Yates duo on front row at Daytona
Robert Yates Racing drivers David Gilliland and Ricky Rudd have secured the front row of the grid for the Daytona 500 after being fastest among the 61 drivers who qualified on Sunday for the Nextel Cup season opener
After being quickest on Saturday practice in preparation for qualifying, all eyes were on returning veteran Ricky Rudd to take pole. However, he could not beat the speed set by his teammate David Gilliland.
Gilliland, who will start his first Daytona 500 from pole position, set a speed of 186.320 mph driving his No. 38 Snickers Ford, while Rudd was more than a tenth of a second slower in second, with a speed of 185.609 mph.
Just as impressive as the Robert Yates Racing duo were Ganassi drivers David Stremme and Juan Pablo Montoya.
The Colombian, entering his first Daytona 500, was the 30th driver on the track and set the second fastest speed behind Gilliland.
However, he was later bumped by Stremme with a speed of 185.487 mph, relative to the 185.338, previously set by Montoya. The former Formula One star was still fastest among the rookies.
Among the previous Daytona 500 champions, Jeff Gordon was the fastest in qualifying, finishing the session in seventh. Teammate and current Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson qualified tenth.
Fastest among the Toyotas were Michael Waltrip Racing driver David Reutimann and Bill Davis racer Jeremy Mayfield. However, both will have to secure their place on the grid on the Gatorade Duels on Thursday.
With only the front row of the grid for the Daytona 500 set so far, positions 3 to 39 will be determined by the finishing orders of the Duels. The drivers who qualified on Sunday will be split into two groups for the two 150-mile races.
The final four spots of the grid are determined based on the qualifying speeds from the cars that did not earn a starting position based on owner points status or finishing position in the Duels.
However, the last spot on the starting field could go to a former champion who is eligible to use the champions provisional rule.
Daytona 500 Qualifying results:
Pos Driver Make Speed Time 1. David Gilliland Ford 186.320 48.304 2. Ricky Rudd Ford 185.609 48.489 + 0.185 3. David Stremme Dodge 185.487 48.521 + 0.217 4. Juan Montoya Dodge 185.338 48.560 + 0.256 5. David Ragan Ford 185.300 48.570 + 0.266 6. Boris Said Ford 185.212 48.593 + 0.289 7. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 185.079 48.628 + 0.324 8. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 184.945 48.663 + 0.359 9. Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 184.850 48.688 + 0.384 10. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 184.767 48.710 + 0.406 11. Matt Kenseth Ford 184.638 48.744 + 0.440 12. Casey Mears Chevrolet 184.634 48.745 + 0.441 13. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 184.509 48.778 + 0.474 14. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 184.449 48.794 + 0.490 15. David Reutimann Toyota 184.419 48.802 + 0.498 16. Jeremy Mayfield Toyota 184.351 48.820 + 0.516 17. JJ Yeley Chevrolet 184.336 48.824 + 0.520 18. Mike Skinner Toyota 184.324 48.827 + 0.523 19. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 184.260 48.844 + 0.540 20. Elliott Sadler Dodge 184.256 48.845 + 0.541 21. Jamie McMurray Ford 184.211 48.857 + 0.553 22. Martin Truex Jr Chevrolet 184.139 48.876 + 0.572 23. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 184.008 48.911 + 0.607 24. Bobby Labonte Dodge 184.000 48.913 + 0.609 25. Michael Waltrip Toyota 183.899 48.940 + 0.636 26. Regan Smith Chevrolet 183.865 48.949 + 0.645 27. Jeff Green Chevrolet 183.662 49.003 + 0.699 28. Kasey Kahne Dodge 183.610 49.017 + 0.713 29. Ryan Newman Dodge 183.602 49.019 + 0.715 30. Greg Biffle Ford 183.535 49.037 + 0.733 31. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 183.494 49.048 + 0.744 32. Ward Burton Chevrolet 183.464 49.056 + 0.752 33. Paul Menard Chevrolet 183.426 49.066 + 0.762 34. Kyle Petty Dodge 183.329 49.092 + 0.788 35. Mark Martin Chevrolet 183.266 49.109 + 0.805 36. Tony Raines Chevrolet 183.094 49.155 + 0.851 37. Kurt Busch Dodge 183.068 49.162 + 0.858 38. Robby Gordon Ford 183.050 49.167 + 0.863 39. Dave Blaney Toyota 183.035 49.171 + 0.867 40. AJ Allmendinger Toyota 182.856 49.219 + 0.915 41. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 182.771 49.242 + 0.938 42. Kevin Lepage Dodge 182.711 49.258 + 0.954 43. Bill Elliott Dodge 182.708 49.259 + 0.955 44. Reed Sorenson Dodge 182.559 49.299 + 0.995 45. Brian Vickers Toyota 182.508 49.313 + 1.009 46. Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 182.500 49.315 + 1.011 47. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 182.474 49.322 + 1.018 48. Ken Schrader Ford 182.452 49.328 + 1.024 49. Scott Riggs Dodge 182.437 49.332 + 1.028 50. Dale Jarrett Toyota 182.061 49.434 + 1.130 51. Carl Edwards Ford 182.020 49.445 + 1.141 52. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 181.976 49.457 + 1.153 53. Frank Kimmel Ford 181.693 49.534 + 1.230 54. Mike Bliss Dodge 181.540 49.576 + 1.272 55. Eric McClure Chevrolet 181.269 49.650 + 1.346 56. Stanton Barrett Chevrolet 181.163 49.679 + 1.375 57. Kirk Shelmerdine Chevrolet 181.127 49.689 + 1.385 58. Brandon Whitt Chevrolet 180.473 49.869 + 1.565 59. Derrike Cope Dodge 180.354 49.902 + 1.598 60. James Hylton Chevrolet 179.637 50.101 + 1.797 61. Mike Wallace Chevrolet 171.305 52.538 + 4.234
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