FORT WORTH, Texas — Sterling Marlin was mostly overlooked during the week leading up to the postponed Samsung/Radio Shack 500.
Still, Marlin went into the 500-mile race at Texas Motor Speedway that was rained out Sunday and rescheduled for Monday with a 99-point lead over Matt Kenseth in the NASCAR Winston Cup standings. He had five consecutive top-10 finishes, including a pair of victories, before running into problems two weeks ago in Bristol, Tenn.
"You try to dodge everything at Bristol," said Marlin, who finished 19th in that race. "Me and Mark Martin got together on the straightaway, and I cut a tire down.
"Then I got together with (Johnny) Benson. He came under me and came down and turned me around. You've just got to have give and take at Bristol. A lot can happen at places like that."
Now, after qualifying 20th in the 43-car field at the Texas track, Marlin is hopeful he can regain the momentum he lost on the short Bristol oval.
"We're running good, and we've got a good race team," said Marlin, in his second season driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. "We got a taste of what running for the championship was last year. I hope 19th is going to be our worst finish this year, but probably not."
The most recent cup race delayed by weather was last October, when the event in Martinsville, Va., also was run on a Monday.
Most of the drivers were more concerned about the lack of time on the repaved 1 1/2-mile Texas oval — with the 90 minutes of post-qualifying practice rained out on Saturday — than postponement of the race.
"We're just going to make our best guess and try to make the car as adjustable as we can," defending champion Dale Jarrett said.
"It's still a roll of the dice for most people," said Frank Stoddard, crew chief for 1997 winner Jeff Burton. "We were fortunate enough to be one of the 10 or 12 teams that tested here. We're going to have to look pretty hard at those notes."
The new asphalt has pushed up the speeds and also turned the track into a one-groove oval, with little passing or side-by-side racing expected.
Pole-winner Bill Elliott led 12 drivers who were faster Friday than the previous Texas qualifying record.
"With the new pavement, it's going to take a while to get a second groove," Kenny Schrader said. "Last year, it was a pretty good racetrack with two distinct grooves, but now it's a whole new ballgame. People are going to have to be patient."
Burton, who will start 37th, said he isn't too concerned about being that far back in the field.
"People laugh at me when I say this, but our poor qualifying the last couple of years has been good for us in some ways," Burton said. "We have learned how to get through the pack and learned how to use patience and strategy. We don't go into this race thinking we can't win from 37th. We know we can win."
The race, which had been scheduled to be televised by Fox Sports, will be shown live on FX.