Bowman – Pole And Hamlin – Second – Top Qualifiers For Daytona 500

Alex Bowman qualifies on the pole with a time of 46.002 seconds and a speed of 195.644 mph for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500. [Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images]

By Joe Jennings

Alex Bowman captured the pole for the 60th Daytona 500 by speeding around the Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval at a speed of 195.644 miles per hour. Replacing the newly-retired Dale Earnhardt Jr., the 24-year old Arizona native put the Nationwide Chevrolet in the first position for next Sunday’s “Great American Race” to give Hendrick Motorsports its fourth consecutive Daytona 500 pole.

Admitting his team was gunning for the pole, Bowman led both rounds of single-car qualifications, increasing his speed in round two by nearly two mph. “I thought we were at a little disadvantage letting the car cool down as much as we did because we went out so early in the first round, I was a little nervous in round two but everything worked out,” Bowman said. “This really comes down to the crew and everyone in the shop as they work so hard on these speedway cars, especially for the (Daytona) 500.

Denny Hamlin will start on the front row after qualifying second for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500. [Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images]

2016 500 winner Denny Hamlin put the FedEx Express Toyota in the second slot with a speed of 195.092 mph.

Said Hamlin, who had never qualified for the front row in a restrictor plate race, “I am ecstatic (with the outcome). This comes out of the blue as I expected this to be a tough day qualifying, as we had concentrated on race trim in practice. We only did one mock (qualifying run) and we were far off, so we concentrated on Thursday.”

These two drivers are the only ones locked into their starting positions for the 500 and the remaining spots will be determined through the finishing order of Thursday evening’s two Can-Am Duel events.

38 of the 40 entrants took a timed run with Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, rookie William Byron, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott rounding out the top-10 in qualifications.

The Can-Am Duels will flag off at 7 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 2 on Thursday.

Joe Jennings

racingnation.com

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