Terry Renna, Associated Press Gone is the red and white Winston. In its place are the bright yellows of Nextel, the new sponsor of NASCAR's largest racing series. Click photo for larger image. More NASCAR: New season, new championship format and new era in NASCAR racing they call Nextel Daytona 500: Can you hear me now? NBC hopes to drive up ratings

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- There's no denying that Dale Earnhardt Jr. learned from his father how to race at Daytona International Speedway. Even if their styles are different off the track, their moves on it are very similar.

Dale Earnhardt won the 1998 Daytona 500 and 33 other races on the 2.5-mile high-banked tri-oval before he was killed on the final turn of the 2001 race. What he left behind was a foundation that has continued to grow with not only his son, but also Michael Waltrip.

The crews for Dale Earnhardt Inc. have been virtually unmatched on the superspeedways of Daytona and Talladega when restrictor plates cut horsepower and make drafting key. Of the 12 restrictor-plate races since 2001, Waltrip has won four -- including the Daytona 500 two of the past three years -- and Earnhardt Jr. has won five.

They will face a considerable challenge this year from one of the smallest changes NASCAR has implemented since last season.

While a new series sponsor -- Nextel -- and a new championship format for the final 10 races of the season have drawn most of the attention, an increase of one-half inch to the height of the spoiler has sent many teams back to the garage shaking their heads. When the checkered flag waves at 1:30 p.m. today, that slight increased height, which makes the spoiler 6^{3*_{4 inches high on the back end of the trunk, might just spoil the day for many contenders.}}

	SUNDAY What: The 46th Daytona 500 When: 1:30 p.m. TV: WPXI Pole: Greg Biffle

^{_{The Daytona 500 usually has been about horsepower and aerodynamics, but it has been evident throughout qualifying that the spoiler change has affected the handling of the cars and put more pressure on tires and teams, which was NASCAR's hope. It will force crew chiefs to make adjustments and drivers to use their skills rather than just push the pedal down and hang on for 500 miles.}}

^{_{"It's the biggest issue right now to overcome," said Dave Blaney, co-owner of Sharon Speedway near Youngstown who will qualified 23rd for the race today. "In past years here, it has been about horsepower and about the body, those two things were more important than the handling. Now handling is the biggest part. It's as important as the motor and the body. I sure don't want to see any tires come apart and anybody get wrecked, but throwing the handling back in there will be good."}}

^{_{Watching Tony Stewart, the 2002 champion and one of the most-skilled drivers in the series, perform in his qualifying race Thursday showed a car that handles well can compete. His Chevrolet had been a bit off the pace throughout the week, but he was able to drive it to a second-place finish behind Earnhardt Jr.}}

^{_{"I think we're finally in a situation where we can race," Stewart said. "I think it'll separate the track to where we can actually race each other instead of feeling like we're at the mercy of air and horsepower. The drivers can actually drive and decide who wins the race by who outdrives whom. Finally."}}

^{_{However, if NASCAR's goal was to help drivers other than Earnhardt Jr. and Waltrip, it might have to come up with another idea. Earnhardt won his qualifying race Thursday and will start third today. Waltrip will start ninth.}}

^{_{"I think I've got an awesome car. It's the best car here," Earnhardt Jr. said. "But I don't care how good your car is, if you're not in clean air you can't do nothing."}}

^{_{To find that clean air, Earnhardt Jr. and his Chevrolet will have to get around the Fords of pole-sitter Greg Biffle, who won a 400-mile race at Daytona in July, and Elliott Sadler, who starts second and has been the only driver more dominant through qualifying than Earnhardt.}}

^{_{"I would hope I'm the favorite," Sadler said. "I outqualified him and I won my [qualifying] race, too. I know everybody at Daytona is picking him to be the favorite and that's cool. I don't mind being the underdog. Lord knows I haven't been to victory lane as many times as he has in restrictor plate races, but I think I've got a great car that can do it this year. The car qualified good, it runs good by itself, it runs good in the draft and it handles good.}}

^{_{"We know that he and [Waltrip] are the two cars we're going to have to outrun, but one small thing I think everybody is forgetting is that Robert Yates Racing has been to victory lane more than anybody else this week."}}

^{_{For Waltrip, becoming a three-time Daytona 500 winner will require a mistake-free day.}}

^{_{"You've got to be perfect," he said. "You have to be as good as you can be every lap. Nothing can go wrong with the car. The pit crew has to do their job on pit road. The driver has to be game-on from the time the flag drops. There's a lot of pressure you put on yourself to make sure you don't make any mistakes and you make all the right moves. One wrong drafting move late in the race can take you from the top two or three cars to 20th. You can't recover from that."}}

^{_{Once again, Fox Chapel native Chip Ganassi has three cars qualified for drivers Sterling Marlin, Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears, with Marlin and McMurray particularly strong throughout the qualifying week. Marlin will start next to Earnhardt Jr. in the second row while McMurray, last season's rookie of the year, will start seventh on the inside of the fourth row. Mears will start 25th.}}

^{_{"In these cars you can run wide open for 10-15 laps," Marlin said. "If you pull out [of the draft], you're going to lose your spot. You have to ease off on the throttle a little bit getting in the corners and try to come off strong."}}

^{_{If qualifying week is an indicator, the Daytona 500 should come down to a shootout between Earnhardt Jr., Waltrip and Sadler, who promises not to be apprehensive about racing with the DEI teammates.}}

^{_{"I don't think they've psyched anybody out," he said. "They're good. It's not that they're doing it with their mouths, they're showing us on the racetrack how good of a race team they are.}}

^{_{"Are we at the level they're at? No, I don't think so. But is Robert Yates Racing catching up to them? Yes, we are."}}