DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When the 67th Daytona 500 begins on Sunday, the sector might be chasing Chase Briscoe, who gave Toyota its first-ever pole in NASCAR’s greatest race.
Briscoe gained the pole at 182.745 miles per hour within the No. 19 Bass Professional Outlets Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
“A good way to start out our season, unbelievable solution to begin off the yr, unbelievable solution to begin off with Toyota,” mentioned Briscoe, a local of Mitchell, Indiana. “To have the ability to be the man to ship them the primary something after they’ve already completed a lot is fairly cool.
“Man, to suppose I’m going to start out on the entrance row or on the pole of the nice American race with finally the nice American model of Bass Professional Outlets is unbelievable. I can’t thank Coach (Joe) Gibbs sufficient, the whole Joe Gibbs Racing group. The entire low season all people saved telling me the main target was making an attempt to qualify higher at superspeedways. That’s one thing I actually struggled eventually yr. For our 19 group to come back right here and sit on the pole on the greatest race of the yr is fairly particular.
“I can’t consider it. Tremendous appreciative of this chance with Bass Professional, Toyota, Joe Gibbs. Unbelievable solution to begin our season. Hopefully we are able to carry it on now.”
Briscoe will begin on the pole for each the Daytona 500 and Thursday evening’s first Duel.
“I don’t know if this modifications our strategy, if we attempt to simply lay again down or what. In truth, I want to race and no less than really feel my automotive out.
“It’s laborious to ever know what you’ve gotten in apply. I felt like in apply, my automotive was actually, actually good. To go on the market in qualifying and do the lap we did, man, I suppose I used to be proper.
“Curious to see the way it’s going to race. I really feel like our automotive undoubtedly has velocity; it’s only a matter if it’s going to race good.
“I don’t know if this modifications our strategy for tomorrow evening. It’s good to start out up entrance and decide our personal future.”
Group Penske’s Austin Cindric was the second quickest at 182.463 miles per hour within the No. 2 Low cost Tire Ford for Group Penske.
“It’s clearly an enormous credit score to the fellows on the two automotive, constructing a very quick race automotive, lots of quick Fords within the subject, actually cool,” Cindric mentioned. “Beginning pole could be higher. Chase and I haven’t in contrast race leads to our whole profession, simply take jabs at one another for qualifying outcomes. This one goes to sting for some time.
“Congratulations to him and Coach and people guys. Fairly good to start out on the entrance row with certainly one of my good buddies. All in all, an incredible field checked for the beginning of this week. I believe each single a part of this weekend is vital to organising with a chance to win this race on Sunday.
“That’s one other one, pit choice, clearly controlling your future at the beginning of the race. We’ll attempt to do one of the best we are able to to study our automotive tomorrow evening.
“Yeah, good begin.”
Briscoe and Cindric are the one two drivers who’re locked right into a beginning place for the 67th Daytona 500. The rest of the order might be decided in Thursday evening’s two Blue Inexperienced Holidays Duels qualifying races.
Truex & Johnson Lock In
Former NASCAR Cup Sequence champions Martin Truex Jr. and seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson have been the 2 Open drivers locked into the sector based mostly on lap velocity.
Truex was twenty second at 181.302 miles per hour within the No. 56 Tricon Storage Toyota. Johnson was twenty ninth within the No. 84 Toyota for Legacy Motor Membership at 180.785 mph.
Last Spherical
Within the closing spherical of {qualifications}, Kyle Larson was first out within the closing spherical and ran a lap at 181.737 miles per hour within the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Denny Hamlin was subsequent within the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and turned a lap at 182.138 mph.
Josh Berry took over the No. 1 positions at 182.275 mph within the No. 21 Wooden Brothers Racing Ford.
That didn’t final lengthy as Group Penske’s Joey Logano raced across the 2.5-mile Daytona Int’l Speedway at 182.341 miles per hour within the No. 22 Shell Chevrolet.
Cindric knocked off Logano within the No. 2 Low cost Tire Ford at 182.463 mph.
That left Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe.
Preece wasn’t fairly quick sufficient to take the pole with a lap at 182.426 mph within the No. 60 Ford.
However no person was sooner than Briscoe, who gave Toyota its first-ever Daytona 500 pole at 182.745 mph within the No. 19 Bass Professional Outlets Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
By the point it was over, it was Briscoe first adopted by Cindric, Preece, Logano, Berry, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Bell, Ty Dillon and Larson.
Group Penske made up two of the top-four spots within the closing spherical.
Castroneves Unable Lock In On Time
4-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will begin his first NASCAR Cup Sequence race within the Daytona 500 due to NASCAR waiver — an “Open Exemption Provisional” for “World Class Drivers.” The Indy 500 legend hoped to make the race based mostly on velocity.
As an alternative, his lap wasn’t quick sufficient at 179.752 miles per hour within the No. 91 Wendy’s Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing’s Project91 entry to advance on velocity among the many Open Entries.
“This morning, the lap wasn’t that unhealthy, so possibly it was completely different atmospheric circumstances,” Castroneves mentioned. “Man, that’s not what I anticipated.
“We’re going to race our means in tomorrow evening.”
The variety of automobiles that may begin Sunday’s Daytona 500 might be decided by Castroneves. If he doesn’t race his means into the lineup as one of many two drivers that may advance in every of Thursday evening’s Blue Inexperienced Holidays Duels, he will get the NASCAR provisional and 41 automobiles will line up for the race. That would be the most to start out the Daytona 500 since 2015, when 43-car beginning lineups was nonetheless the usual.
The caveat, although, is that entry is not going to obtain any prize cash or factors for Trackhouse Racing.
If Castroneves ought to advance via the Duels, 40 automobiles would begin, and that entry would high quality for prize cash and factors.
Trackhouse was the one group that subject an entry for the “Open Exemption Provisional” earlier than the 90-day deadline and Castroneves is the one driver that qualifies for it.
When every automotive accomplished its qualification try within the first session, there have been loads of big-name drivers that missed the minimize as solely the highest 10 superior.
These included Alex Bowman (twelfth), Kyle Busch (thirteenth), Chase Elliott (fifteenth), Brad Keselowski (sixteenth), Chris Buescher (18th), Ryan Blaney (twentieth) and defending Daytona 500 winner William Byron (twenty first).
First Spherical
Chase Briscoe was the fasted in Spherical One at 182.860 mph within the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota adopted by Ryan Preece within the No. 60 Ford at 182.349 mph, 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric within the No. 2 Ford at 182.297 mph, three-time and defending NASCAR Cup Sequence Champion Joey Logano within the No. 22 Shell Ford at 182.183 mph and Ty Dillon within the No. 10 Chevrolet at 181.965 mph.
Positions 6-10 have been so as rookie Josh Berry within the No. 21 Wooden Brothers Ford at 181.877 mph, Austin Dillon within the No. 3 Chevrolet at 181.866 mph, Christopher Bell within the No. 20 Toyota at 181.848 mph, Denny Hamlin within the No. 11 Toyota at 181.833 mph and Kyle Larson within the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 181.803 mph.
These 10 drivers went out in inverse order to find out the entrance row for the 67th Daytona 500.
