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.

Jeff Gordon and daughter Ella / Getty Images

NASCAR, more than any other sport, carries the specter of grievous injury, or worse, with it every time the green flag drops. You see the drivers kiss their families goodbye before every race, and there's a part of you that starts wondering what if. Let's face it, nobody expects the worst when a pitcher goes out to throw a few innings.

Where the pathos ratchets up exponentially is when kids come into the equation. The idea of watching your dad (or mom, let's be fair) drive 200-plus mph has to be a thrilling one, but what about when things don't go so well? Jeff Gordon faced just such a scenario this past weekend, and fortunately, he was able to walk his 4-year-old daughter Ella through the wreck replay from a safe distance.

As Scene Daily notes, father and daughter watched the wreck together on Sunday morning, as Ella was asleep when the wreck happened. And thankfully, Gordon could assure his daughter that he was just fine.

"That is the downside of being a parent as a race-car driver

All right, here's the deal: Fantasy NASCAR is coming up soon, and we at Yahoo! Sports want to fantasize with you. (Wait, that sounded really wrong.) Anyway, you need to get in on this action. Go to the Fantasy NASCAR homepage and sign up for a team. Then make sure you jump in on our special private league:

Fans of From The Marbles
Group ID: 31
Password: marbles
(sneaky password, yes?)

Anyway, the whole deal begins in a month or so with the Daytona 500. There'll be acclaim and love for the weekly winners, and you'll get the satisfaction of knowing that you're a better race analyst than [insert announcer name here]. Win-win all the way around. Get on it!

Time again for the weekly Yahoo! Sports NASCAR chat, and this week we've got actual racing to discuss! Join us here on Tuesday at 1 p.m. Eastern to talk about the Bud Shootout, the upcoming Daytona 500, and whatever else may jolt your fancy. See you here!

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• Jeff Gordon walks 4-year-old daughter through replay of his wreck
• Adrian Wojnarowski: Deron Williams exacts revenge on Jeremy Lin, Knicks
• Amazing hockey masks inspired by Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Iron Man

Danica Patrick prepares for qualifying / Getty Images

Heard about this young lady making her Sprint Cup debut in the Daytona 500? Name of Danica Patrick. Criminally underpublicized, but we'll do our best here to let you know about her. Hey, if Tony Stewart thinks she has the talent to win the Daytona 500, that's good enough for us.

[Dan Wetzel: Danica Patrick's foray into NASCAR is not a PR stunt]

Patrick will be running 10 Sprint Cup events this year, and you can bet that each one will have a torrent of publicity and hype ... hype that, lest we forget, would not be present without her presence. So if you're near one of these tracks, get ready for the Neon Green Tide:

Feb. 26: Daytona (Daytona 500)
May 12: Darlington
May 27: Charlotte (Coca-Cola 600)
Aug. 25: Bristol
Sept. 2: Atlanta
Sept. 16: Chicagoland
Sept. 30: Dover
Nov. 4: Texas
Nov. 11: Phoenix

Patrick will race one more as-yet-undetermined Sprint Cup race, depending on her level of development and needs. The Brickyard 400 at Indy in late July or a road course would appear to be a