Qualifying races have roots that run deep into history

Not only is the Daytona 500 the richest and most important stock-car race of the year, it has a unique way of setting its starting lineup.

No other race on the schedule sets its field by qualifying sprints, and like most things in NASCAR, Bill France had a lot to do with the idea. When the track opened in 1959, France was looking for a way to generate more revenue to pay for the new facility and give drivers a chance to practice in race conditions.

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Most short tracks used heats and last-chance races to set the field for the main event, so France borrowed that idea for his superspeedway. Since both convertibles and hardtops were eligible to compete in the inaugural 500, France set up a 100-mile qualifying race for each division on the Friday preceding the Sunday race.

Bob Welborn bested a 38-car hardtop field in a race that counted toward the championship, while Shorty Rollins won the convertible race, which didn't. In addition, there was a last-chance sprint, won by Jack Smith.

Since that time, there have been two qualifying races before the 500, with the entries split evenly according to their best one-lap speed on pole day. Starting with the 1969 season -- when the qualifying races were moved to Thursday -- the race distance was increased to 125 miles, then increased again to 150 miles in 2005. Rain has forced cancellation of the qualifying races only one time, in 1968.

Surprisingly, winning a qualifying race has not necessarily translated into success in the 500-miler. Starting with Fireball Roberts in 1962 and most recently, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2004, eight drivers have won a qualifying race and the 500 in the same season. Compare that to the 14 qualifying winners who have come in second.

For all his success in the 500, Richard Petty only won one qualifying race, in 1977. It was Dale Earnhardt who was the king of Daytona's qualifying races, winning 12 in all -- including an amazing run of 10 in a row, starting in 1990.

Only once have both qualifying race winners finished 1-2 in the 500. That came in 1995, when Sterling Marlin beat Dale Earnhardt. Coo Coo Marlin, Sterling's father, and Mike Skinner are the only drivers to have won a qualifying race but still be listed without an official victory, since the qualifiers no longer counted toward the championship, beginning in 1972.

In fact, as a whole, things have not gone well in the 500 for qualifying race winners. Last year, Tony Stewart won his qualifying race, only to crash out of the 500 and finish 43rd. Stewart became the only qualifying race winner to wind up last, joining a list of 18 other drivers who finished 31st or worse in the main event.

Fireball Roberts holds a record not likely to be broken, as he finished 57th in the 1960 Daytona 500 after winning his qualifying race two days earlier. Another record that appears to be safe is Terry Labonte's race-winning speed of 189.554 mph in 1989.

Another unusual stat: Only one qualifying race winner has ever finished 10th in the Daytona 500, and that was under strange circumstances. Jeff Gordon won a qualifier last season only to fail post-race inspection because his car was too low. He was still credited with the victory but wound up starting 42nd in the 500.

It didn't take long for the qualifiers to gain a reputation for being more dangerous than the actual main event. In 1961, Richard Petty was among the drivers sent to the hospital following a series of accidents in the first race. And Petty's dad, Lee, and Johnny Beauchamp were seriously injured in the second. Beauchamp never raced again and Petty's career was effectively over.

Four drivers have lost their lives in qualifying races, starting with Talmadge "Tab" Prince in 1970. Friday Hassler was killed in 1972, Ricky Knotts in 1980 and Bruce Jacobi in 1987.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.