Logano gets his first ever Daytona 500 pole
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The new Ford Dark Horse lived up to its nomenclature in Wednesday night’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session for Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Running the fastest lap in both rounds of the time trials, Team Penske’s Joey Logano put his car on the pole for the Great American Race, as he and Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell locked their Mustangs—featuring a new body style dubbed the Dark Horse—into the front row for the 500.
The Oxford dictionary defines “dark horse” as “a candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds.”
Logano secured his first Busch Light Pole Award at Daytona with a final-round lap in 49.465 seconds (181.947 mph), beating McDowell (181.686 mph) by 0.261 seconds. It is also the first DAYTONA 500 pole for Team Penske.
“This is all about the team,” said Logano, who scored the 29th pole of his career. “I’d like to take credit, but I can’t today. The guys have done such an amazing job working on these cars. Speedway qualifying is 100 percent the car.
“There’s only so much a driver can do, so I’m really proud of them. It’s a big win for our team… Finally, someone else wins the pole—that part feels good. I’ve never even been close to a superspeedway pole before, so my first pole on a speedway couldn’t be at a cooler event than the DAYTONA 500.”
But was his pole-winning run unexpected? Consider that Chevrolets had won the previous 11 DAYTONA 500 poles, that cars sporting Hendrick Motorsports power had won the previous nine and that Hendrick drivers had claimed the top starting spot in eight of the last nine years.
So, yes, the Fords found success in a car that was unknown and untried on a superspeedway.
Hendrick drivers Kyle Larson (181.635 mph), Chase Elliott (181.178 mph) and William Byron (181.174 mph) qualified third, fifth and sixth, respectively, with Ford driver and 2022 DAYTONA 500 winner Austin Cindric posting the fourth fastest final-round lap at 181.207 mph.
Richard Childress Racing teammates Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch were seventh and eighth fastest, followed by Ross Chastain and Harrison Burton.
But the only two drivers who know where they will start on Sunday are Logano and McDowell, both former DAYTONA 500 winners. The rest of the field will be set in Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel 150-mile qualifying races, with the odd-numbered qualifiers racing in Duel 1 and the even-numbered qualifiers competing in Duel 2.
Among those trying to race into the 500 is seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who failed to time into Sunday’s race in his No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota.
In fact, the Toyotas—also with a new body style this season—showed a jarring lack speed in single-car runs, with Erik Jones leading the manufacturer’s effort with a 22nd-place run. Johnson was 35th fastest.
In the race among six unchartered cars for four available spots, Kaz Grala was unable to make a qualifying run because of a mechanical failure on his No. 36 Ford, locking Anthony Alfredo (20th fastest overall) into Sunday’s race with a lap at 179.648 mph, fastest among the open cars.
“We’re in, and to not have to race in tomorrow and just remove ourselves for some of the sketchy circumstances and focus on Sunday is just an amazing, amazing feeling.”
David Ragan claimed the second guaranteed starting spot on speed among the unchartered cars when Johnson failed to better Ragan’s lap at 179.283 mph.
“I didn’t have a chance to beat Jimmie Johnson too often in my career when he and I were running week-in and week-out,” said Ragan, who hasn’t raced a Cup car since the regular-season finale of 2022 at Daytona. “So, I’ll take the small victories when I can. Yeah, that just shows you how close the competition is.”
Driving the No. 84 Toyota, third fastest of the open cars at 178.845 mph, Johnson must race his way into the DAYTONA 500 field in the first of the two Duels.
“I had higher expectations for sure, but we are lumped right there with the other Toyotas,” Johnson said. “The 43 (Erik Jones) car got a little more out of it, so I wish we had a bit more out of ours, but it is what it is. We will go out and race hard tomorrow night and try to make the 500.
“I’ve never been in this position, so I don’t know. I came down here mentally prepared to race my way in if that was required. I’m well studied. I spent a lot of time working on the environment of the Duels and the way the race will unfold. Just get out there and race hard and see how it unfolds.”
B.J. McLeod, J.J. Yeley and Grala will be competing with Johnson for the two remaining spots in the race.
DAYTONA 500 TIME TRIAL RESULTS
Daytona International Speedway
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Wednesday, 2/14/2024 @ 10:10 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Qualifying Record: Bill Elliott 02/15/87 42.783 210.364
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed Lap # # Laps -Fastest -Next
Qualifying Round: 2
1 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 49.465 181.947 1 1 0.000 0.000
2 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops Ford 49.536 181.686 1 1 0.071 0.071
3 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 49.550 181.635 1 1 0.085 0.014
4 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 49.667 181.207 1 1 0.202 0.117
5 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 49.675 181.178 1 1 0.210 0.008
6 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet 49.676 181.174 1 1 0.211 0.001
7 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 49.705 181.068 1 1 0.240 0.029
8 8 Kyle Busch Zone Chevrolet 49.725 180.995 1 1 0.260 0.020
9 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Chevrolet 49.756 180.883 1 1 0.291 0.031
10 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford 49.909 180.328 1 1 0.444 0.153
*Required to qualify on time, OP - Top 30 in Owner Points, PC - Past Champion,(i)Ineligible for driver points in this series
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed Lap # # Laps -Fastest -Next
Qualifying Round: 1
1 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 49.641 181.302 1 1 0.000 0.000
2 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 49.730 180.977 1 1 0.089 0.089
3 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 49.745 180.923 1 1 0.104 0.015
4 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet 49.776 180.810 1 1 0.135 0.031
5 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 49.782 180.788 1 1 0.141 0.006
6 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops Ford 49.783 180.785 1 1 0.142 0.001
7 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 49.799 180.727 1 1 0.158 0.016
8 8 Kyle Busch Zone Chevrolet 49.824 180.636 1 1 0.183 0.025
9 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Chevrolet 49.837 180.589 1 1 0.196 0.013
10 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford 49.903 180.350 1 1 0.262 0.066
11 38 Todd Gilliland gener8tor Ford 49.906 180.339 1 1 0.265 0.003
12 15 Riley Herbst(i) Monster Energy Ford 49.946 180.195 1 1 0.305 0.040
13 41 Ryan Preece HaasTooling.com Ford 49.952 180.173 1 1 0.311 0.006
14 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 49.966 180.122 1 1 0.325 0.014
15 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 49.978 180.079 1 1 0.337 0.012
16 10 Noah Gragson Black Rifle Coffee/Ranger Boats Ford 49.979 180.076 1 1 0.338 0.001
17 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 49.996 180.014 1 1 0.355 0.017
18 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/PEAK Ford 50.003 179.989 1 1 0.362 0.007
19 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 50.058 179.791 1 1 0.417 0.055
20 62 * Anthony Alfredo(i) Death Wish Coffee Chevrolet 50.098 179.648 1 1 0.457 0.040
21 16 AJ Allmendinger(i) Celsius Chevrolet 50.101 179.637 1 1 0.460 0.003
22 43 Erik Jones AdventHealth Toyota 50.101 179.637 1 1 0.460 0.000
23 4 Josh Berry # SunnyD Ford 50.102 179.634 1 1 0.461 0.001
24 31 Daniel Hemric Cirkul Chevrolet 50.133 179.522 1 1 0.492 0.031
25 6 Brad Keselowski Castrol Edge Ford 50.170 179.390 1 1 0.529 0.037
26 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 50.177 179.365 1 1 0.536 0.007
27 60 * David Ragan BuildSubmarines.com Ford 50.200 179.283 1 1 0.559 0.023
28 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald's Toyota 50.208 179.254 1 1 0.567 0.008
29 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 50.220 179.211 1 1 0.579 0.012
30 51 Justin Haley TreeTop Apple Juice/Jacob Ford 50.226 179.190 1 1 0.585 0.006
31 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Boost by Kroger.Cottonelle Chevrolet 50.231 179.172 1 1 0.590 0.005
32 20 Christopher Bell DEWALT/Interstate Batteries Toyota 50.251 179.101 1 1 0.610 0.020
33 7 Corey LaJoie Chili's Catch-a-Rita Chevrolet 50.261 179.065 1 1 0.620 0.010
34 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Toyota 50.293 178.951 1 1 0.652 0.032
35 84 * Jimmie Johnson Carvana Toyota 50.323 178.845 1 1 0.682 0.030
36 45 Tyler Reddick Nasty Beast Toyota 50.334 178.806 1 1 0.693 0.011
37 71 Zane Smith # WeatherTech Chevrolet 50.485 178.271 1 1 0.844 0.151
38 77 Carson Hocevar # Gainbridge/Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 50.589 177.904 1 1 0.948 0.104
39 42 John Hunter Nemechek Dollar Tree Toyota 50.608 177.837 1 1 0.967 0.019
40 78 * BJ McLeod(i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 50.749 177.343 1 1 1.108 0.141
41 44 * JJ Yeley(i) 100 Coconut Water Chevrolet 51.261 175.572 1 1 1.620 0.512
42 36 * Kaz Grala # Ruedebusch Ford 0.000 0.000 0 0 ----- -----
*Required to qualify on time, OP - Top 30 in Owner Points, PC - Past Champion,(i)Ineligible for driver points in this series
DAYTONA 500 DUEL 1
Starting Line Up by Row
Daytona International Speedway
Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 at DAYTONA
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Wednesday, 2/14/2024 @ 10:37 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Bill Elliott 02/08/87 00:15:10 197.802
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 0.000 0.000
2 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Row 2: 3 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
4 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Row 3: 5 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
6 38 Todd Gilliland gener8tor Ford 0.000 0.000
Row 4: 7 41 Ryan Preece HaasTooling.com Ford 0.000 0.000
8 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 0.000 0.000
Row 5: 9 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
10 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Row 6: 11 62 Anthony Alfredo(i) Death Wish Coffee Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
12 43 Erik Jones AdventHealth Toyota 0.000 0.000
Row 7: 13 31 Daniel Hemric Cirkul Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
14 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 0.000 0.000
Row 8: 15 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 0.000 0.000
16 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Boost by Kroger.Cottonelle Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Row 9: 17 7 Corey LaJoie Chili's Catch-a-Rita Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
18 84 Jimmie Johnson Carvana Toyota 0.000 0.000
Row 10: 19 45 Tyler Reddick Nasty Beast Toyota 0.000 0.000
20 77 Carson Hocevar # Gainbridge/Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Row 11: 21 44 JJ Yeley*(i) 100 Coconut Water Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 12 0 Toyota 5 0
Ford 4 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
DAYTONA DUEL 2
Starting Line Up by Row
Daytona International Speedway
Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 at DAYTONA
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Wednesday, 2/14/2024 @ 10:37 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Bill Elliott 02/08/87 00:15:10 197.802
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops Ford 0.000 0.000
2 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 0.000 0.000
Row 2: 3 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
4 8 Kyle Busch Zone Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Row 3: 5 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford 0.000 0.000
6 15 Riley Herbst(i) Monster Energy Ford 0.000 0.000
Row 4: 7 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 0.000 0.000
8 10 Noah Gragson Black Rifle Coffee/Ranger Boats Ford 0.000 0.000
Row 5: 9 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/PEAK Ford 0.000 0.000
10 16 AJ Allmendinger(i) Celsius Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Row 6: 11 4 Josh Berry # SunnyD Ford 0.000 0.000
12 6 Brad Keselowski Castrol Edge Ford 0.000 0.000
Row 7: 13 60 David Ragan * BuildSubmarines.com Ford 0.000 0.000
14 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald's Toyota 0.000 0.000
Row 8: 15 51 Justin Haley TreeTop Apple Juice/Jacob Ford 0.000 0.000
16 20 Christopher Bell DEWALT/Interstate Batteries Toyota 0.000 0.000
Row 9: 17 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Toyota 0.000 0.000
18 71 Zane Smith # WeatherTech Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Row 10: 19 42 John Hunter Nemechek Dollar Tree Toyota 0.000 0.000
20 78 BJ McLeod(i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Row 11: 21 36 Kaz Grala # Ruedebusch Ford 0.000 0.000
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Ford 12 0 Chevrolet 5 0
Toyota 4 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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