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Now that Mark Martin drives for Hendrick Motorsports, his chances of winning his first ever Daytona 500 are vastly improved, writes Johnny Benson of NBCSports.com.

Keys to success at Daytona
This is a track which has its banking set up so that drivers can try and hold the throttle wide open and never back off. But it's a superspeedway that has always been temperamental when it comes to allowing drivers to ride wide open for the whole race. As the week goes on leading up to Sunday’s race, the track gets slicker and drivers will struggle with being able to hold it wide open all the way around the venue.

To reduce a car's horsepower, they use a restrictor plate -- an aluminum plate between the carburetor and intake manifold -- thereby restricting the amount of air-fuel mixture that goes in the engine, which is what produces the horsepower. With the horsepower restricted -- reduced by about 50 percent -- aerodynamics becomes a huge factor, and two cars nose-to-tail are faster than a single car going around the track -- thus the importance of working with other drivers, especially teammates.

Track position is a huge factor as are pit stops, which must be flawless. In this race, expect drivers to make at least five or six pit stops, and a mistake while in the pits can prove very costly because a driver can fall way back in the pack, and not be heard from again for the rest of the race. Also, racing in the rear increases the chances of getting caught up in a wreck.

Drivers will also have to be very careful not to get penalized for speeding on pit row as they are facing the electronic timing of their pit-row speeds by NASCAR. It's challenging for them to do this at all of the tracks, but at Daytona it’s especially challenging.

Big wrecks are always a possibility at Daytona. The best chance to stay out of them is to be among the top five or so cars because anywhere further back and the odds aren't nearly as good for staying clear of multi-car crashes. No driver wants a short day to begin the season. They all will be trying very hard to keep clear of the Big One.

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