 7:
13 – No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
14 – No. 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet

Row 8:
15 – No. 43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy Ford
16 – No. 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge

Row 9:
17 – No. 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
18 – No. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota

Row 10:
19 – No. 27 Paul Menard Menards/Peak Chevrolet
20 – No. 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota

Row 11:
21 – No. 39 Ryan Newman U.S.Army Chevrolet
22 – No. 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford

Row 12:
23 – No. 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
24 – No. 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota

Row 13:
25 – No. 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
26 – No. 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford

Row 14:
27 – No. 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
28  – No. 37 Robert Richardson Jr.(i) North Texas Pipe Ford

Row 15:
29 – No. 09  Bill Elliott Phoenix Construction Chevrolet
30 – No. 7 Robby Gordon SPEED Energy Dodge