Twenty-five years after his final victory, Richard Petty has forgotten much about the race. He remembers the important stuff, though. The last few laps. The post-race celebration. The presidential visit. The impromptu picnic.

Consistency has become too important to NASCAR. The holy grail in NASCAR is the Sprint Cup points championship. In order to compete for the grail, drivers must rank among the top 12 after 26 races. They then spend 10 races running for the Cup while the others get in the way. Too much emphasis is placed on top 10 finishes in Races 1 through 26, and not enough is placed on winning.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Jeff Gordon already has been to victory lane this season. He has a trophy and pictures of him celebrating to prove it. So imagine the time he had explaining to his Belgian-born wife why his victory in a Daytona 500 qualifying race didn’t snap his 41-race winless streak. “I went home and was talking to Ingrid and she was like, ‘Oh, it’s so great you won,‘“ he said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, baby, that was fantastic. But don’t think that that counted.‘ She’s like, ‘That didn’t count?‘ And I was like, ‘No.‘“

Martin Truex Jr. won the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500, and sentimental favorite Mark Martin qualified second. Truex and Martin locked in their spots during yesterday’s qualifying at Daytona International Speedway. Only the top two spots were secured under the complicated qualifying process for the Feb. 15 race, and the rest of the field will be set by a pair of 150-mile races Thursday.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Chip Ganassi Racing is going for four in a row in this weekend’s Grand-Am Rolex 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway. It wouldn’t be wise to bet against the elite two-car team. “Eighty percent is preparation to get you to Victory lane,“ said Scott Pruett, who has been part of the past two Daytona wins in a Ganassi Lexus Riley.