Carl Edwards, Roush Fenway Racing and Ford stole the spotlight Sunday from Kyle Busch, who won Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout.
Edwards, who drives the No. 99 RFR Ford, zoomed to the Daytona 500 pole position by posting the fastest lap over Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5-mile tri-oval in 13 years.
Edwards was clocked by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series officials at 194.738 mph, just clipping the effort of teammate Greg Biffle, who was pegged at 194.087 mph in the No. 16 Ford.
The pair will start side by side Sunday. Daytona Beach News-Journal
“This is a very, very speedy Fastenal [Ford] Fusion, and I appreciate [crew chief] Bob Osborne and all the work he’s done,” Edwards said. “[Engine builder] Doug Yates—the engines are so important in this.
“It’s neat to come down here and to be so fast and to really have fun qualifying here. We’ve struggled so much in the past, and so many guys have put so much effort in this offseason.”
Last year’s pole winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., had the strongest Chevrolet in the field, but his third-place qualifying effort at 194.028 mph earned him nothing more than a front-row starting spot in Thursday’s Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying race.
“The guys did a great job on putting the car out there for qualifying,” Earnhardt said. “We weren’t really seeing that kind of speed in the car [Saturday]. We made a lot of changes, and I’m sure we got some help—a good push of wind down the back straightaway as well.
“But the guys did a great job. The engine shop did a great job, too. All the guys worked really hard on the body. They took this thing apart several times this winter, trying to make it as good as they could, and we can’t appreciate their help enough.” NASCAR.com
Marcos Ambrose qualifies fourth, followed by Casey Mears.
Jeff Gordon, Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne, the defending Daytona 500 winner, and Tony Stewart, who is the reigning series champion, were sixth through 10th, respectively.
While Edwards and Biffle have secured the front row for the Daytona 500, the remaining 43-car field for the 54th running of NASCAR’s most prestigious race of the season will be determined in Thursday’s Gatorade Duel twin 150-mile qualifying races.
The top-35 in last year’s owner points are guaranteed a starting position in the Daytona 500. Three drivers outside the top-35—Bayne, Tony Raines and David Stremme—have also locked down a starting spot in the race based on their qualifying speeds. Terry Labonte has at least earned the champion’s provisional spot.
Danica Patrick, making her Sprint Cup debut at Daytona, finished 29th with a lap at 191.738 m.p.h. During her two-lap run, Patrick had steam emerge from the front hood of her No.7 Chevrolet.
“It was a nice, smooth line up top, and I tried to let it free up out of the corners on the bottom, watching some video stuff from [Saturday],” she said. “Everything felt fine. It got a little hot in the water. I had some water blowing out of the car.”
Patrick already has a starting spot secured in the 500-mile race based on the top-35 in points. She is expected to become the third female to compete in the Daytona 500, joining Janet Guthrie and Shawna Robinson.
“It’s nice to be fast, but anything can happen on any given Sunday,” Patrick added. “So the important thing is that the car doesn’t have any dents or get into any accidents in the Duels, and that we have a good car for [the Daytona 500].” MiamiHerald.com
Click Here to Read More:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Daytona 500 at Daytona - Race Line-Up
| 
|