DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- For the first time since 1962, Wood Brothers Racing will not have a car in the Daytona 500.

Bill Elliott finished 16th yesterday in the first Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway, five spots behind final 500 qualifier Brian Vickers, and the historic No. 21 Ford was shipped home.

"I don't think there are words that can describe it, but that's life," Elliott said. "There will be days like this."

The Wood Brothers, one of NASCAR's charter teams, had missed just two prior Daytona 500s (1960 and 1962). The team, formerly based in Stuart, Va., has won four 500s in 50 years with a virtual who's who of drivers including Cale Yarborough, A.J. Foyt and David Pearson.

But this year, the car failed to even qualify. With the top 35 teams locked in, and Kurt Busch already having claimed the past champion's provisional, Elliott had to be one of the two fastest non-top-35 drivers.

He wasn't.

It ends a string of 45 consecutive Daytona 500s, the longest run in NASCAR history. Petty Enterprises missed the 1965 Daytona 500 when Chrysler was boycotting NASCAR races.

Team co-owner Eddie Wood said he spent some time earlier in the week down near Daytona Beach, where cars used to run half the race on the beach and the other half on a closed road. He said he stopped in a gift shop, bought a DVD of 1950s and '60s races and made a phone call to check on some more history.

"So, I was sitting there in the street and I knew that they turned left there and went across and came back up the other side, and I didn't know which street it was, so I called my dad. I said, 'Which street was it that was turn one?' And he said, 'It was Beach Street.' I looked up, and that's where I was. I left there, and I'm getting ready to pull out, and I look over, and there's Richard Petty. He was there, too. That's what the Daytona 500 is."

Glen Wood has been at Daytona since they raced on the beach, since racing began. He remembers the first time he pulled into Daytona International Speedway, and he remembers the time his brother, Leonard, caught the infield grass on fire while welding an exhaust pipe early in their careers.

It's a family thing at Daytona, and this is one chapter Eddie didn't want to see written.

"The Daytona 500 is just not another race. It is the Daytona 500," Wood said. "To me, it's bigger than the Indy 500 and all that. We're still a part of it. We're not going to be there Sunday."

Reutimann starts second Duel earlier

David Reutimann started on the outside of the front row for the second Gatorade Duel, next to teammate and boss Michael Waltrip. Waltrip told Reutimann he was going to start the race slow, and for Reutimann to follow his lead.

Something got lost in the translation. Reutimann hit the gas and beat Waltrip to the start/finish line, a no-no in NASCAR. He was penalized with a drive-through on pit lane.

"Michael told me before the race he was gonna be a little soft on the original start," Reutimann said. "I didn't anticipate him being in a coma when they dropped the green. My spotter says, 'green, green, green,' and I took off. Michael was still sitting there." -- Jill Erwin