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NASCAR At Daytona: Coke Zero 400 Starting Lineup, Pit Selections, And Stories To Watch

NASCAR is back where it all began. Just under 63 years since the sanctioning body was incorporated at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona, the Sprint Cup Series tackles the Daytona International Speedway for tonight's Coke Zero 400.

The front row features Mark Martin, the oldest driver in the field - who set a record for oldest driver to win a Sprint Cup pole - and Trevor Bayne, the 20-year-old phenom who captured the sporting world's heart by winning the Daytona 500 in February. The rest of the 43-car starting grid can be found at Jayski.com, as can each team's pit selection.

Daytona always creates its own storylines, but here are a few others to watch in tonight's event.

Can Trevor Bayne do the double? It has been nearly 30 years since Bobby Allison swept the Daytona 500 and the then-known Firecracker 400 in 1982. No driver has done it since, and in the last five years, only one Daytona 500 champion - Matt Kenseth in 2009 - has even finished better than 32nd in July. Bayne has a great starting position and will likely be a popular pick to draft with after the veteran savvy he showed in winning in his second Sprint Cup start in February.

Can Dale Earnhardt Jr. rekindle his magic from 2001? Earnhardt recorded one of the most emotional wins in the sport's history, winning this race in 2001 just five months after his father had been killed in the Daytona 500. Earnhardt's winless streak is now past three years, but he has been an ever-present threat to win on restrictor plate tracks since his sophomore season.

Can Mark Martin finally win at Daytona? Martin won the 1999 Bud Shootout, but he has been denied - often heartbreakingly - in every points-paying race he's started at Daytona. Martin started from the pole for this race in 1989 and led late before running out of gas. He led the 2007 Daytona 500 exiting the final turn but lost by a nose to Kevin Harvick.

Can a driver get his first superspeedway win? Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards are among the Sprint Cup stars who have never won at Daytona or Talladega. Busch has finished second in the Daytona 500 three times, while Edwards was runner up in this race in 2008.

Can a driver get his first Sprint Cup win period? David Ragan and Paul Menard have both knocked on the door at times this year for their first win, and both run well at Daytona and Talladega. Past first-time winners in the Coke Zero 400 are Greg Sacks in 1985 and Greg Biffle in 2003.

Where does the leader at the white flag finish? In five Sprint Cup and Nationwide restrictor plate races this year, only one driver - Bayne in the Daytona 500 - has led at the white flag and still been leading at the checkered flag. The "two-car tangos" has created an unpredictable racing style that will likely lead to one - if not more - lead changes in the final 2.5 miles.

Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.