NASCAR: Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon Win Gatorade Duels

Oregon's Mike Bliss was nipped at the line and will miss Sunday`s race.

Photo: daytona500.com

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Tony Stewart continued his success this week at Daytona International Speedway by winning the first Gatorade Duel At Daytona on Thursday.

Stewart, who won last weekend's Budweiser Shootout At Daytona, held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win his 11th career race at "The World Center of Racing."

Jeff Gordon, who pitted for two tires during the second and final caution of the second Duel, won the race with pass in Turn 3 on the final lap.

Qualifying for the Daytona 500 through their finishes in the first Gatorade Duel At Daytona were Boris Said and Michael Waltrip.

"I've never raced a Saturday night short-track race but that's what I guess it would be like if I ever did it," Said commented. "That was a wild race and it was a lot of fun."

Mike Bliss, who is from from Milwaukee, Ore., was nipped by Said at the start/finish line and will miss the Daytona 500.

Also falling short were Ward Burton, 72-year-old James Hylton, Stanton Barrett, two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott.

Though all three Michael Waltrip Racing entries made it to Sunday's race, the Red Bull team was shutout.

Gatorade Duel At Daytona Post-Race Quotes

Winner of the second Gatorade Duel At Daytona, Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet

"We had some great guys back there helping us push. J.J. Yeley was one of them. Having those two tires played a big role. I was able to get up there on the outside and it was real maneuverable with the DuPont Chevrolet. It really is just circumstances in situations like that in the closing laps. You pick a lane and a hole and you go with it and if somebody goes with you, you know you've got momentum. Right there at the end between Stremme and J.J. Yeley, we just had some huge pushes. Those guys up front saw me coming and they were just trying to figure out which way to go. I got pretty nervous there going into (turn) three on that last lap because the No. 2 car (Kurt Busch) moved up to block me. He did a great job with it. I knew my only option was to go low and I didn't know if I was going to spin out and wreck both of us or make it back around. But when I got clear of him, it was a great feeling. I've got to thank all my sponsors and all the people that make this thing happen. It's a great feeling to get back here into victory lane at Daytona."

WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY THAT YOU CAN APPLY TO SUNDAY'S RACE? "I know we've got to get our car handling a little bit better. We were pretty good. We've got to get out front. Winning this race gets us closer to the front, which helps a lot. And we've got to try not to overshoot the pits. I'll tell you what, it's about the easiest I've ever seen it to overshoot your pits by locking up tires. It's just going to take a real clean race all day."

WAS THERE A LOT OF BUMPING AND BANGING OUT THERE? "No, there really wasn't. It seemed like when the tires are fresh at the beginning of the race there was some shuffling going on. I thought Juan Pablo did a great job early on. I hated to see him have problems. Kyle Busch looked strong and Kurt Busch looked strong and I think it really was pretty calm until late there of after a restart. That's when the tires are cool and guys can make some maneuvers it seems like they try to. Other than that, everybody seemed to pretty much stay calm and stay in line. It was pretty uneventful until the closing laps."

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet

DO YOU LIKE WHERE YOU STAND NOW WITH THIS PACKAGE? "I feel real good about it. There are no guarantees, obviously. We've got a lot of good cars that were in our race there. Anybody who can go from a lap down and get to second (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) has a pretty strong car too. But this Home Depot Monte Carlo SS is awesome. This Chevy has been bad to the bone all week. It's been that way all year for us no matter whether we're at the Chili Bowl or here."

THERE IS A SPOT IN THE WALL OF FAME RESERVED FOR THIS YEAR'S WINNER. YOU SAID THAT'S WHERE YOU HOPE TO HAVE YOUR PICTURE. "Yeah, the qualifying races and shootouts and the July race are great, but I really want this race on Sunday badly."

TALK ABOUT THE RACE TODAY "We had a good car. We kind of sat there at the beginning behind Denny (Hamlin) and really nothing got going on the inside lane. The outside took off. We finally made the decision that we needed to go - and get ourselves going forward instead of backwards. So we just got a good run there. Dale Junior and I were a good combination. I had him starting behind me and we both worked our way up to the front there and it was just a matter of trying to stay there."

DID YOU HAVE MUCH OPPORTUNITY TO GO UP TOP TO SEE WHAT THE CAR MIGHT DO ON SUNDAY? "I didn't do it today. We have two more days of practice. I was up there a lot yesterday. So I know what we've got. I felt like I could win the race from the bottom."

YOU HAD A CLOSE CALL WITH CLINT BOWYER ON PIT ROAD. HOW CLOSE WAS IT FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT? "It wasn't bad. I just wasn't going to give up the spot that I had there. He didn't do anything wrong. I knew the grass was there so I could take it and I just wasn't going to slow down to where I'd let somebody else get in between us. He didn't do anything wrong. He gave me plenty of room there. He didn't just run me all the way to the grass. He was real good about it. So it wasn't a close call. The Daytona maintenance crew does a great job with their lawns here."

YOU'VE HAD A GREAT CAR HERE BEFORE. HOW GOOD DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR CHANCES ON SUNDAY? "We'll wait and see. I'm excited about it. I wish the race was tomorrow; let's put it that way."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet

"My crew did a great job today. They made a lot of pit stops there to make sure everything was straight. When you spin around, the pressure changes inside and the crush panels blow out and you won't even know it and cut a tire down but you won't see any damage on the car. They looked it over really good and did good. The car drove pretty good. We probably have some suspension components that are bent that we have to change because the steering wheel was a little off and it was a little darty. "Good Bud Chevy. Tony (Stewart) is fast. You saw the cream of the crop there at the front of the field. We have a pretty good car and I was really proud of my team today."

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet

"We broke a pinion. It just won't go without all the pieces connected. The Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet drove good. Better (this happened) today than Sunday. We felt good in the draft so I think we will be solid on Sunday."

Joe Nemechek, driver of the No. 13 Certain Teed/Ginn Resorts Chevrolet

TALK ABOUT THOSE LAST FEW LAPS: "It was exciting. I just kind of watched there in that last one. When that caution came out, I knew a lot of the guys behind me were going to come in and get tires. I decided, I made a call on my own, Peter told me to watch the line and I made that decision and came in and got two tires. And that was awesome. I've got to thank my teammates Mark Martin, Regan Smith, and Sterling Marlin. They all helped me a lot throughout the day. It makes a big difference when you've got great treammates and a great owner with Bobby Ginn. There are so many things going on right now, and we're in the Daytona 500. Wow!"

DID YOU SEE SCOTT RIGGS GET SIDEWAYS BESIDE YOU? "I knew it was big because I saw him and then he disappeared. Normally in the corner that car will pull up a little bit. There were a lot of hairy things going on. I made some pretty bold moves there and it worked out for us. I'm really proud of this team."

Mike Wallace, driver of the No. 09 Miccosukee Resort Chevrolet

YOU MADE IT IN THE DAYTONA 500: "I'd like to thank my team and everyone. This is just an incredibly awesome experience making the Daytona 500. We've had to race our way in for the last few years. We got it done. You couldn't get any more dramatic than that. I heard guys talking this morning how it comes down to the last lap and the last corner. I saw Sterling up there and knew that Nemechek was his teammate and I kinda knew what they were thinking. Fortunately we were able to come in and we were able to put right sides on with 10 (laps) to go. I questioned it but (crew chief) Fred Wanke did a great job in calling that. He said we needed track position so hey, we're in the Daytona 500."

David Reutimann, driver of the No. 00 Domino's Pizza Toyota Camry

"I think something electrical, it started missing and we switched boxes and it got a little better for awhile. It went back to missing and fluttering and doing some other things. It was just electrical, nothing at all wrong motor-wise. We`ll pull all the wiring out and all the boxes out and get ready for practice and the big 500.

On making his first Daytona 500

It is pretty phenomenal. Especially since I`ve been dreaming about this my whole life. Just down the road here, an hour and forty-five minute drive, I grew up and we`d come up and watch these great races. Now, to be able to come out and be in the 500 for Domino`s and Michael Waltrip Racing - that was our goal coming down here. There`s a lot of good teams down here and this is a difficult race to make and I`m just blessed that we are in it.

Reed Sorenson, driver of the No. 41 Target Dodge

I`m glad we didn`t tear up the car. That`s the main thing. We`ll put a new engine in and hope this one doesn`t blow up in the 500. It was fun out there today. I was having a blast. The tires are a lot harder, and it`s definitely a different Daytona, but it was fun for me. My car was working well, so we`ll get another motor in there and run the 500. I think we`ll be all right. It doesn`t matter where you start. You go from last to first and you`ve got 500 miles to do it. We`re not worried about that. We`ll be tough. My car was really good, but we almost wrecked it when the motor blew up. I`m glad we don`t have to change cars. That`s the main thing. We`ll let the motor guys figure out why the motors are blowing up. I found some people out there today I thought I was helping out in the draft and then they would dump me in a second. I definitely found out who I`m not going to help again. A few people helped me out that before the race I didn`t think would. It kinda went both ways. I`m ready for the 500. I think we`ve got a good car.

Bobby Labonte, driver of the No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge

We got damaged a little bit in that first little altercation. We knocked the tow out, so we had to get that fixed. We ran one time with the tow out and we fixed that during the next caution. Once we got it fixed it was OK. You get up there and they start dicing around and you figure they`re going to wreck and they did. We missed two of them, but how many can you miss? It got to the point where we couldn`t get up there speedwise. I`m disappointed. I was wanting to be ahead of the group that was trying to get in the race because that`s where it gets wild. We just never got a roll going.

Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge

It was just one of those things. The car was fast, but now we start from the back. It was awesome. The first thing I said to my crew chief was I didn`t want to run three wide. I hit the wall a little bit. The car was good. It was a little tight, but I think the Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates Texaco/Havoline Dodge team has done a great job, and I`m just proud to be part of it. I`ve got to say my experience here so far has been pretty good. The last time here I led the 24 Hours. Now we led the 150. It`s nice to see the car run competitive. It was awesome running up front, no complaints.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge

It was a good restart by the guys behind me. I had to utilize the draft, and I passed my little brother. He would have done the same thing. It was tough because neither one of the Busches got to victory lane. Gordon got it. He had two fresh tires at the end, and he broke up the way the guys on old tires were working together. The guys on old tires were content. We couldn`t do much with each other. Track position was important, but we were far enough ahead to look for that track position. Gordon came from behind, did a great job and Im proud for him.

I feel like we've got a great shot at the Daytona 500, but I feel that way every time we unload at a restrictor plate track. Its just a matter of being in position. We were in there today. Maybe if it had been the 500 I would have done a little something different with Gordon, but he just had a head of steam on us and there wasn`t anything the guys on old tires could do.

Scott Riggs, driver of the No. 10 Valvoline Dodge

I`m just glad we saved it. We did a good job on making some good adjustments on the pit stops and I think that the main thing we want to do is learn as much as we could and try to be there at the end. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to race for it at the end. We had to back down and try to save the car from tearing the left front fender off with the flat tire that we had. We made some big gains. The team did a great job considering what they had to overcome this past week. I think we just need to keep getting stronger all weekend.

Michael Waltrip, driver of the No. 55 NAPA Toyota Camry

About the emotion of making the Daytona 500

I race cars, thats what I do. I want to thank Mr. Helton and my wife for reminding me of that because I was so upset yesterday that I wanted to go home and they said no you have to stay and race because thats what you do. Im just sad, but Im happy at the same time. Daytona does that to you.

I missed all the practice and I had to start at the back and we still made it. We look forward to Sunday, all three of our Toyota Camrys are in the race and thats pretty cool. Im probably the most depressing guy youve ever seen make the Daytona 500.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 5 Kelloggs Chevrolet

YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU HAD A STRONG CAR: "It doesn't matter. We didn't win. It's kind of heart-breaking that your own brother won't go with you. We've just got to do what we've got to do and try to win on Sunday. We've given up two of them but we're going to take home the important one."

Frank Kimmel, driver of the No. 71 Fast Track Driving School Ford

We needed about three laps at the end instead of seven. It ran OK for about three laps, then it got real tight at the end. We gave it a shot, that¹s all we could do. We lost the draft early, then we started catching it back. The car was just so tight that I had to breath it out. I finally figured out a way to get around the track without having to let off so much. It got a little bit better. We took a chance at the end.

Derrike Cope, driver of the No. 74 Royal Administration Dodge

It was way too tight all day long. I had to pedal all day. We never could get it freed up. I freed it up a ton that last time, they put tires on it. I got it coming, but it was still so tight that it was difficult, and we had so many cars between us at that point. We really had to be a lot freer to have a shot. But, hey, good effort. We were decent at the end, making some runs. We¹ll just have to battle back.

James Hylton, driver of the No. 58 Retirement Living Chevrolet

It was a pretty tough run. The car handled real well. We had a clutch problem. I couldn¹t get off on the restart. Thats what beat us. We had a good enough car to do what we needed to do, but thats racing. Well have to get them next time. I feel good. Its a good feeling. I didnt feel that good when they were back there wrecking. It was one of them, 'close your eyes and do a Hail Mary. That brought back a lot of memories, getting through wrecks. I cant say enough for the boys. Theyve worked real hard on the car. Just one of them mechanical things you cant do anything about. Im happy with the run. Weve got other races scheduled this year. Well be back here for the Fourth of July.

Ward Burton, driver of the No. 4 State Water Heaters Chevrolet

­Not what we wanted. We changed everything aero package, camber package, all kinds of stuff ­ because we were horrible yesterday. It got a little better. I had to come in a couple times and try to get it to where it would stay under me. Right there at the end, it was the best it was. I was trying to get up through the middle. It got bottled up. Somebody checked up in front of me, and then I got hit in the rear. Ive missed this race once before. My rookie year, we had a wreck at the start/finish line on the first lap.

Bill Elliott, driver of the No. 37 Huddle House Dodge

I just never ran that well. The car was really loose getting into the corners. I just fought that most of the day. Then the 41 car blew up in front of us and we had to come down pit road. That was it.

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