"I'm really happy to get UPS and Michael Waltrip Racing's third car in [the race]," Jarrett said after a ninth-place finish in yesterday's second Gatorade 150-mile race gave him a spot in Sunday's 500. "It's very gratifying."

Jarrett, 51, will get the No. 44 Toyota into five subsequent races on the basis of past champion's points, then yield the ride to David Reutimann.

Waltrip, who finished 13th, did all he could to help Jarrett qualify for the 500. But Jarrett said his car was good enough to make the 500 field, with Waltrip as an "insurance policy."

Waltrip is locked into the 500 as the second-fastest qualifier. He led the most laps (17) in the race.

Denny Hamlin edged Tony Stewart, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, to win the second 150-miler. Though Hamlin led only the final two laps, his was the first visit by a Toyota driver to victory lane since the manufacturer entered the Cup series last year.

Brian Vickers and Kenny Wallace also drove their way into the 500.

Vickers had the more adventurous racing experience before finishing 11th in the first 150. Early in the race, his Toyota made contact with Boris Said's car. Vickers slid down the track, avoiding further collisions. Later, he also had to make a pit stop for a flat right rear tire.

"I feel like I won a race," Vickers said. "The last time I felt this good was when I won a race [at Talladega 2 years ago]."

Wallace's race was more stressful, because he is on a one-race Sprint Cup Series deal for Denver-based Furniture Row Racing, which can afford only one full-time car, driven by Joe Nemechek. Nemechek made the field during qualifying on Sunday.

Wallace finished eighth in the first 150.

Describing what racing on Sunday will mean, Wallace said: "Besides my wife and children, this moment is the greatest time in my life. This is the 50th Daytona 500, the biggest sporting event in the United States [this week], and I raced my way into it."

John Andretti qualified for his 13th Daytona 500 by finishing 10th in the second 150-miler. A part-time racer in the Cup series last year, Andretti said he was such a longshot for Sunday, he wished he'd placed a bet in Las Vegas on his making the big event.

Among those failing to qualify for the 500 are veterans Sterling Marlin and Bill Elliott, both two-time Daytona 500 winners. Elliott's absence means the pioneering Wood Brothers will not be in the 500 for only the third time in 50 years (in 1960 and 1962, Wood failed to send a car to Daytona).

A four-car crash early in the second race took out Jacques Villeneuve and Dario Franchitti, former open-wheel racers who are launching stock-car racing careers. Villeneuve will not be in the 500. Franchitti earns a start on Sunday on owner's points earned last year by David Stremme for Chip Ganassi Racing. *

Send e-mail to fleiscb@phillynews.com.