Here we go again with another talkback thread. We’re back in Daytona for the Fourth of July! Hang out here and talk racing as you listen to the fireworks blast in the background. Your defending champion is that guy up there, who’s apparently also a Redskins draft pick. Anyway, enjoy, and have a happy Fourth!

After rain cancels qualifying at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, driver of the Miller Lite Dodge to start on second row as field is determined by point standings.

Race: Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola

Where: Daytona (Beach, Fla.) International Speedway (2.5 mi.), 160 laps/400 miles.

When: Saturday, July 4.

Last year’s winner: Kyle Busch, Toyota.

Qualifying record: Bill Elliott, Ford, 210.364 mph, Feb. 9, 1987

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Race record: Bobby Allison, Mercury, 173.473 mph, July 4, 1980.
 

 

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Subway Jalapeno 250 Friday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Photo:Getty Images)

Happy Fourth of July to you and yours from all of us at Yahoo! Sports and The Marbles! Hope you have a safe, happy holiday. Enjoy the race!

Hey everybody, who’s ready for the Fourth of July? Yeah? Me too. Some good racing on tap, and through it all, Richard Petty will be singing the swingin’ sounds of the Seventies to get you through the night! "Muskrat Love"! "Stuck In The Middle With You"! "Tie A Yellow Ribbon"! Come on, you know the words!

All right, enough silliness. Everybody kick back, dodge the family, shoot off a few fireworks, drink some beers and chat about whatever comes to your mind here. Have a good one, and enjoy the race!

Team looking to bounce back with drivers Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe this weekend at the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen.

Daytona Beach resident Mark Martin is looking for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Daytona International Speedway in his 49th attempt.  Eleventh in the points standings right now, he holds just a 4-point lead over 13th-place Kasey Kahne. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

“Mirror driving” is a double entendre in tonight’s Coke Zero 400.

Restrictor-plate racing rewards a canny ability for drivers to observe what others are doing around them, but the term also relates to the championship race that transcends even Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR’s most famous track.

With the Chase for the Sprint Cup nine races away, drivers have to go for the bonus points that determine Chase seeding. Each driver in the Chase receives 10 points for each victory. Based on present results, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin would enter the Chase with 30 extra points, or 5,030. A year ago, Busch’s eight regular-season victories have him 80 extra points at the beginning of the Chase.

Those points don’t mean anything if a driver fails to make the Chase, and Martin is in 11th place. Only 12 make it. At present, Martin’s margin over 13th-place Kasey Kahne is only four points.

“You know, you go out here, and you race, and we take our lumps and we take our good days,” said Martin. “Some days we get more than we deserve, and some days we don’t get what we deserve. We just go out here and do our thing and hope it turns out well.”

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HIS HIGHNESS–The race marks the 25th anniversary of Richard Petty’s 200th and final victory.

Carl Edwards called the man known as The King “larger than life.”

“To me, he was a mythical figure,” Edwards continues. “Now I get to see him and talk to him. He’s just a regular, down-to-earth guy, that’s Superman, really, to all of us.

“One of the neatest things he did to me is he pulled me aside one time after we went to our event for Coca-Cola, and I had forgotten my dress shoes, so I had these boots and they were all nasty, so I’m wearing a suit with these nasty boots, and he said, ‘I don’t mean to get in your business, son, but you make enough money, and when you’re going to go to something nice like that, you need to get yourself a nice pair of shoes and dress appropriately. I think that would be good for you.’

Edwards said he always keeps a pair of dress shoes in his airplane now.

* * *

ODE TO ALAN — Since Tony Stewart owns a controlling interest in his team and he is leading the Cup standings, comparisons with the last driver-owner to win a championship, Alan Kulwicki in 1992, are inevitable.

But Stewart said there’s no comparison.

“He had to work a lot harder than we did because he had his own engine program,” said Stewart. “He had to do his own chassis. That’s something we have had the advantage of having our alliance with Hendrick Motorsports and knowing that we don’t have to worry about the engine package each week. We don’t have to worry about the chassis and how they are evolving.

“We have those luxuries that Alan (Kulwicki) didn’t have. I think still, to this day, that’s one of the most remarkable accomplishments I’ve ever seen in this sport after having been in it for a while.”

Stewart never raced in NASCAR’s premier series until 1999, six years after Kulwicki’s death in a plane crash in 1993.

* * *

ON DECK? – Seven drivers who won races in 2008 have yet to win a race this season.

They are Edwards, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Edwards won nine races last season, more than any other driver.

* * *

NOTHING TO DO, HUH?–In addition to the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series, Kyle Busch, joined by Cup rookie Scott Speed, is competing in today’s Brumos Porsche 250, a Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race.

* * *

WHAT A LONG TIME–Matt Kenseth is facing long statistical odds in trying to follow up his Daytona 500 victory.

A sweep of the Cup season’s two Daytona visits hasn’t happened since Bobby Allison pulled it off in 1982.

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Defending race winner Kyle Busch and crew chief Steve Addington discuss their car after practice for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)

“I think that the biggest thing I always have going for me is that I truly enjoy the plate races. I think, for sure, that I am in the minority when I say that. I know how much the fans love it.  I know it’s hard for most people to understand, but the more I’m right in the middle of the lead pack, the more comfortable I am in the car.” – Kasey Kahne.

“We can be better than where we’re at, but I’m very happy to see the progress. We’ve been cleaning up things over the course of the year, and I think we’re going to be just right when the Chase starts.” – Jimmie Johnson.

“It s amazing the difference between Daytona and Talladega. Talladega is like an eight-lane interstate, where this (Daytona) is like a two-lane road, carving through the woods, and you don t know what’s coming around the next bend.” – Kurt Busch.

“We could definitely use a good finish, and we need to avoid a bad finish at all costs. We’re getting a little too close to the Chase to have many more bad races.” – Greg Biffle.

“I guess if you put the springtime slickness at a three, this might be like a seven, or maybe an eight. It’s not terrible. It’s bad, but it’s not terrible.” – Kyle Busch.

“Daytona is so entrenched in NASCAR’s history. There’s no question the 500 is the bigger of the two races, but I won’t give my 400 trophy back.” – Jeff Burton.

“This is why my family moved here from Australia: to be a competitor at this level. Luckily, it has been an easy transition and we’ve been welcomed by NASCAR and fans. It’s just a dream come true for us.” – Marcos Ambrose.

“We’re usually racing in a tight pack where you could find yourself in the middle of ‘three wide’ through the corner. Your level of concentration must remain sky high because any small mistake can lead to the ‘big one.’” – Jeff Gordon.

“There are so many things out of your control when it comes to plate racing, so you better hit all the marks on everything you can control, or you can really dig yourself a hole.” – Kahne.

“We are excited about going back to Daytona. Obviously, winning the Daytona 500 was a big lift to start the season, but in a lot of ways, that seems like a long time ago.” – Matt Kenseth.

“When I was a kid growing up, Daytona was the only track I really knew. It was the most important track. It defined NASCAR.” – Michael Waltrip.

“As always, my goal will be avoid ‘the big one’ and go racing when it matters.” – Robby Gordon.
 

Will Power to drive the No. 12 Penske Truck Rental Dallara/Honda at Toronto, Edmonton, Kentucky, Sonoma and Miami IndyCar Series events for 2009 season.