DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Richard Petty spent the last three months thinking the No. 44 Dodge would have a guaranteed spot in the Daytona 500.

He found out last week the car would have to race its way in.

Now, the seven-time NASCAR champion is questioning rules that allow owners to transfers points from one car to another – moves that essentially knocked Petty driver AJ Allmendinger out of the top 35 in the points standings.

“It doesn’t make any difference what kind of rules you throw out there, somebody’s going to figure out the best thing for them,” Petty said Friday. “And that’s what everybody’s done.”

Petty said NASCAR officials first told him in November the Valvoline-sponsored car would be in the season-opening race. Although the No. 44, formerly the No. 10 Dodge of Gillett Evernham Motorsports, finished 37th in points last season, officials expected it would have one of the 35 guaranteed spots after several teams merged and another was sold, eliminating two cars in the top 35 in points.

But deals were made to transfer owner points from two defunct cars to Richard Childress Racing (Clint Bowyer) and Penske Championship Racing (Sam Hornish Jr.).

“We go out and talk to sponsors and stuff, and say, ‘OK guys, we’re in and we’ve got more to sell,”‘ Petty said. “It puts us in a bad situation with the sponsor because that was part of our selling point. And all of a sudden we don’t get in, and they don’t blame NASCAR. They blame us as an organization for leading them down the path.”

Similar deals happen all the time in NASCAR, but the sport witnessed more than its usual share this offseason because of the slumping economy..

Menard wrecks in Shootout practice

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Paul Menard started the first wreck of the 2009 NASCAR season.

Menard, the pole-sitter for Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout, got sideways during practice Friday at Daytona International Speedway and crashed with rookie Scott Speed.

As Menard slowed down while trying to straighten out his No. 98 Ford in a turn on the 21/2-mile superspeedway, Speed drove his No. 82 Toyota into his left-front fender. Both cars spun across the track and came to a stop near the infield.

Speed’s car sustained little damage, but Menard’s had to be towed to the garage area. Menard was treated and released from the infield car facility. He said he thought he had a tire going flat before the spin.

Team officials said Menard’s team was going to repair the damage instead of going to a backup car. If they can’t fix it, Menard would have to switch cars and start from the back of the 28-car field. If that happens, Reed Sorenson would become the pole-sitter for NASCAR’s non-points, All-Star event that officially kicks off Speedweeks.

The two practice sessions had a few other hairy moments, too.

Kyle Busch got hit from behind shortly after Menard’s wreck. Jeff Burton blew an engine and will have to start from the back of the pack in Saturday’s race. Kasey Kahne brushed the wall through one turn.

And Carl Edwards narrowly avoided a crash when he had to make a quick move at high speed to avoid a piece of debris that flew off another car.

Busch and three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson had the fastest laps in the first practice.

Johnson was atop the speed chart in the second session. Johnson’s top speed was 192.620 mph.