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Thursday, July 5 Drivers to Watch ESPN.com news services Check out a short list of drivers to keep an eye on this weekend at Daytona. John Andretti Earned his first career NASCAR victory at Daytona in the 1997 Pepsi 400; dominated that race, leading 113 of 160 laps; only top five finish of the year was second in the Food City 500; is a disappointing 31st in the points standings; in February, was involved in the multi-car crash on lap 173 and did not finish the race. Jeff Burton Only six top-10 finishes in the 16 races thus far, but returns to Daytona as the defending champion of the Pepsi 400; held off strong challenges by Dale Jarrett and the late Dale Earnhardt last year to win the race; lone victory was the season's longest race, Coca-Cola 600; four of his top-10 results came in the last five races. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Returns to Daytona five months after the tragic death of his father; he will not be doing any media interviews this weekend; after leading 13 laps in the Daytona 500, settled for second place to Earnhardt Inc. teammate Michael Waltrip; has top-8 finishes in the two restrictor plate races this year. Bill Elliott Daytona has been good to him as four of his wins were recorded here (two in each race); won the 1988 Pepsi 400 from the 38th starting position, the lowest starting position of a Daytona race winner; started the season with a fifth-place finish here. Jeff Gordon His six top-three finishes in the last seven races, brings him to the Pepsi 400 at Daytona with a lot of momentum; the three-time Winston Cup champion is tied for most wins with three and is atop of the series standings by 126 points over Dale Jarrett; in eight starts in the Pepsi 400, Gordon has completed all 1,237 laps run with an average finish of 8.7 and two victories; overall, he has two other wins in the Daytona 500, two poles and eight top-fives in 17 starts; leads Winston Cup series in poles (4), top fives (11), races led (14) and laps led (1,276); finished 10th in last year's Pepsi 400; an accident on lap 178 in February ended his day short at the Daytona 500. Dale Jarrett Has won two of the last four races at Daytona; started from the pole last year but finished second after charging hard behind winner Jeff Burton; not among the contenders in the season-opener Daytona 500 when he finished 22nd; has nine top-10 finishes and is 126 points behind Jeff Gordon in the standings. Bobby Labonte Much better results over the past six races after a rough start this year here at Daytona (40th) in February; moved up to eight place in the standings following a seventh place finish at Sonoma; finished second at Daytona in both 1998 races. Terry Labonte A five-time runner-up at Daytona, including both 1997 races; a disappointing season with only one top five finish; 24th place finish in February's Daytona 500; just 24th in the points standings. Sterling Marlin Having a strong season which started at Daytona in February when he finished seventh in the Daytona 500; posted top-10 finishes in three of the past four races; finished in the top five in five events and is fifth in the points; won the Pepsi 400 in 1996. Mark Martin The season began here in February and Martin was expected to be a contender for the Winston Cup championship; as the season progressed, the team struggled until recently; four of the first 10 races were DNFs and put Martin as far back as 27th in the points; after returning to better form, he gained five positions in the month of June and is up to 13th, only 57 points out of the top 10; four of his seven top-10 finishes have come in the last five races; finished 33rd in the Daytona 500 after he was caught in a multi-car accident on the backstretch on lap 174. Ricky Rudd An excellent season by the 44-year-old veteran who ended an 88-race winless streak with a victory in the Pocono 500; one of the most consistent drivers this year; has not finished lower than 14th in the past nine races; third in the standings, 145 points behind leader Jeff Gordon; fifth in last year's Pepsi 500 and even better in fourth this year in the Daytona 500. Tony Stewart A win in the Pepsi 400 could also mean a $1 million bonus by virtue of his 3rd place finish in the Coca-Cola 600. He is one of five No Bull 5 competitors (NASCAR bonus program), joining Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and teammate Bobby Labonte; his two appearances in the Pepsi 400 were both sixth-place finishes; in February, he was 36th in the Daytona 500 due to an accident on lap 173 when he was airborne; finished in the top-seven in eight of his last nine races including two wins, the last at Sears Point for his first career road course triumph. Rusty Wallace Still seeking his first points victory at Daytona after finishing third in February; was also third in the Pepsi 400 last year behind Dale Jarrett and winner Jeff Burton; snapped a five-race streak of poor finishes with a fifth-place at Sonoma two weeks ago; one of 10 winners this season, recording his 54th career win on April 29 at California Speedway; dropped from third to sixth in the points standings after the recent slide in results. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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