Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and William Byron swept the front row in the Daytona 500 qualifying on Wednesday night, giving the team sixth pole position in the last seven races of the event.
Bowman took first place with a lap of 191.261 mph to grab his second Daytona 500 pole.
“I think it means a lot to Mr. H – he wants to win everything, like all categories, he wants to be at the top of the list,” said Bowman. “Here it all comes down to who built the fastest racing car. And I think it’s important for Hendrick Motorsports to show up and prove that she did it.”
Bowman’s chief of staff Greg Ives has put one of his cars in the front row for five consecutive years, dating from Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2017. Ives has never had a car match below third since becoming Cup chief of staff in 2015.
“We put a lot of time and effort into our motorway program. It is a show car. It is the height of the hotrods we bring from our racing workshop,” said Ives. “There is a lot of pride in every piece, in every car, from the paint to the last nut and bolt”.
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Qualifying now turns to The Duels, with the results of the twin 150-mile races on Thursday night used to define the rest of the initial lineup for the Daytona 500.
The duels are scheduled to air on FS1 starting at 7 pm EST and Daytona 500 on Fox at 2:30 pm EST on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report