Joe Nemechek will turn his attention to Thursday’s Gatorade Duel 150-mile qualifying race in order to gain a starting spot for the Feb. 18 Daytona 500.
Since Nemechek is with a new team for Ginn Racing and doesn’t have an automatic berth, he will have to race his way into Sunday’s Daytona 500, meaning he will have to be one of the top-two finishers among the drivers in his race who also need to qualify.
“We know what we have to do and just have to go out and get the job done, ” said Nemechek, driver of the blue and white No. 13 CertainTeed Chevrolet. “We didn’t have enough speed today to get locked into the Daytona 500. We need to be aggressive, but we also to need to play it smart on Thursday. “
Nemechek was the 47th-fastest among the 61 cars to make qualifying attempts on Sunday. Pole Day locked in the front row for the Daytona 500. The pole went to David Gilliland and the outside pole was captured by Ricky Rudd.
“The wind played havoc today and we just didn’t have it right, ” offered Nemechek. “Sometimes it’s a guessing game and today the dice didn’t roll in our favor. “
Nemechek’s blue and white CertainTeed Chevy covered the 2.5-mile oval Sunday in 49.322 seconds at 182.474 miles per hour.
| 
|