DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As they repaired the shattered front end of the No. 40 Aaron's Toyota, the faces of Michael Waltrip's crew told the story: their boss's quarter-century-long streak of Daytona 500 runs had apparently come to an end. A victim of nothing more than his own mishandling of the car coming out of a pit stop, Waltrip apparently saw his go-or-go-home chances at the Daytona 500 come to an ugly, crumpled end.

"I just went the wrong way and lost the car," Waltrip said of the wreck that destroyed both his front end and his hopes for the race. "I feel like I let everybody down.  I raced my way to the front and then I let them down. It's just really hard. I don't know what to say. It's just sad."

But possible salvation arrived in the unlikely person of Robby Gordon, who managed to race his way into the 500 thanks in part to Waltrip's wreck. After a press conference in which he conceded that his team was facing tough economic times, Gordon offered his spot in the race.

"We're in a bad state right here," Gordon said. "It's tough. It's really, really tough."

Later, as he walked through the garage, he reaffirmed his offer.

"Everything's for sale!" he said. "I haven't heard from Michael yet. But I'd love to be his crew chief."

Ryan LochteDAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Ryan Lochte is arguably the fastest swimmer on the planet. Apparently, he's no slouch on the road, either.

The three-time Olympic gold medalist, who could challenge Michael Phelps' record of eight golds won in the 2008 Games, was at Daytona International Speedway Thursday serving as the Grand Marshall for the Gatorade Duel 150s. Lochte, a Daytona native, is a self-proclaimed race fan. When asked how fast he's driven on the road, Lochte hesitated — and probably for good reason.

"175," he finally revealed.

He didn't say exactly when or where, just that it came on a highway when he made sure no one was around.

Kyle Busch would be jealous.

The Daytona 500 is four days away and we've already had our first gruesome incident involving cone, as cone was violently run over when Kasey Kahne spun off the bumper of Juan Pablo Montoya.

The incident meant a backup car for Kahne in Thursday's Gatorade Duels, and, unfortunately, a backup cone too. Kahne even apologized to cone via Twitter after the crash.

Our best wishes go out to the cone family on this tragic accident. And Godspeed to you, replacement cone. What exceptional courage to step in after such a tragedy. Though being at the pit road entrance may require less courage than this.

Will Johnny Sauter win the Camping World Truck Series title? (Getty)

The 2012 Camping World Truck Series kicks off Friday night at Daytona, and there are a bunch of familiar faces in new places.

The Truck Series schedule features 22 races -- down from 25 in 2011 -- and includes a trip to Rockingham Speedway, the first time NASCAR has been to the track since 2004. The series makes two trips to Texas, Kentucky, Iowa and Martinsville, and there's a five week break between Daytona and Martinsville, the second race of the season.

The 2011 champion, Austin Dillon, is off to drive the No. 3 in the Nationwide Series for Richard Childress Racing, and he's been replaced in the No. 3 truck by his brother, Ty, who was the 2011 ARCA champion.

With Kevin Harvick Inc.'s departure from the Truck and Nationwide Series, four-time Truck champion Ron Hornaday Jr. is driving the No. 9 for Joe Denette Motorsports. Another former champion, Todd Bodine, is in the No. 11 for Red Horse Racing at Daytona, but not for a full season just yet. That full season is, you guessed it,

Denny Hamlin at 2011's Duels / Getty ImagesFor most of the field, Thursday's two 150-mile Duels will be a chance to get some more laps on the track in race trim, and they'll see how their cars perform without pushing the envelope too far. Here's the spotter's-eye view of the two duels:

Duel 1: Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. make up the front row. Big names in this field also include Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Danica Patrick and Denny Hamlin. (Full list here.)

Duel 2: Greg Biffle and, yes, Casey Mears are on the front row, with major names including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch in the mix here. Clint Bowyer starts in the back of this Duel because of violations. (Full list here.)

[Dan Wetzel: Daytona 500 wreck proves Danica Patrick's toughness]

But for 10 drivers, including some major names of the not-too-distant past, the Duels represent their last chance to get into the field of the 2012 Daytona 500. With 39 spots already taken, only four spaces remain ...

Amber and Angela Cope pose for the March issue of Maxim (Maxim)

What do Amber and Anglea Cope have in common with Danica Patrick?

Well, besides the obvious, the three have NASCAR Nationwide series starts to their resume, and thanks to the March issue of Maxim, all three have been the subject of a photoshoot in a men's magazine.

The current issue, available now -- but make sure you finish reading this post before you run to the store to get your copy! -- features a two page spread about "NASCAR's smokin' hot sisters." (You can also get an autographed copy of the magazine and an 18x24 poster for the low price of $24.95. However, the offer may have expired.)

The twins, who "may look like they're more suited for the runway than the speedway," are the nieces of 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, and made their NASCAR debuts in October of 2010 when they raced in the Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville. They moved up -- in name only -- in 2011, as Amber made four starts in the Nationwide Series, while Angela made one.

It seems that the

Don't expect the Daytona 500 to look like this. (Getty)

NEUTRAL: NASCAR's opening weekend was a merciless one on the hard work of team fabricators in the sport's top division. In total, two days of track activity substantially damaged 15 separate Sprint Cup cars with many more requiring varying amounts of repair either before or during the Bud Shootout.

None, of course, felt the same damage as the thrashing Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet received after the gymnastic exhibition it put on exiting Daytona's Turn 4.

And so, naturally, the echo chamber of fear started even before Kyle Busch finished his sensational display of driving ability in Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout: Will Sunday's Daytona 500 be a farcical mess of caution flags and torn up race cars?

I say no.

The reasons for the wrecking exhibition in the season's first exhibition race vary widely, but they are real. But if we have learned anything about race car drivers over the century-plus of race car drivers being called race car drivers, it's that they very often learn how to avoid crashing in the same way over time. Typically, that stretch of time is pretty small.

A 1930s Daytona newspaper trumpeting the Beach Race.On the beaches of Daytona in the 1930s, a weatherbeaten farmer by the name of Marion MacDonald changed the course of automotive history with a length of rope and a pocketknife.

MacDonald, nicknamed "Mad" because he used to eat hamburgers while racing, was one of many drivers who challenged the sands of Daytona, rocketing across both hardpacked and shifting sands. And like all the other drivers of the time, MacDonald raced without a seat belt of any kind. Cars tended to flip with metronome regularity on the sand, and the thinking ran that being thrown from the car was far preferable to being trapped inside it, either underwater or amid burning fuel.

Problem was, without any form of restraint, drivers tended to slew back and forth across the front seat, making an already difficult task — driving across sand — damn near impossible. As Yahoo! Sports own Jay Hart tells it, MacDonald hit upon the idea of belting himself into the car with a rope. And in order to prepare for a quick exit, he taped a pocketknife to the steering wheel to cut himself free.

Still, pocketknives are tricky to open even when you're standing still. How did MacDonald plan on fiddling with a knife while the world collapsed around him?

Why, he kept the blade out, of course.

Welcome to Daytona Beach. Racing is different here.