Daytona 500 Sunday, Line-up & Tidbits [VIDEO]

The 57th running of the Daytona 500 is set for the green flag. See the starting line up. Plus, both Busch brothers are out, Harvick and Earnhardt could join an elite club, & more.

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Daytona 500

• The Place: Daytona International Speedway
• The Date: Sunday, Feb. 22
• The Time: 12:00 PM-CT
• TV: FOX, 11:00 AM-CT
• Distance: 500 miles (250 laps)

TRIM THE BUSCH'S:
Both Kurt and Kyle Busch will be absent when the green flag drops on the 57th running of "The Great American Race". Kyle will miss the Daytona 500 after taking a hard hit with his No. 54 Toyota in Saturday's XFINITY Series Alert Today Florida 300. NASCAR has indefinitely suspended Kurt for actions detrimental to stock car racing. He lost both appeals he filed on Saturday.

THE REPLACEMENTS:
Matt Crafton will sub for Kyle Busch.  Regan Smith will sit in for Kurt Busch.

TO THE REAR:
Unofficially, nine drivers will have to go to the back of the pack before the start of the Daytona 500. Denny Hamlin, Danica Patrick, Casey Mears, AJ Allmendinger, Sam Hornish Jr., Trevor Bayne and Johnny Sauter (backup cars); Regan Smith and Matt Crafton (replacement drivers).

HAPPY TO GO BACK-TO-BACK?:
You don’t see this every day. Or, more specifically: Every decade. Kevin Harvick will look to pull off the almost unheard of "NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship-followed-by-Daytona 500-win" double.

Only five drivers have accomplished the feat, and none since 2000. The five: Lee Petty (1958 championship, 1959 Daytona 500); Richard Petty (1972 championship; 1973 Daytona 500); Cale Yarborough (1976 championship, 1977 Daytona 500); Jeff Gordon (1998 championship, 1999 Daytona 500); and Dale Jarrett (1999 championship, 2000 Daytona 500). All those drivers are in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, except for Jeff Gordon – who will assuredly be honored one day.

Harvick owns a varied history in the Daytona 500. He won the closest Daytona 500 in the race’s history in 2007, edging Mark Martin to the finish line by a margin of .020 seconds. Still, he’s suffered DNFs in two of the last four Daytona 500s, finishing 42nd in 2011 (engine) and 2013 (accident).

JUNIOR LOOKING TO JOIN ELITE:
Remember that list three sentences ago? This one’s even shorter. Here’s the list of drivers who have won back-to-back Daytona 500s: Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95).

After his stirring win to open the 2014 season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks to join that exclusive club on Sunday with his third Daytona 500 victory. (And that, by the way, would put him on another short list of drivers with three or more wins in the Great American Race: Richard Petty (seven), Cale Yarborough (four), Bobby Allison (three), Dale Jarrett (three), Jeff Gordon (three).)

Earnhardt, who has led laps in 10 of his 15 Daytona 500 starts, has seven top fives in the Daytona 500, including his two wins and four runner-up finishes.

2015 DAYTONA 500 STARTING LINE UP:

1. Jeff Gordon
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Matt Crafton (subbing for injured Kyle Busch) **
5. Joey Logano
6. Carl Edwards
7. Tony Stewart
8. Greg Biffle
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Martin Truex Jr.
11. Kevin Harvick
12. Ryan Blaney
13. Kasey Kahne
14. Reed Sorenson
15. Jamie McMurray
16. Mike Wallace
17. Landon Cassill
18. Justin Allgaier
19. Cole Whitt
20. Danica Patrick **
21. Paul Menard
22. Ryan Newman
23. Michael McDowell
24. Regan Smith (subbing for suspended Kurt Busch) **
25. JJ Yeley
26. David Gilliland
27. Michael Annett
28. David Ragan
29. Kyle Larson
30. Austin Dillon
31. Ty Dillon
32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
33. Aric Almirola
34. Michael Waltrip
35. Matt Kenseth
36. Johnny Sauter **
37. Trevor Bayne **
38. Sam Hornish Jr. **
39. Brad Keselowski
40. AJ Allmendinger **
41. Casey Mears **
42. Denny Hamlin **
43. Bobby Labonte

** = Projected to move to the back of the field before the race starts