Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Alex Bowman changed car numbers for the 2021 season – from 88 to 48 – but he certainly kept his Daytona magic, winning pole position for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (14:30 ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), giving to Hendrick The motorsports driver got his fourth consecutive start record on the front row of the NASCAR Cup Series.
Bowman, 27, came out at the end of the qualifying order (38 out of 44 drivers) on Wednesday night – the first night pole qualifying session in race history – but his Chevrolet easily set the pace with a lap of 191.261 mph (47.056 seconds). , taking first place from teammate Hendrick Motorsports William Byron for more than a quarter of a second.
“It was fast,” said Byron, smiling about Bowman’s lap in pole position.
RELATED: Complete Lineups for Duel Races | Qualifying speeds
Hendrick’s teammates also started side by side in 2019, when Byron beat Bowman for pole position. Bowman took his first pole at the Daytona 500 in 2018 and started second last year. Hendrick Motorsports now has 14 pole positions in Daytona 500.
“It doesn’t have much to do with me, right,” Bowman said on the pit road after qualifying. “It’s a testament to these guys and everyone at the Hendrick Motorsports store. They work so hard in these super speed cars. They look great when they reach the race track. Our Ally Camaro has been very fast since we unloaded and they were very focused on trying to get pole for the Daytona 500.
“It means a lot to us and we were able to achieve it.”
And, he added, “It’s more about the people who make this happen. I stepped on the floor, but I’m sure everyone else too. I’m just thankful that my race car is fast. “
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola was third fastest in the 10th Ford, followed on the speed chart by Bubba Wallace, who received great reviews on his debut driving the 23XI Racing Toyota No. 23, which is a three-time joint ownership. and defending Daytona 500 winning driver Denny Hamlin and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. Wallace’s lap was good enough for Byron to take first place three cars later.
Wallace was the fastest in an hour of training on Wednesday afternoon – his first official laps with the new organization and he was clearly feeling optimistic about the week. He finished as runner-up on his first Daytona 500 in 2018.
RELATED: Bubba Leads Opening Practice | Bubba Wallace: ‘We are doing great things’
“Everything is getting ready to be a big end for us, we just have to get over it,” said Wallace. “It is more or less the same feeling I had in 2018, my first 500. The speed was there, we qualified decently and we had a very good duel and finished second in the 500.
“I think that the way things are going, we just have to continue, keep the momentum positive. Everything is going well in the car. I am confident. I’m still working things out, but in general it’s very natural when you have a great team behind you. “
Wallace said he received a “very positive” message from Jordan after qualifying and said the basketball star arrives in Daytona on Thursday in time for the Bluegreen vacation duel (7:00 pm ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio ) that will set the start schedule for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
Hamlin, the three-time winner of the Daytona 500, was 12th fastest in qualifying. The two joked about Wallace being faster.
“I’m aware,” said Hamlin with a smile, adding: “In fact, it’s a pretty solid qualifying effort for our FedEx team, just a little bit out of the top 10 there, so it’s a good starting point for us and we’re excited about it.
“Obviously, it was a great race for team 23. They almost missed there by a tenth or more to get it locked in place (in the front row). But now they can go out there and run and get the experience they need to get a good submission on Sunday. “
In terms of speed, last year’s polesitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. proved to be fast again – the fifth fastest in the JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford), Christopher Bell (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota), Ryan Preece (No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet), winner of the Daytona 500 2018 Austin Dillon (No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) and Daniel Suarez (No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet) completed the top 10.
Pre-selection and 13th place David Ragan were the fastest among open car teams that need to qualify based on time. The rest of the drivers of the Open Car team – Austin Cindric, Kaz Grala, Timmy Hill, Noah Gragson, Ty Dillon and Garrett Smithley – will have to battle in the duel races with the best finisher between them in each duel winning a spot in the Daytona 500 .
Gragson failed the pre-qualification inspection three times and missed the lap in his Chevrolet No. 62 Beard Motorsports. A No. 62 crew member was also ejected as a result of failures in the prequalification inspection.
Bluegreen Vacation Duel 1 is scheduled for 7pm ET starting Thursday, while Bluegreen Vacation Duel 2 is set for 9pm ET soon after. Both will air live on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Contributing: NASCAR.com team reports