Earnhardt draws Shootout pole
Dale Earnhardt Jr will start on pole position for tonight's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona - the traditional non-championship curtain-raiser for the NASCAR Sprint Cup season
The Hendrick driver is a double winner of the event, and starts first ahead of Stewart Haas' Tony Stewart, Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin on the grid, which is decided by a random draw.
Kevin Harvick, winner of the last two Shootouts, drew 18th place, while reigning series champion Jimmie Johnson is 23rd in the 24-car field.
This year all the 2010 Chase contenders, past champions, past Shootout winners, winners of any Cup race at Daytona and the last 10 Cup rookie of the year title-winners were eligible for the Shootout.
Earnhardt was fastest in the opening practice session for the event, with Gibbs driver Joey Logano - who starts 22nd - quickest in practice two.
Both sessions ran without drama bar a brief pause when a section of the track's floodlighting system stopped working.
Pos Driver Car 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 2. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 3. Carl Edwards Ford 4. Denny Hamlin Toyota 5. Kasey Kahne Toyota 6. Bobby Labonte Toyota 7. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 8. Ryan Newman Chevrolet 9. Derrike Cope Toyota 10. Michael Waltrip Toyota 11. Greg Biffle Ford 12. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 13. Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet 14. Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 15. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 16. Kevin Conway Toyota 17. Kurt Busch Dodge 18. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 19. Matt Kenseth Ford 20. Mark Martin Chevrolet 21. Kyle Busch Toyota 22. Joey Logano Toyota 23. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 24. Regan Smith Chevrolet
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
How real-time scrutineering ensures fair and consistent competition in motorsport
How MotoGP brakes work: Secrets of stopping a 220mph bike
Hyundai enacts contingency plan after WRC Kenya fuel issue
Vanwall working on 2025 WEC comeback with heavily-revised Hypercar
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments