Evernham-Gordon Reunion?

Though insisting he will never be a Sprint Cup crew chief again, Ray Evernham on Wednesday wouldn't rule out a reunion in another capacity with Jeff Gordon, the driver he guided to three championships in the 1990s.

Gordon addressed the possibility last week, saying he and Evernham, who has given up team ownership, have remained close friends and that his No. 24 team is always looking for ways to improve.

"If it's an engineer or team manager ... whatever options are out there, for anybody, we always take them seriously," Gordon said. "With my experience with Ray being so positive in the past, I would never throw it out."

Evernham said his non-compete clause with Richard Petty Motorsports would have to be addressed before he could work for another team. He plans to work on some non-NASCAR projects with former boss Rick Hendrick and will, at minimum, pull for his former driver.

"I would like to see Jeff end his career on a high note," he said. "It really stinks for him when people start to question, does he have the desire, does he have this or that. He needs this much an inch.

"I'm telling you, the guy is as good as anybody out there. Crew chief Steven Letarte is good; Jeff believes in Steven. And man, they're this close."

STRONG AGAIN: Tampa's Aric Almirola, seventh-fastest in Daytona 500 qualifying, continued to impress, posting the top speed in practice for today's Gatorade 150-mile Duels.

His drafting lap of 191.436 mph edged Matt Kenseth's 191.347 and Jeff Gordon's 191.335.

Defending 500 champion Ryan Newman, who had an outside pole for the second duel, will have to drop to the rear of the field after changing engines Wednesday. Michael Waltrip and Jamie McMurray also will have to start from the back after crashing their primary cars.

Rookie Joey Logano, who crashed early in Saturday's Budweiser Shootout while making his debut as Tony Stewart's replacement, scraped the wall in Wednesday's first practice.

LAST CHANCE: The duels are still called qualifying races, but only a few spots for Sunday's 51st Daytona 500 are open.

Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin locked up the front row in Sunday's time trials. Another 33 drivers are guaranteed berths somewhere in the field under NASCAR's top-35 rule.

Bill Elliott, Tony Stewart and Travis Kvapil clinched spots with their qualifying speeds Sunday, and Terry Labonte is assured of getting in because of his former champion's provisional.

The top two finishers in each duel from outside the top 35 advance to the 500. Additional spots could be awarded on speed if Elliott, Stewart, Kvapil and/or Labonte make it in through the duels.

Lakeland's Joe Nemechek, Boris Said, Scott Riggs, Jeremy Mayfield, A.J. Allmendinger, and Brad Keselowski are among those trying to get in.