DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Tony Stewart has his sights set on the biggest prize in Nextel Cup racing - a victory in the Daytona 500.

The way his No. 20 Chevrolet has been running this week at Daytona International Speedway, he has a good chance of winning the race Sunday - considered by many the Super Bowl of NASCAR racing.

Jeff Gordon, a three-time Daytona 500 winner who leads all active drivers with 13 wins on this track, believes Stewart has the favorite car.

Stewart won the Budweiser Shootout on Feb. 10 and one of the qualifying races Thursday. He also captured the Pepsi 400 in July at Daytona. He has 11 victories at the 2 1/2-mile oval.

"The qualifying races, the shootouts and the July race are great, but I really want to win this race on Sunday badly," Stewart said.

Nextel Cup drivers never predict victories, especially at unpredictable tracks such as Daytona, but Stewart feels comfortable heading into the Great American Race.

He won three of the final eight races last season and has picked up this season where he left off, with impressive Speedweeks showings.

"I feel good about it," Stewart said. "There are no guarantees, obviously. There's not one ounce of me that feels like it's mine. Anybody who can go from a lap down and get to second (Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the first qualifying race Thursday) has a pretty strong car too. But this Home Depot Monte Carlo is awesome.

"I feel like this is the best opportunity that we've had so far to win the 500. This is definitely the most momentum we've had going into a 500."

Stewart, the two-time Cup champion who failed to make the Chase last season, would trade all his Daytona wins for a triumph in one race he hasn't won - the 500.

"Any time you get to Victory Lane here, it's special," Stewart said. "I'd trade all 11. That shows you how important this weekend is to us."

Stewart, fifth in the Daytona 500 last season, will start in the second row behind pole-sitter David Gilliland and his teammate Ricky Rudd, who was the second-place qualifier Sunday.

"Everybody knows the 20 (Stewart) is going to be fast," Kasey Kahne said. "The 38 (Gilliland) is strong. Then there are a lot of cars that are pretty equal for the next five or six spots. We're one of those cars."

Gordon won the second of the Gatorade Duel qualifying races Thursday, but instead of lining up beside Stewart on the second row for the race Sunday, Gordon will start 42nd after his No. 24 Chevrolet was found to be too low during post-race inspections.

This has been a week focused on cheating scandals as NASCAR has suspended crew chiefs, levied fines and docked driver and owner points for violations.

No penalties were dealt to Gordon's team because a shock absorber was not properly bolted to the chassis.

"I will challenge any person in this garage area that knows how these cars go around the racetrack to tell me that car had a competitive advantage," a miffed Gordon said. "The bottom line is, we were low. We take full responsibility for that. I'm just mad it happened."

Although no penalties were issued, Gordon finds himself in a perilous situation because the farthest back a winning driver has started was 33rd, when Bobby Allison won the 1978 Daytona 500.

"We'll do our best to get our Dupont Chevrolet from 42nd to first," Gordon said. "It's going to take a lot. Trust me, there's a reason no one has ever won this race from that far back."

Defending champion Jimmie Johnson, whose crew chief, Chad Knaus, was suspended for the race last year because of a rear- window violation during qualifying, doesn't figure anybody is a favorite.

"I think you're going to see, not in any particular order, a race between the No. 20 (Stewart), the 24 (Gordon), the 48 (himself), the 17 (Matt Kenseth), the 2 (Kurt Busch) and the 5 (Kyle Busch)," he said. "There are six there. The 38 (Gilliland) is showing a lot. I would put him as a wild card."

SAY WHAT?

NASCAR in the Rockies

The Denver area could be getting a 75,000-seat motor sports racetrack and, potentially, a Nextel Cup event. International Speedway Corp., which owns and/or operates 13 motor sports facilities, is considering expansion to Denver, Seattle and New York City. Rocky Mountain News motor sports writer Jim Benton spoke with several drivers this week at Daytona International Speedway about a possible track in Colorado.

• "It'll be a great place for a race. Me being a West Coast guy (Riverside, Calif.), any time we can travel out West, I like it. I think the more spread out and different tracks we can go to is better for our series."

Rookie David Gilliland, who will start on the pole Sunday at the Daytona 500

• "I've raced on the oval, and I've raced in downtown Denver at the Denver Grand Prix, and it was an awesome, awesome event. They need a car race, for sure."

Boris Said, a road course specialist

• "I liked when we raced at Pikes Peak. That was the closest thing we had to the Denver area. You see this sport moving more to the West Coast, and I think that is really good."

Denny Hamlin, who raced at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain

• "Yeah, Denver is a good spot, but I think Seattle would be the best spot for another track. We have lots of racetracks as it is. If they are going to build tracks, I hope they do right and build tracks that are first class with great racing surfaces so you can race side by side and have awesome races for the fans. I hope Seattle is the next place to get a racetrack."

Kasey Kahne, an Enumclaw, Wash., native, who favors Seattle over Denver

bentonj@RockyMountainNews.com

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