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Motorsports

Rain shifts qualifying to today

DAYTONA BEACH -- Steady rain Sunday postponed Daytona 500 qualifying, which sets the front row, until 1 p.m. today.

The change eliminates second-round qualifying, which would have been today. The rest of the 43-car field will be determined after Thursday's 125-mile qualifying races.

Fifty-one cars are entered.

Though rain always makes for a long day at the track, rookie Larry Foyt said his No. 14Pontiac was not likely to burn up the track anyway.

"I'm probably going to have to race my way in," said Foyt, a rookie driving for his father, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt. "We're a little disappointed with the speed."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., winner of Saturday's Bud Shootout, and Michael Waltrip, his teammate at Dale Earnhardt Inc., are favored to win the pole.

TUNING IN: Run under the lights for the first time, the Shootout made the most of its primetime television slot with a 62 percent increase in ratings from last year.

The race, which had an exciting finish between Junior and four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon, earned a 5.5 rating and 10 share for Fox. Last year's race aired on Sunday afternoon on TNT with a 3.4 rating.

It was the highest-rated primetime race on Fox.

WHO'S THAT GUY?: Veteran Ken Schrader nearly pulled off an upset, challenging for the lead with two laps left in the Shootout. Schrader, the oldest Winston Cup driver at 47, drove the unsponsored No. 49 Dodge for the first time.

Junior said he was stunned.

"I thought, man, this guy is going to give that team a hell of a victory," he said. "Kenny's a great guy to put in that car. I was surprised to see him up there."

Schrader said he knew he did not have enough drafting help to get by Junior but was angry at himself for a final-lap mistake that dropped him to sixth.

"I'm just the oldest, not the worst," Schrader said.

PIT STOPS: As soon as qualifying was postponed, Gordon headed for the airport and a flight to Atlanta for Sunday's NBA All-Star Game. He was interviewed during the third quarter. ... The Goody's Dash 150, also a victim of Sunday's rain, will start at 9:30 a.m. today. ... The Truck series will have its first practice from 4-6 p.m.

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