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NOTES: Matt Kenseth will seek to become the first back-to-back champion of the Daytona 500 since Sterling Marlin accomplished the feat in 1994-95. Last season, Kenseth led for only seven laps, but it was the final seven, as he defeated Kevin Harvick under the caution as the race was shortened due to rain. Kenseth starting position was 39th, the furthest a driver has started and won. Kenseth, the 2003 Cup Series champion, avoided a major wreck during the mid- stages of the race and then got help from Harvick to pass Elliott Sadler for the lead on lap 146. He held the top spot just before the eighth and final caution came for an incident involving Aric Almirola. Rain began falling on Daytona International Speedway by lap 149 and the red flag was displayed three laps later. NASCAR called the race shortly after, giving Kenseth his first victory in the Daytona 500 in his 10th attempt. Kyle Busch, who led for a race-high 88 laps, failed to finish the race due to an accident. In 2008, Ryan Newman overtook Tony Stewart on the final lap to record his 13th career Sprint Cup title. Newman, who started in the seventh position on the grid, edged Kurt Busch by less than a second, while Stewart placed third. Newman led four times for a total of eight laps, while Kyle Busch, who placed fourth, led eight times for a race-high 86 laps. Pole sitter Jimmie Johnson finished 27th. Harvick overcame Mark Martin in 2007 on the final lap to post a 0.090 of a seconds victory for his 11th Sprint Cup title. Pole sitter David Gilliland led for the first 18 laps, but Kurt Busch took over lead on three separate occasions for a race-high 95 laps. Busch however, would begin to fade due to tire problems and finished a disappointing 41st. Martin Truex Jr. replaced Kyle Busch at the front of the pack, but he yielded to Martin on lap 176. Martin held the lead for 26 laps, but Harvick, who led for just four total laps, clipped the veteran to take the checkered flag. Harvick tied Benny Parsons for fewest laps led by a winner. Parsons raced to victory in 1975. The Daytona 500 has a different qualifying format than every other race. Only the two fastest drivers secure starting spots for the "500" in the first round. After qualifying ends, the speeds will be used to set the lineups for Thursday's Gatorade 150-mile qualifying races. Odd numbers - first, third, fifth and so on - go in the first race, even numbers in the second. Results from the 150s will set positions 3 through 30 for the 500. The next eight spots in the 500 field will go to the drivers with the eight best qualifying speeds who have not yet made the field. The final five spots go to provisional starters based on last season's car owner points standings. In 2006, Jimmie Johnson outdueled Casey Mears down the stretch to capture his first career Daytona 500. Johnson, who had posted four straight top-five finishes at this race, won under the caution in front of an estimated crowd of 175,000. Johnson led the race on four separate occasions for a total of 24 laps, as he won for the 19th time in his career. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished eighth, led seven times for a race-high 32 laps. Pole sitter Jeff Burton, who led for the first 18 laps, finished 32nd. Dale Earnhardt Jr. captured the 2004 Daytona 500, crossing the finish line a scant 0.273 of a second ahead of Tony Stewart. The prestigious victory was "Junior's" first in the "Great American Race." Earnhardt Jr.'s win came exactly six years to the day after his father, seven-time Sprint Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, won his only Daytona 500. Earnhardt competed 19 times before winning his only Daytona 500 (1998), the longest span of any of the 32 race winners. Only eight of the 32 Daytona 500 pole winners have won the pole more than once: Buddy Baker and Cale Yarborough and Bill Elliott (four); Fireball Roberts and Ken Schrader (three); Donnie Allison, Dale Jarrett and Johnson (two). Seven Daytona 500 winners have won by a margin of one lap or more, most recently by David Pearson in 1976. The winner of the Daytona 500 has gone on to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship eight times: Lee Petty (1959), Richard Petty (1964, 1971, 1974, 1979), Cale Yarborough (1977), Jeff Gordon (1997) and Jimmie Johnson (2006). The last pole sitter to win this race was Dale Jarrett in 2000. Only nine pole winners have captured the Daytona 500. Chevrolet has 20 Daytona 500 wins, while Ford is second with 11. Twenty-six of the 51 Daytona 500s have been won from the top-five starting positions. The only Daytona 500s won from outside a top-10 starting position since 1980 were by Derrike Cope (12th - 1990), Michael Waltrip (19th - 2001), Ward Burton (19th - 2002) and Jeff Gordon (15th - 2005), Kevin Harvick (34th - 2007) and Kenseth (39th - 2009). In 51 years, only three drivers have recorded consecutive wins at the Daytona 500, Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Marlin (1994-95). Jeff Gordon has had remarkable success at Daytona International Speedway. "Speed Racer" has recorded six wins, 11 top fives and 17 top-10 finishes in 33 races at this track. First held in 1959, the Daytona 500 has been the season-opener only since 1982. Bill Elliott has competed in the Daytona 500 26 times, more than any other active drivers. When Lee Petty captured the inaugural Daytona 500, he became the first and only driver to win this race in his first appearance. Six drivers have posted their career-first victory with a win in the Daytona 500: Tiny Lund (1963), Mario Andretti (1967), Pete Hamilton (1970), Derrike Cope (1990), Sterling Marlin (1994) and Michael Waltrip (2001). A.J. Foyt is the only Indianapolis 500 winner to go on to win the Daytona 500. Foyt won at Indy in 1961 and at Daytona in 1965 and 1972. Mario Andretti also won both races but his Daytona 500 victory (1967) came before his win at Indy (1969). Kevin Harvick's 0.020-second margin of victory over Mark Martin in the 2007 Daytona 500 was the ninth-closest overall since the advent of electronic timing in 1993, and the closest in a Daytona 500. Six of the last 14 Daytona 500s have ended under caution (2009, 2006, 2003, 2000, 1998 and 1997). The other eight have all had a margin of victory of less than three-tenths of a second: 1996 -0.120, 1999 - 0.124, 2001 - 0.128, 2002 - 0.193, 2004 - 0.273, 2005 - 0.158, 2007 - 0.020, 2008 - 0.092. NASCAR legend Junior Johnson, who won this race in 1960, will serve as the Grand Marshal. Harry Connick Jr will sing the national anthem. The Sprint Cup Series moves on to Fontana, California for the February 21st Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway. Matt Kenseth won last year's race there. 02/14 02:49:20 ET