DAYTONA 500 NOTEBOOK

updated 3:37 p.m. ET Feb. 18, 2006

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Wearing jeans, a designer shirt and fancy sunglasses, Jeff Gordon watched the final practice for the Daytona 500 from atop his hauler Saturday.

Looking confident and composed, the only thing Gordon and his team had left to do was check out the competition.

“We’ve spent the last three months getting ready for this race. If one more hour makes that much of a difference, then shame on us,” said Steve Letarte, crew chief for the No. 24 Chevrolet.

Maybe Gordon and Letarte were playing mind games with other teams, giving the appearance of being ready and not wanting to show too much so close to the season-opening race.

“I am sure it affects people, but that was not our goal,” Letarte said. “I’m sure there’s people that are bothered by it, but we’ve been preparing for three months. We attacked it like (Friday) was going to be our final practice and he had a good run. He came in and said he had a lot of speed and he knows best.”

Gordon, the defending Daytona 500 champion, won one of the 150-mile qualifying races Thursday and will start on the outside pole Sunday. He also showed good speed in the first five practice sessions.

“From here on out it’s just race adjustments,” Gordon said.

Ken Schrader had the fastest practice lap Saturday, just ahead of teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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Hermie Sadler was the only other driver who didn’t run any practice laps on the high-banked oval. But unlike Gordon, he wasn’t even at the track.

Sadler, the older brother of Elliott Sadler, took his youngest daughter to Disney World in nearby Orlando to celebrate making The Great American Race for the first time in his career. He also had another reason to skip town.

“We didn’t want to take a chance of something happening during practice,” Sadler said.

Labonte's luck
Bobby Labonte’s run of bad luck at the Daytona 500 continued Saturday when his No. 43 Dodge blew an engine during practice. The team will have to switch engines and start from the back of the field Sunday.

Labonte had qualified eighth, what would have been his best start in the Daytona 500 since 1999. Labonte has finished 34th or lower in four of the last five season openers. He was 11th in 2004.

Shelmerdine's search
Kirk Shelmerdine was still searching for a sponsor and a pit crew Saturday, one day before the biggest race of his career.

“We’re shaking the bushes,” said Shelmerdine, a former crew chief for Dale Earnhardt and a surprise qualifier for the Daytona 500.

Shelmerdine said few big-time sponsors have shown interest. As for a pit crew, he said paying a Busch Series team was an option, but that many of them had tight schedules because they have to travel to California next week and then Mexico.

Two-wheeling
The first two-wheeling team in Daytona history will take to the high-banked track before the start of Sunday’s race.

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Team Lipton, an all-female cycling team, will circle the speedway on their bikes during the pace lap of the Daytona 500. Track spokesman David Talley said it’s believed to be the first time bicycles have ever turned a lap at Daytona.

The team has helped driver Kasey Kahne prepare for the season, getting him into a cycling-dominated workout routine.

Team Lipton has 14 professional riders, but only Grace Fleury, Kristen LaSasso and Liza Rachetto will make the Daytona laps.

Popular picks
Defending series champion Tony Stewart and defending Daytona 500 champion Jeff Gordon are overwhelming favorites to win The Great American Race.

Stewart and Gordon each received 10 winning predictions in a media poll conducted by NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Bobby Labonte also received winning votes.

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