Twin 125 Mile Qualifying Races for Daytona 500

02/15/96

A report form ESPNET describes the twin 125 mile races that will wrap up qualifications for the Daytona 500. The pole and second positions for the Daytona 500 were decided by the 1st round of qualifications and went to Dale Earnhardt (189.510 mph) and Ernie Irvan (189.336 mph). The rest of the field--with the exception of provisional starting positions--will be determined by the two 125 mile races that will be run on Thursday. The two races have been run as qualifications for the Daytona 500 since its inception in 1959.

Both of the two races have starting fields of 25 cars, and together they determine starting positions 3-30 for Sunday's 500 mile race. The first race determines the positions on the inside of the field, starting in row two, right behind Earnhardt, and moving back through row 15. The second race determines the corresponding positions on the outside of rows two to fifteen, starting behind Irvan.

Positions 31-38 are reserved for the drivers with the best qualifying times who didn't make the field in either the first round of qualifying or by finishing top 28 in the twin races. The remaining 4 positions are granted as provisional positions to drivers who didn't make the field during qualifications: three of them are awarded based on 1995's Top 40 in car owner points. One of the provisional positions goes to the most recent Winston Cup champion who didn't qualify.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel