DAYTONA ROUNDUP News and notes

Riggs out: Scott Riggs experienced just enough problems to keep him from making the Daytona 500. The third-year Cup driver had a gear failure in his pole run last weekend, then had trouble during a pit stop in the second of two qualifying races Thursday. He finished 13th in the 60-lap race, one position behind Mike Wallace for the final spot in the starting field. With that, Riggs was done for Daytona. "To be here and miss this race, it's bad and I hate it," said Riggs, the only driver from a big-budget team out of Sunday's race. "This is something we knew could happen coming in here with a new team. But this isn't the end of our season. It's just the beginning."Caution: Chad Chaffin's crash during the first qualifying race triggered a multicar accident -- after the caution flag came out. As drivers slowed to avoid the debris field from Chaffin's crash, Sterling Marlin plowed into the back of Dale Jarrett's car. "I know he didn't know what hit him, but I couldn't believe it," Marlin said. Marlin said his spotter and crew chief keyed the microphone of his in-car radio system at the same time, and he couldn't hear either of them, so he didn't know that cars in front of him were slowing down to dodge debris. Marlin was called to the NASCAR hauler after the race, but Marlin said officials simply wanted to know what happened. Marlin's car ran well during the race, but the damage forced him to switch to a backup car.Dignitaries named: Two U.S. medalists from the Winter Olympics will help start "The Great American Race." Snowboarders Hannah Teter and Gretchen Bleiler, who won gold and silver medals in the women's halfpipe, will be the honorary starters for Sunday's race. Seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens will be the honorary official; he will parade around the track during pre-race ceremonies. Actor James Caan will serve as grand marshal, giving the command to start engines. Fergie of the hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas will sing the national anthem. Comedian and late-night talk show host Jay Leno will drive the pace car. And Bon Jovi will perform a pre-race concert from the infield grass.
Riggs out: Scott Riggs experienced just enough problems to keep him from making the Daytona 500. The third-year Cup driver had a gear failure in his pole run last weekend, then had trouble during a pit stop in the second of two qualifying races Thursday. He finished 13th in the 60-lap race, one position behind Mike Wallace for the final spot in the starting field. With that, Riggs was done for Daytona. "To be here and miss this race, it's bad and I hate it," said Riggs, the only driver from a big-budget team out of Sunday's race. "This is something we knew could happen coming in here with a new team. But this isn't the end of our season. It's just the beginning."Caution: Chad Chaffin's crash during the first qualifying race triggered a multicar accident -- after the caution flag came out. As drivers slowed to avoid the debris field from Chaffin's crash, Sterling Marlin plowed into the back of Dale Jarrett's car. "I know he didn't know what hit him, but I couldn't believe it," Marlin said. Marlin said his spotter and crew chief keyed the microphone of his in-car radio system at the same time, and he couldn't hear either of them, so he didn't know that cars in front of him were slowing down to dodge debris. Marlin was called to the NASCAR hauler after the race, but Marlin said officials simply wanted to know what happened. Marlin's car ran well during the race, but the damage forced him to switch to a backup car.Dignitaries named: Two U.S. medalists from the Winter Olympics will help start "The Great American Race." Snowboarders Hannah Teter and Gretchen Bleiler, who won gold and silver medals in the women's halfpipe, will be the honorary starters for Sunday's race. Seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens will be the honorary official; he will parade around the track during pre-race ceremonies. Actor James Caan will serve as grand marshal, giving the command to start engines. Fergie of the hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas will sing the national anthem. Comedian and late-night talk show host Jay Leno will drive the pace car. And Bon Jovi will perform a pre-race concert from the infield grass.
Associated Press