Daytona 500 Pole Set

Jimmy Johnson will be on the pole this upcoming Sunday for the Daytona 500. Michael Waltrip will be next to him on the outside of the front row.

Last Sunday during qualifying, Johnson was the only driver to top 187 mph, as he powered his No. 48 Chevrolet around 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway in 48.109 seconds (187.075 mph). Waltrip, the 48th of 53 drivers to attempt qualifying, ran more than a half-second faster than Johnson on his first of two laps but couldn't squeeze enough speed out of the second lap to knock the defending Cup champion off the pole. Waltrip covered the distance in 48.197 seconds (186.734 mph) in his No. 55 Toyota.

So now on to the rest of qualifying. The Gatorade Duel, is NASCAR Sprint Cup preliminary event to the Daytona 500. It consists of two 150-mile races, and serves as a qualifying race for the Daytona 500. The finishing order in the two 150-mile races, held tomorrow, determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500 held on Sunday. Drivers participate in one of the two races. Half the field entered for the Daytona 500 races in the first race, and the other half the second. The finishing order of the first race fills the odd positions of the starting grid (inside of each row), and the finishing order for the second race fills the even positions of the starting grid (outside of each row).