NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Coke Zero 400 Preview - Sprint Cup

Date: Saturday, July 6

Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Site: Daytona International Speedway -- Daytona Beach, Fla.

Track: 2.5-mile tri-oval

Laps: 160

Miles: 400

Capacity: 146,000 (Grandstand Seating)

Total purse:

Payouts:

Year: 55th

On TV: TNT

Announcers:

On Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio

Race record: Bobby Allison, 1980 (173.473 mph)

Qualifying record: Bill Elliott, 1987 (210.364 mph)

2012 Finish

Defending champion: Tony Stewart

Runner up: Jeff Burton

Pole winner: Matt Kenseth (192.386 mph)

Top 10:

1. Tony Stewart (Start: 42)

2. Jeff Burton (20)

3. Matt Kenseth (1)

4. Joey Logano (19)

5. Ryan Newman (2)

6. Carl Edwards (12)

7. Kasey Kahne (3)

8. Brad Keselowski (9)

9. Michael Waltrip (28)

10. Bobby Labonte (41)

Average speed: 157.653 mph

Time of race: 2 hrs., 32 mins., 14 secs.

Margin of victory: Under Caution

Caution flags: 6 for 23 laps

Lead changes: 12 among 9 drivers

Past winners

2012 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 157.653 mph

2011 David Ragan, Ford, 159.491 mph

2010 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 135.719 mph

2009 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 142.461 mph

2008 Kyle Busch, Toyota, 138.554 mph

2007 Jamie McMurray, Ford, 138.983 mph

2006 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 153.143 mph

2005 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 131.016 mph

2004 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 145.117 mph

2003 Greg Biffle, Ford, 166.109 mph

2002 Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 135.952 mph

2001 Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 157.601 mph

2000 Jeff Burton, Ford, 148.576 mph

1999 Dale Jarrett, Ford, 169.213 mph

1998 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 144.549 mph

1997 John Andretti, Ford, 157.791 mph

1996 Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet, 161.602 mph

1995 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 166.976 mph

1994 Jimmy Spencer, Ford, 155.558 mph

1993 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 151.755 mph

1992 Ernie Irvan, Chevrolet, 170.457 mph

1991 Bill Elliott, Ford, 159.116 mph

1990 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 160.894 mph

1989 Davey Allison, Ford, 132.207 mph

1988 Bill Elliott, Ford, 163.302 mph

1987 Bobby Allison, Buick, 161.074 mph

1986 Tim Richmond, Chevrolet, 131.916 mph

1985 Greg Sacks, Chevrolet, 158.730 mph

1984 Richard Petty, Pontiac, 171.204 mph

1983 Buddy Baker, Ford, 167.442 mph

1982 Bobby Allison, Buick, 163.099 mph

1981 Cale Yarborough, Buick, 142.588 mph

1980 Bobby Allison, Buick, 173.473 mph

1979 Neil Bonnett, Mercury, 172.890 mph

1978 David Pearson, Mercury, 154.340 mph

1977 Richard Petty, Dodge, 142.716 mph

1976 Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet, 160.966 mph

1975 Richard Petty, Dodge, 158.381 mph

1974 David Pearson, Mercury, 138.301 mph

1973 David Pearson, Mercury, 158.468 mph

1972 David Pearson, Mercury, 160.821 mph

1971 Bobby Isaac, Dodge, 161.947 mph

1970 Donnie Allison, Ford, 162.235 mph

1969 LeeRoy Yarborough, Ford), 160.875 mph

1968 Cale Yarborough, Mercury, 167.247 mph

1967 Cale Yarborough, Ford, 143.583 mph

1966 Sam McQuagg, Dodge, 153.813 mph

1965 A.J. Foyt, Ford, 150.046 mph

1964 A.J. Foyt, Dodge, 151.451 mph

1963 Fireball Roberts, Ford, 150.927 mph

1962 Fireball Roberts, Pontiac, 153.688 mph

1961 David Pearson, Pontiac, 154.294 mph

1960 Jack Smith, Pontiac, 146.842 mph

1959 Fireball Roberts, Pontiac, 140.581 mph

Last race

Race: Quaker State 400 (June 30)

Site: Kentucky Speedway -- Sparta, Ky.

Miles: 400.5

Laps: 267

Finish line order: Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch

Time of Race: 3 hrs., 2 mins., 7 secs.

Average speed: 131.948 mph

Margin of victory: 0.699 secs.

Caution flags: 10 for 42 laps

Lead changes: 11 among 6 drivers

Lap leaders: Earnhardt Jr-pole, Edwards 1-31, Earnhardt Jr 32, Gilliland 33, Earnhardt Jr-pole, Edwards 1-31, Earnhardt Jr 32, Gilliland 33, Earnhardt Jr 34-42, Johnson 43-94, Kenseth 95-108, Johnson 109-149, Mears 150, Edwards 151-154, Johnson 155-243, Kenseth 244-267.

Entry list

#1 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Chevrolet/Cessna

#2 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Ford/Miller Lite

#5 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Chevrolet/hendrickcars.com

#7 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Chevrolet/Florida Lottery

#9 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Ford/Stanley

#10 Danica Patrick (Roscoe, IL) Chevrolet/GoDaddy.com

#11 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Ground

#13 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Ford/GEICO

#14 * Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops

#15 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Toyota/Blue DEF Diesel Exhaust

#16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M

#17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Olive Branch, MS) Ford/Fifth Third

#18 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/Interstate Batteries

#20 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Toyota/Home Depot

#21 Trevor Bayne (Knoxville, TN) Ford/Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire

#22 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Ford/Shell/Pennzoil

#24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/Axalta Coating Systems

#27 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Chevrolet/Menards/Rheem

#29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Budweiser

#30 David Stremme (South Bend, IN) Toyota/Lean 1

#31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Kwikset

#32 Terry Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Ford/C&J Energy Services

#33 Landon Cassill (Fairfax, IA) Chevrolet/Little Joe's Autos

#34 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts

#35 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Ford/MDS Transport

#36 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Chevrolet/Golden Corral

#38 David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) Ford/Long John Silver's

#39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/Outback Steakhouse

#42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Target

#43 Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) Ford/United States Air Force

#47 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Toyota/Scott Products

#48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's

#51 A.J. Allmendinger (Los Gatos, CA) Chevrolet/Phoenix Construction

#55 Michael Waltrip (Owensboro, KY) Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine

#56 Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) Toyota/NAPA Batteries

#78 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Chevrolet/Furniture Row/Sealy

#83 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Toyota/Burger King/Dr. Pepper

#87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/Royal Teak Collection

#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/National Guard

#93 Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) Toyota/Burger King/Dr. Pepper

#95 Scott Speed (Manteca, CA) Ford/TBA

#98 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Ford/Phil Parsons Racing

#99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/Subway

Leading contenders

Name	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Tony Stewart	5	Won	Won	38	20	Won	25	11	Won
Jeff Burton	23	11	15	16	37	16	5	21	2
Matt Kenseth	39	9	5	8	3	8	15	2	3
Joey Logano						19	29	3	4
Ryan Newman	12	14	11	14	36	20	26	23	5
Carl Edwards		33	39	4	2	4	6	37	6
Kasey Kahne	25	16	25	9	7	15	2	4	7
Brad Keselowski						24	30	15	8
Michael Waltrip	13	40	38		27	37			9
Jeff Gordon	Won	7	40	5	30	28	3	6	12
Jamie McMurray	37	2	8	Won	32	11	39	22	13
Paul Menard				21	15	23	18	8	14
Dale Earnhardt Jr	3	3	13	36	8	39	4	19	15
Martin Truex Jr			29	13	17	25	35	35	17
Greg Biffle	31	36	31	6	43	18	20	18	21
Kevin Harvick	14	24	9	34	12	26	Won	7	23
Kyle Busch		31	2	2	Won	14	40	5	24
Denny Hamlin			17	43	26	3	24	13	25
David Ragan				12	5	13	28	Won	26
Juan Pablo Montoya				32	38	9	27	9	28
Clint Bowyer			10	7	9	29	17	36	29
Kurt Busch	4	37	3	3	4	5	7	14	35
Jimmie Johnson	2	6	32	10	23	2	31	20	36

Notes

The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway is the 18th race on the 2013 Sprint Cup Series schedule.

Groundbreaking for DIS took place on Nov. 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track and the hole filled with water. It is now known as Lake Lloyd.

Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the July Cup Series race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race of the season has been held under the lights since then.

Daytona has 31 degrees of banking in all of its turns, as well as 18 degrees of banking on the tri-oval and 3 degrees on the straights. The length of the frontstretch is 3,800 feet, and the backstretch measures 3,000 feet. The track was repaved in 2010.

There have been 132 races in NASCAR's premier series held at Daytona. Fifty- five of the races have been the Daytona 500, while 50 were 400-mile events and four were 250-mile events. There also have been 23 Daytona 500 qualifier races that were points paying.

The first Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying event for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959. Bob Welborn won that race.

The first summer race at Daytona was held on July 4, 1959, with Fireball Roberts taking the checkered flag.

Richard Petty won a Cup points-paying race at Daytona 10 times, which is more than any other driver. Seven of his victories came in the Daytona 500. Petty won his 200th and final career race in Cup on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.

Petty leads the series in July race starts at Daytona with 32. Terry Labonte leads all active drivers with 29 starts in this event. Labonte is scheduled to compete in this year's race.

Trevor Bayne is the youngest race winner at Daytona. Bayne won the Daytona 500 one day after he celebrated his 20th birthday on Feb. 20, 2011. When he was 50 years, 2 months and 11 days old, Bobby Allison became the oldest driver to win at this track on Feb. 14, 1988.

Jeff Gordon is the youngest driver to win a pole at Daytona. Gordon earned the top starting position for the July 1996 race at Daytona when he was 24 years, 11 months and 2 days old. When Mark Martin won the pole for the July 2011 event at Daytona, he became the oldest driver to grab the first starting spot there when he was 52 years, 5 months and 23 days old.

A driver has won both races (Daytona 500 and Coke Zero 400) at Daytona in the same season just four times, most recently by Allison in 1982. Jimmie Johnson won the Daytona 500 earlier this year.

Thirty-three different drivers have won the July race at Daytona, led by David Pearson with five victories in it. Tony Stewart leads all active drivers with four wins in this race. Stewart picked up the victory at Daytona one year ago. He won it from the 42nd starting position, which is the furthest back a driver has started and won at this track.

The July 1980 race at Daytona, won by Allison, was completed in a record time of 2 hrs., 18 mins., 21 seconds and ran at a pace of 173.473 mph.

Two drivers entered in this weekend's race scored their first career Cup Series victories in the July event at Daytona: Greg Biffle (July 5, 2003) and David Ragan (July 2, 2011).

Two drivers on the entry list posted their first career poles in the series in July at Daytona: Kevin Harvick (July 6, 2002) and Paul Menard (July 5, 2008).

Since NASCAR began using electronic timing and scoring in 1993, the closest margin of victory in a Cup race at Daytona occurred on July 7, 2007 when Jamie McMurray beat Kyle Busch by only 0.005 seconds, making it one of the closest finishes in series history.

The next race is the July 14 Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Kasey Kahne won last year's race there.