Dale Earnhardt Jr.  finessed his way through the field in Thursday’s first Gatorade 150 qualifying race for Sunday’s Daytona 500. He duplicated his success from last Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout by taking the checkered flag for the second time during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway.
 
So far the Earnhardt/Hendrick Motorsports pairing appears to be a perfect fit with two races and two trophies to their credit. Their performance in Thursday’s 150-miler was in question after being dropped to the rear of the field for the start, as on Wednesday all four Hendrick entries were forced to change their engines.
 
“The guys worked overnight to bring replacement motors down here. They were great,” Earnhardt said.
 
It took Earnhardt less than 25 laps to work his way to the front. He led the way for 26 of the 60 laps, taking the lead late in the running from Ryan Newman.
 
“It was pretty interesting with those old tires about midway through that race, everybody sliding around, wrecking and carrying on. I made that pass down the back straightaway. I got a run, got underneath the 41 (Reed Sorenson) and the 12 (Ryan Newman) for the lead,” Earnhardt said of the race-winning pass. “I didn’t think I had the 12 cleared. I don’t know if he lifted to let me have it, I might have wrecked the field. I came up in front of him, it must have been inches.”
 
Earnhardt’s restrictor plate prowess is known, but Reed Sorenson, who has yet to score a Sprint Cup Series win, has emerged as a strong contender over the last two races in the Chip Ganassi-owned Dodge. Sorenson finished fifth in last weekend’s Shootout and followed that up on Thursday with a runner-up in the first of two qualifying events.
 
“I haven't had that much luck with this type of racing. I've had a lot more fun this past week than I think I ever have,” Sorenson said. “Obviously this isn't the big race, this is a qualifying race. But it's still good to learn a lot and run good in this race. We had a good run in the Shootout. We had another good run today. It makes everybody on the team excited about going into the 500.”

Ryan Newman held the lead for a while but slipped in the closing laps after losing the point position to Earnhardt. He followed Sorenson across the line third. Casey Mears and Carl Edwards closed out the top 5.
 
Although they weren’t in Victory Lane, Brian Vickers and Kenny Wallace celebrated what felt like a victory. Last year Vickers failed to qualify for the 500 and, after missing out on a locked-in top 35 points position in 2007, again was forced to race his way into the historic event.
 
Only three laps in it looked as though the young driver’s misfortune was going to continue. A jolt from the Boris Said entry sent Vickers’s Toyota spinning down the track, bringing out the first caution flag.
 
However, the team’s decision to pit for fresh tires under the final caution flag with just five laps remaining — brought out when Elliott Sadler smacked the wall in his Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge — proved to be the right call. After the restart Vickers quickly shot past Joe Nemechek, who was already secured a spot, and scored a starting spot for Sunday’s 50th running of the Daytona 500.
 
“It worked out. That’s what this weekend was about for us, overcoming adversity,” Vickers said. “It’s like I won the race. I think the last time I felt this good is when I won a race.”
 
Kurt Busch had mechanical troubles and failed to finish the event. His inability to finish the qualifier handed him the right, as the most recent past champion, to claim the Past Champion’s Provisional, forcing Dale Jarrett to have to race his way into the 500 in the second Gatorade 150.
 
A.J. Allmendinger, Bill Elliott, Carl Long, Sterling Marlin and Boris Said failed to qualify.

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