Check out a short list of favorites for Saturday's Pepsi 400 at Daytona.

	Blaney

Dave Blaney
Fell two spots in the Winston Cup point standings to 19th after finishing 20th in the Dodge/Save Mart 350 two weeks ago; despite the drop, is nine positions higher than he was at the mid-point of the 2001 season; ranks fourth in miles completed; has led four of the last seven races; since finishing ninth at the NAPA Auto Parts 500 on April 28, has posted three top-15 finishes.

Jeff Burton
The 2000 Pepsi 400 winner started in the 30th position and finished eighth here last year; started third but finished 29th in the Dodge/Save Mart 350 two weeks ago; that finish dropped him one spot to 12th in the point standings; has two top-5 finishes this year, and is seeking his first win since the Checker Auto Parts 500 in October; has finished in the top 10 in the point standings the last five years; four top-8 finishes in his last five Pepsi 400 starts.

Ward Burton
Opened the season with his fourth career victory at the Daytona 500; took the lead for the first time with five laps to go after a penalty was assessed against Sterling Marlin and held on after a restart with three laps remaining; was seventh in the MBNA America 500, but has not been better than 14th in 13 races since; is 25th in point standings with 1,431; has four straight top-7 finishes at the Pepsi 400.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Last year returned to Daytona five months after the tragic death of his father and posted an emotional win; started 13th last year and took the lead on lap 27; held the lead until lap 49, but regained it on lap 89 before losing it on lap 89; after an accident on lap 143, was seventh on the restart, but climbed to third on lap 155 and grabbed the lead for good one lap later; is struggling recently as he has not finished better than 12th since placing second at The Winston in May; after finishing 30th at the Dodge/Save Mart 350, dropped one slot to 16th in the point standings; will participate in the celebrity softball game Sunday at Milwaukee, two days before baseball's All-Star Game.

Bill Elliott
Daytona has been good to him as four of his wins were recorded here (two in each race); won the 1988 Pepsi 400 from the 38th starting position, the lowest starting position for a Daytona race winner; started 29th and finished 11th in this year's Daytona 500; remained 10th in the point standings after finishing eighth at the Dodge/Save Mart 350.

Jeff Gordon
Has gone 24 straight races without a win, the longest drought in his career; two weeks ago at Sonoma pitted on the 33rd lap with a broken gear in his transmission, went to the garage for repairs and finished 37th; won the Daytona 500 in 1997 and 1999 and started this year with a ninth-place finish; started fifth here last year, but finished 37th; the four-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion has five top-5 finishes and is third in the point standings.

	Jarrett

Dale Jarrett
Won the Pocono 500 on June 9 and was the pole sitter the following week at the Sirius Satellite Radio 400 where he finished second; was not as successful two weeks ago as he started 15th and finished 37th at the Dodge/Save Mart 350; Jarrett and other Ford teams will be able to reduce the spoiler size from 6 inches to 5 7/8 inches for the Pepsi 400 only; during the Daytona 500, the Ford's spoiler was 5 3/4 inches and Jarrett finished 14th.

Jimmie Johnson
Became the fourth rookie to win the Daytona 500 pole in February and finished 15th; is fourth in the points standings with 2,112, four points behind Jeff Gordon; has a 27-point lead in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year competition; has been the highest finishing rookie nine times; has held the lead in six races this season; is only one of four drivers to win a race and a pole this season; "I was extremely proud to be on the pole at the Daytona 500 in February," Johnson said. "It was a crazy experience, taking the pole in my rookie season in one of the highest profile races in motorsports."

Matt Kenseth
Became the first driver with three wins this season when he held off a hard-charging Dale Jarrett on the final lap at the Sirius 400 for his fourth career victory; finished 39th at the Dodge/Save Mart 350 and dropped three slots to eighth in the point standings.

Sterling Marlin
Atop the Winston Cup standings with 2,198 points, 65 in front of Mark Martin; captured the pole at the Pocono 500 and finished fourth; but has finished 21st and 43rd in his last two races; lost the power steering on his Dodge early in the Dodge/Save Mart 350 and ended up in the garage after 12 laps, he returned but dropped out for good after completing 19 laps; won the Pepsi 400 in 1996; started from the pole last year, but finished 39th; has led the point standings since finishing second in the Subway 400: "It's good to be in the lead. We've been there since Rockingham," Marlin said. "We're proud of this team. We're ahead of schedule from where we were last year."

Mark Martin
Leads all drivers with 11 top-10 finishes and is 65 points behind Sterling Marlin for the top spot in the point standings; was fourth in the standings in consecutive weeks before finishing seventh in the Dodge/Save Mart 350 and jumping two spots; his best finish in the standings was second in 1990 and 1994; started 39th and finished sixth at this year's Daytona 500; recorded his 33rd career victory on May 26 at the Coca-Cola 600.

Ricky Rudd
Capitalized on Jerry Nadeau's misfortune two weeks ago and earned his first win of the year and 23rd of his career at the Dodge/Save Mart 350; the victory moved him one spot in the point standings to seventh, just four points behind Rusty Wallace for sixth place; before the win had bad luck in consecutive races as loose lug nuts on a wheel during his final pit stop at the MBNA Platinum 400 on June 2 forced him to lose the lead and loose debris caused a flat tire at the Pocono 500.

	Stewart

Tony Stewart
In addition to racing in the Pepsi 400, Stewart will team with veteran road racer Elliott Forbes-Robinson in the Rolex Sports Car Series Paul Revere 250 on Thursday night; has also competed in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day; "I don't feel it makes me sharper, but it sure does let me enjoy my weekend a little more," Stewart said. "I don't think it's any secret that I don't particularly enjoy restrictor plate racing that well. But being able to run the road course race gives me something to look forward to." Started from the pole and finished second at the Dodge/Save Mart 350 two weeks ago; that finish moved him two spots to fifth in the point standings.

Rusty Wallace
Although he has no top-5 finishes in 17 starts this year, he has been in the top 10 eight times and is sixth in the point standings with 2,054; is the only driver in the top 15 without a top-5 finish; has at least one win in 16 straight seasons, which is tied with Ricky Rudd for the modern-era record; finished seventh in the Winston Cup standings in each of the last two years and has been in the top 10 every year since finishing 13th in 1992.