Daytona 500: Sterling Marlin NASCAR Nextel Cup Duel Race Recap

Sterling Marlin turned in a 12th-place performance in Thursday's Gatorade Duel 150-mile qualifying event.

Though Marlin had a respectable finish at Daytona International Speedway, it wasn't among the top-two for the non-qualified drivers in the race. His entry in Sunday's Daytona 500 reverts back to his qualifying speed during Pole Day on Sunday. Because of a complicated qualifying format, Marlin will start 40th in NASCAR's biggest race of the year.

"Luckily we earned our spot in the race on Pole Day, so we didn't have quite as much pressure tonight as some teams did," said Marlin. "But I really thought we'd have a better finish than we did. The Waste Management Chevy was just a little loose out there at the end. I then got tapped from behind by someone in the closing laps and lost a lot of spots."

Marlin continued, "It's unfortunate because we had a great car and ran in the top 10 the whole race until the last few laps. Had we been able to finish a just a few spots higher we would've had a much better starting spot on Sunday."

Marlin's Ginn Racing teammates, Mark Martin and Joe Nemechek, were also in Marlin's Gatorade Duel. Nemechek finished ninth, earning a 20th-place start for the 500, while Martin finished 14th and will start 28th on Sunday.

"We'll be good for the big show on Sunday," offered Marlin. "The Waste Management/Panasonic Chevrolet came out of today's event dent-free and we'll pick up some more steam in the next couple of days. Three of our Ginn Racing Chevys are in the race and I'm looking forward to working together with my teammates and going to the front."

Sunday's Nextel Cup event will be broadcast live on FOX beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

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