The first part of qualifying for the 66th running of the Daytona 500 concluded on Wednesday, and once again, history was made at the Daytona International Speedway. After 11 years of Chevrolet dominance, the #22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse of Joey Logano won the pole position. Additionally, among the open entries, David Ragan and Anthony Alfredo qualified for The Great American Race, with the latter being the fastest of the lot, which included 7-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.
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Cup Series driver Michael McDowell will start the race from P2, as Ford enjoyed a front-row lockout. Last season, the American manufacturer swept all 3 national NASCAR series, and it seems that they have carried that form into the new season. Team Penske and Front Row Motorsports were the 2 Ford teams that got the job done this time around.
Open-entry qualifiers were all jubilant after making it to the Daytona 500
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Coming to the open entries, there was nothing but pure jubilation on Anthony Alfredo’s face as he qualified the fastest of the open entries into the Daytona 500. He was seen celebrating with his team and his loved ones after getting out of the car. A performance like this will definitely give him a lot of confidence heading into the Great American Race. He won’t have to worry about making it to the event when he gets in the car next, as he will look to earn as high a starting position as possible.
“This is insane. We were just talking about every possible scenario we might find ourselves in today, tomorrow, and obviously Sunday. But to make it to Sunday is a challenge. It’s such a competitive field of Open cars and drivers behind the wheel. I’m just really thankful for the Beard family giving me this opportunity and Death Wish Coffee coming on board,” the Xfinity Series star said, as per Toby Christie.
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David Ragan, who will be driving the #60 RFK Racing car, was the second of the open entries to make it through, and much like Alfredo, he too was jubilant after a fantastic qualifying run. “It’s always big to be in the Daytona 500, and the whole week I’ve just been trying to make sure we didn’t make any mistakes. And I really felt like we were going to have a shot at a top-10 or top-12 starting spot, but just shows all of the hard work that this BuildSubmarines.com Ford team has done,” the motorsports veteran said.
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The performers of the day were Ford, 100%. It has been a long time since NASCAR fans have witnessed this kind of consistency from the manufacturer, and it must be fantastic to watch. Things are looking good for the manufacturer so far.
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Seeing Joey Logano take pole position for the Daytona 500 was not a surprise, to be fair. The man is a two-time Cup Series champion and drives for one of the biggest teams in the history of the Cup Series. The 33-year-old hailed his team for coming up with a fantastic car that was good enough to be the fastest of the lot.
“This is all about the team. Honestly, I’d like to take credit, but I can’t today. The guys have done such an amazing job working on these cars. The superspeedway qualifying is 100 percent the car. There’s only so much the driver can do, so I’m really proud of them,” Joey Logano said, as per Toby Christie.
The man starting from P2 will be none other than last year’s Indianapolis winner, Michael McDowell. Front Row Motorsports is not the strongest team in the Cup Series, so seeing him do the second-fastest time was a bit of a surprise. But nothing can be taken away from him and the #34 team’s efforts. After the result, the NASCAR veteran also sang his team’s praises for doing such a great job.
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It’s only been one qualifying session in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series, and there have already been a few surprises. The rest of the drivers will have to battle it out in the Bluegreen Duels to determine their starting positions for the Daytona 500. It will be interesting to see how those play out. Here are the starting lineups for both duels:
Duel 1 starting positions
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske FordKyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletChase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletAustin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletRoss Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletTodd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports FordRyan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing FordChris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing FordAlex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletDaniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletAnthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports ChevroletErik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club ToyotaDaniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing ChevroletMartin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing ToyotaTy Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing ToyotaRicky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing ChevroletCorey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports ChevroletJimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club ToyotaTyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing ToyotaCarson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports ChevroletJJ Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
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Duel 2 starting positions
Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports FordAustin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske FordWilliam Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletKyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletHarrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing FordRiley Herbst, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing FordChase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing FordNoah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing FordRyan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske FordAJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing ChevroletJosh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing FordBrad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing FordDavid Ragan, No. 60 RFK Racing FordBubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing ToyotaJustin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing FordChristopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing ToyotaDenny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing ToyotaZane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletJohn Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club ToyotaBJ McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports ChevroletKaz Grala, No. 76 Front Row Motorsports Ford
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