Crashes force many to backups; Shootout lineup set; Gordon on future; Dale Jr on respect

A busy, hectic day at Daytona and this was just the first day of the season. One can only imagine what this year could be like.

Six cars are going to backups for Saturday's Budweier Shootout because of multiple wrecks in Thursday's practice sessions. Kevin  Harvick didn't even make it. He was ill and stayed in North Carolina most of the day and arrived in Daytona in the evening. Also, the entry list is out for the Daytona 500 and 54 cars will vie for the 43 spots. Lots of things happend and were said Thursday, so let's get to it:

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Budweiser Shootout lineup set by blind draw

Here's the lineup for Saturday's non-points race.

1. Carl Edwards

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Brian Vickers

4. Ryan Newman

5. Greg Biffle

6. Mark Martin -- Will have to start at rear for going to backup & not running it in Thurs night practice.

7. Jeff Burton

8. Matt Kenseth

9. Jamie McMurray

10. John Andretti

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

12. Bobby Labonte

13. Tony Stewart

14. Ken Schrader (in the 82 car in place of Scott Speed for this event only)

15. Michael Waltrip

16. Jimmie Johnson

17. Kyle Busch

18. Derrike Cope -- Had not passed inspection as of Thursday evening

19. Kasey Kahne

20. Juan Pablo Montoya

21. Joey Logano

22. Kurt Busch -- Will have to start at rear for going to backup car & not practicing it Thurs night.

23. Jeff Gordon

24. Denny Hamlin -- Will have to start at rear for going to backup car & not practicing it Thurs night.

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THURSDAY'S PRACTICES

A wild night. In the first practice session, Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin got together and caused a multi-car crash. They both went to backup cars. Also going to backup cars after damaging their primary cars in this incident are Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick (Clint Bowyer drove the car in the first session since Harvick was sick and Jeff Burton drove the backup in the second session).

Here's what folks said about the incident:

DENNY HAMLIN

"I'm a heck of a lot better than a lot of the race cars out there. I talked to Mark and I had a huge run going. I was going to go to the outside of him, but I chose against it at the last minute and he was courteous enough that he was going to give me the lane up high. I guess when he checked up to give me that high lane, I had already committed to go ahead and get behind him. It was just a conflict of two lines, two cars going at the wrong place at the the wrong time I guess you could say.''

MARK MARTIN

"Probably a case of both of  us anticipating something where it caused a flash. It looked like he was going to try to squeeze in on the outside of me, so I made an effort to give him the lane. And, he anticipated to get behind me, If either one of us had just anticipated something else, then it wouldn't have happened.''

JAMIE McMURRAY

"I saw the wreck happen on the outside and you turn to the left and try to get away from it, but you can only turn so hard. It is amazing how fast those cars come back across the track.''

Later, Kurt Busch wrecked after some contact with Juan Pablo Montoya. Busch's car slammed the wall and he'll go to a backup car. Montoya's car suffered minor damage.

After all the wrecking was finshed, here's who was fastest in the final practice session (note speeds are in the draft so just because someone is the fastest, it doesn't mean they're the best).

1. Kasey Kahne .... 191.673 mph

2. Ken Schrader .. 191.371 mph

3. Matt Kenseth ... 191.367 mph

4. Jimmie Johnson .. 191.294 mph

5. Tony Stewart ...... 191.270 mph

6. Brian Vickers ..... 191.221 mph

7. Jeff Burton .......... 191.192 mph

8. Juan Pablo Montoya ... 191.148 mph

9. Carl Edwards ........ 191.083 mph

10. Joey Logano .........191.034 mph

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. was among the many drivers who met with the media before heading to the track on Thursday. Here's some of what he said

"Somebody asked me how you get respect. You get respect because of the way you act. They asked me whether if that was in or outside the car. I said it's all the time, no matter where you're at. You don't get Mulligans for being an a--hole. I feel like what I do, how I carry myself, you know, I try to earn respect when I go and do stuff, whether that's inside the car or not.

"So I think there's a little credibility toward, I think that I am intelligent and I have a good point of view about the sport. I think I've got a pretty good perspective from where I stand of What's happening. So I enjoy being in that position.

"And, obviously, my heritage, my father, all those things, play a big role in who wants to listen. I've had a pretty good rough patch. Haven't won hardly any races in the last two or three years. But, you know, I'm 35 years old. If I wanted to, I could probably race another 15 years. I've probably got a pretty good chance of putting together another seaosn like I had in 2004 sometime in that 15-year span.''

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Jeff Gordon on his future

"I will never say never. There was a time I thought 2010 would be my last year. I've always said that it's not for me to pick and choose (when to retire) because it takes -- you have to be healthy and competitive. If you have those two things, then you're going to hopefully, enjoy what you're doing. Those components are what's going to keep me in the sport until the day or season comes to an end.''

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SHORT TAKES

# In case you missed it, Jeff Gordon's wife is pregnant and expecting their second child in August.

# In case you missed it, Richard Petty's wife, Lynda, has been diagnosed with CNS (Central Nervous System) Lymphoma.

# Danica Patrick was 14th fastest in Thursday's final practice session for the ARCA series. Qualifying is Friday; race is Saturday.

# Word is the larger restrictor plate should give teams about 15 more horsepower.

That will do it for now. More Friday. Remember you can follow me on Twitter for instant updates. I'm at www.twitter.com/dustinlong

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