Crank up the grill and grab your remote it's time for the Daytona 500, the annual opening kickoff to another great year of NASCAR racing. More than 200,000 hardcore race fans are expected to attend today's race in Daytona with millions more watching on television.

The Daytona 500 can make and sometimes break a driver's season. Today there will be 43 drivers with the same goal in mind, Victory Lane. At the end of the day only one will receive the spoils of victory in NASCAR's most prestigious event.

One of the most competitive fields of cars and drivers to ever take the green flag are assembled for the 53rd annual Daytona 500. The much praised new track surface will produce exciting racing today based on what we have seen since Thursday's Gatorade Duel. The Duels saw record lead changes while the Truck Series and Nationwide Series races on Friday and Saturday had great endings

"Anybody can with the Daytona 500," Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said earlier in the week. "It's going to be a tough race to win." Earnhardt, Jr. qualified on the pole but will have to start from the back after crashing his primary car in practice on Wednesday forcing the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 team to pull out a backup for the 500.

Who knows, starting from the rear of the field could turn out to be a blessing for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Only time will tell.

Kurt Busch, who won the Bud Shootout last weekend and a qualifying race on Thursday, inherits the pole as the inside line of cars will move up when Dale, Jr. drops to the back prior to the start.

Could today's 500 produce a new NASCAR winner, will the big one we all expect to happen actually happen, can Jamie McMurray make it back-to-back 500 victories.

These questions and more will be answered late this afternoon. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the race.

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