Harvick takes Nationwide pole
Kevin Harvick claimed the first Nationwide Series pole position of the season in qualifying for the Camping World 300
Harvick set a fastest lap of 49.779 seconds at an average speed of 180.799 mph driving his own team's No.33 Chevy. The two-time champion of the second-tier series is still looking for his first victory driving for his own team.
"It just makes you feel good that all the hard work and effort that the guys put in," said Harvick. "We really needed to work in details making everything better from out race here in July. They just did a great job, all I did was seat in it. I didn't have to do a lot with [the pole lap].
"The car drives really good in the draft and that's what's important here so hopefully we'll end up in the same spot tomorrow.
It wasn't all good news for Harvick on Friday though as he had to switch to his back up car for the Daytona 500, following contact with the wall during practice. He will start from the back of the field on Sunday.
The qualifying session was the first competitive outing for teams and drivers in the Nationwide series following a quiet off-season on the track, as similar to the Sprint Cup series there has been a testing-ban in place since the end of last season.
Matt Kenseth qualified second, followed by defending champion Clint Bowyer who drives the No.29 Richard Childress Chevy this season. Jason Leffler was best among the series' regulars in fourth and also the best of the Toyotas.
Meanwhile Tony Stewart wrapped up the top-five in the No.80 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy as he continues his good run at Daytona. Carl Edwards lined up in tenth, while Kyle Busch, who is set to run the whole season this year, qualified in 13th.
Dale Earnhardt Jr will also compete in the season-opener driving for his own team, lining up 24th on the grid.
With 49 cars entered for the race, six of them were left out of the field for Saturday's event.
Race line-up:
Pos Driver Make Speed Time 1. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 180.799 49.779 2. Matt Kenseth Ford 180.447 49.876 + 0.097 3. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 180.097 49.973 + 0.194 4. Jason Leffler Toyota 179.953 50.013 + 0.234 5. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 179.781 50.061 + 0.282 6. Greg Biffle Ford 179.745 50.071 + 0.292 7. Danny O'Quinn Jr Chevrolet 179.709 50.081 + 0.302 8. Joey Logano Toyota 179.698 50.084 + 0.305 9. David Ragan Ford 179.583 50.116 + 0.337 10. Carl Edwards Ford 179.505 50.138 + 0.359 11. Michael Waltrip Toyota 179.404 50.166 + 0.387 12. Jason Keller Ford 179.379 50.173 + 0.394 13. Kyle Busch Toyota 179.344 50.183 + 0.404 14. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 179.244 50.211 + 0.432 15. Brad Keselowski Chevrolet 179.161 50.234 + 0.455 16. DJ Kennington Dodge 179.087 50.255 + 0.476 17. Steve Wallace Chevrolet 178.934 50.298 + 0.519 18. Michael Annett Toyota 178.781 50.341 + 0.562 19. Scott Lagasse Jr Toyota 178.667 50.373 + 0.594 20. Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 178.600 50.392 + 0.613 21. Brian Keselowski Dodge 178.554 50.405 + 0.626 22. David Reutimann Toyota 178.550 50.406 + 0.627 23. Kenny Hendrick Dodge 178.518 50.415 + 0.636 24. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 178.511 50.417 + 0.638 25. Mike Bliss Chevrolet 178.501 50.420 + 0.641 26. Kertus Davis Chevrolet 178.405 50.447 + 0.668 27. Brian Vickers Toyota 178.303 50.476 + 0.697 28. Mike Wallace Chevrolet 178.288 50.480 + 0.701 29. Robert Richardson Jr Chevrolet 178.158 50.517 + 0.738 30. Mike Harmon Chevrolet 178.126 50.526 + 0.747 31. Mark Green Chevrolet 178.087 50.537 + 0.758 32. Justin Allgaier Dodge 177.834 50.609 + 0.830 33. John Wes Townley Ford 177.809 50.616 + 0.837 34. Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 177.522 50.698 + 0.919 35. Brendan Gaughan Chevrolet 177.270 50.770 + 0.991 36. Eric McClure Ford 177.155 50.803 + 1.024 37. David Green Toyota 176.267 51.059 + 1.280 38. Tony Raines Chevrolet 176.205 51.077 + 1.298 39. Brandon Whitt Ford 176.180 51.084 + 1.305 40. Jeff Green Chevrolet 176.008 51.134 + 1.355 41. Michael McDowell Toyota 175.929 51.157 + 1.378 42. Donnie Neuenberger Chevrolet 168.536 53.401 + 3.622 43. Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 177.581 50.681 + 0.902
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