2011 Daytona 500: Tribute To Dale Earnhardt On Lap Three

This Daytona 500 marks the ten-year anniversary of the death of legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. The Intimidator died in a crash during the 2001 Daytona 500, and it was truly the end of an era in stock car racing.

During today's race, on lap number three, the thousands of people in attendance at Daytona International Raceway will all stand up, remaining silent for the entire third lap, and raise three fingers towards the sky in honor of Earnhardt's number 3.

Dale Earnhardt's son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was on the pole for today's race, but will have to drop to the back of the pack because he wrecked the car he qualified in during the other events at Daytona this week.

2011 Daytona 500: Need Someone To Cheer For? Cheer For Minnesota!

Many NASCAR fans have someone that they have deemed to be "their driver." The guy they'll cheer for to win every week. Many more NASCAR fans have someone that they will cheer against every week, regardless of the circumstances (see also: Gordon, Jeff or Busch, Kurt). Still others cheer for different manufacturers, whether it's Ford, Chevy, or Dodge.

But what if you're a more casual NASCAR fan that doesn't have one particular guy that you want to see win and are just watching for the racing action.

Well, as is the case in most things, you could go with a tried-and-true philosophy. . .when in doubt, cheer for Minnesota.

Three prominent NASCAR drivers are sponsored by major companies that are based in Minnesota. We'll highlight them here in the order that they appear on this year's starting grid.

Sitting on the inside of Row 7 on this year's starting grid is the number 42 car of Juan Pablo Montoya, whose Chevy ride is sponsored by Target (and is the car featured in the picture attached to this string of posts). Montoya has gotten better every year since coming over to NASCAR from open-wheel racing a few years back. This will be his fifth Daytona 500. . .he finished 19th in 2007, 32nd in 2009, 14th in 2009, and climbed to 10th last year.

Just behind him on the inside of Row 8 will be A.J. Allmendinger, who will be in a Ford sponsored by Best Buy with #43 on the side. This will be Allmendinger's third Daytona 500, and he's had a bit of success. He came out of nowhere to finish third in the 2009 edition of the race, but had a disappointing showing last year in finishing in 32nd place.

Lastly, you'll see Greg Biffle on the outside of Row 13 in the number 16 car. Like Allmendiger, he will be driving a Ford, but his car is sponsored by the folks at 3M. This is Biffle's ninth appearance in the Super Bowl of racing, and he's experienced some success as well, including finishing third in last year's race behind Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Will a Minnesota-sponsored car find itself in victory lane tomorrow afternoon? There's only one way to find out, and that's by watching the 2011 Daytona 500, which gets underway at noon Central time tomorrow on Fox.

2011 Daytona 500: Your Complete Starting Grid For Tomorrow's Race

All of the qualifying is done, and the field is officially set for tomorrow's Daytona 500. Here is the complete list of drivers and where they'll be starting.

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Kurt Busch
4. Jeff Burton
5. Regan Smith
6. Clint Bowyer
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Michael Waltrip
9. Matt Kenseth
10. Kyle Busch
11. Kasey Kahne
12. Brian Keselowski
13. Juan Pablo Montoya
14. Jamie McMurray
15. AJ Allmendinger
16. Brad Keselowski
17. Mark Martin
18. Denny Hamlin
19. Paul Menard
20. Martin Truex Jr.
21. Ryan Newman
22. Carl Edwards
23. Jimmie Johnson
24. David Reutimann
25. Tony Stewart
26. Greg Biffle
27. Brian Vickers
28. Robert Richardson Jr.
29. Bill Elliott
30. Robby Gordon
31. Bobby Labonte
32. Trevor Bayne
33. JJ Yeley
34. David Ragan
35. Marcos Ambrose
36. Steve Wallace
37. Andy Lally
38. Joey Logano
39. David Gilliland
40. Travis Kvapil
41. Joe Nemechek
42. Dave Blaney
43. Terry Labonte

2011 Daytona 500: NASCAR Season Kicks Off Tomorrow

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, one of the other "first signs of spring" is upon us, as the 2011 Sprint Cup season will kick off tomorrow afternoon with the running of the Super Bowl of racing, the Daytona 500. Our friends at the mothership have been tracking the proceedings of the entire race so far, from qualifying until today, and have been doing an outstanding job of it. If you want lots of good details about this year's race, be sure to check out our friends from The Sports Network.

NASCAR is primarily considered to be a southern sport, but we here at SB Nation Minnesota know that it has plenty of fans everywhere, so we're going to give everyone a place to find out more about the race here on our site. I'll also effort to put some updates of in-race action up here on the site during tomorrow's festivities.