Track Qualifying Record: Bill Elliott, 210.364mph, February 1987

Track Qualifying Record with Restrictor Plate: Ken Schrader, 196.996, February 1989

2009 Daytona 500 Pole Sitter: #1-Martin Truex Jr., 188.001, finished 27th

2009 Coke Zero 500 Pole Sitter: #14-Tony Stewart, set by points due to rain, 1st

Fastest Last Practice Speed: #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 188.679mph, scheduled to qualify 6th out of 54 drivers

Gatorade Duel at Daytona - Fast Facts:
. Jimmie Johnson won the Gatorade Duel at Daytona #1, his first victory in the Daytona 500 qualifying event. His previous best finish was third (2004 and 2009).
. Michael McDowell (14th) and Max Papis (15th) earned the two transfer spots in Gatorade Duel #1. It will be the first Daytona 500 start for both drivers.
. The margin of victory in Gatorade Duel #1 was .005 seconds. That was the second-closest Duel finish since the inception of electronic scoring in 1993. The closest was .004 seconds in the second Duel of 2001 [Mike Skinner beat Dale Earnhardt Jr.]
. Kasey Kahne won the Gatorade Duel at Daytona #2, his first victory in the Daytona 500 qualifying event. His previous best finish was fourth (2008).
. Mike Bliss (13th) and Scott Speed (14th) earned the two transfer spots in Gatorade Duel #2. It will be Bliss’ third Daytona 500 start, and Speed’s second.
. Earning a spot in the Daytona 500 via their qualifying time: Bill Elliott, Joe Nemechek, Bobby Labonte and Michael Waltrip. (NASCAR Statistics)(2-11-2010)

Kahne wins Gatorade Duel 2: #9-Kasey Kahne won the 2nd Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway, beating #14-Tony Stewart by a couple of inches. #42-Montoya was 3rd followed by #2-Busch & #19-Sadler. #36-Bliss finished 13th and #82-Speed finished 14th and were the two go-or-go homers to race into the Daytona 500. #51-Waltrip gets in by his qualifying speed since #82-Speed raced into the Daytona 500. Bliss raced his way in, after wrecking in practice and made it in running a backup car. #71-Labonte makes the race by his speed and will start 42nd.
The eleven drivers who did not qualify for the Daytona 500: #90-Mears, #49-Gilliland, #75-Cope, #09-Almirola, #66-Blaney, #92-MWallace, #57-Benning, #32-Sorenson, #97-Fuller, #46-Cook & #27-TBodine
See race results on my Gatorade Duel 150's results page.(2-11-2010)

Johnson wins Gatorade Duel 1: #48-Jimmie Johnson won the 1st Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway, beating #29-Kevin Harvick by about an inch [margin of victory was .005 seconds]. #18-Busch was 3rd, followed by #33-Bowyer & #78-Smith. #55-McDowell finished 14th and #13-Papis finished 15th and were the two go-or-go homers to race into the Daytona 500. #51-Waltrip finished 25th and failed to race in. Waltrip can only make the Daytona if either #71-Labonte or #82-Speed race their way into the Daytona 500 and not have to fall back on their speeds. #36-Bliss, who will run the 2nd race, can get in via speed only if BOTH #71-Labonte or #82-Speed race their way in.
See race results on my Gatorade Duel 150's results page.(2-11-2010)

Gatorade Duel 150 Race 1 & 2 Starting Lineups

Martin wins pole for Daytona 500: #5-Mark Martin won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway with a lap of 191.188mph [3 mph faster then last years pole of 188.001] for his 1st career Daytona 500 pole and 49th pole of his career. #5-Mark Martin is the oldest pole sitter ever for a Sprint Cup race at Daytona at 51 years, 0 months, 27 says (Dale Jarrett held the record at 48 years, 2 months, 17 days). #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the outside pole. Martin and Earnhardt Jr. are the only two drivers with their starting spots set for the Daytona 500. All other starting positions will be determined following the Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying races on Thursday.
The rest of the top five for qualifying were #39-Ryan Newman, #21-Bill Elliott and #42-Juan Pablo Montoya. #21-Elliott, #82-Speed and #87-Nemechek are the three go-or-go-homers [not in the top-35 of end of season owners points] who are guaranteed of making the race via speed. #71-Bobby Labonte is now guaranteed to make the race, at least thru the past champions provisional. Four other drivers can get in via their speed IF the four already in [Elliott, Speed, Nemechek, Labonte] race in via the Gatorade Duels [top 2 in each get in]: #51-Waltrip, #36-Bliss, #32-Sorenson and #90-Mears.
So it is the top 2 are in, followed by spots 3-39 [33 from the top 35 and 4 from the Gatorade Duel], then spots 40, 41 and 42 from the next fastest cars, then then the most recent past champion in 43rd. If not needed, then the fastest driver not already in, would get the spot.(2-6-2010)

Qualifying Fast Facts - Daytona 500:
Mark Martin won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Daytona 500 with a lap of 47.074 seconds, 191.188 mph.
This is his 49th pole in 759 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. He is now tied with Bobby Isaac for eighth on the all-time poles list.
Mark Martin, at 51 years, 27 days, is the oldest Daytona 500 pole winner. The previous oldest was Dale Jarrett, who was 48 years, 2 months, 17 days when he won the Daytona 500 pole in 2005.
This is his first Daytona 500 pole. It is his second Daytona pole overall. His last came in the Coke Zero 400 in 1989.
Martin also started on the front row for the 2009 Daytona 500. He started second and finished 16th.
Nine Daytona 500 pole winners have won the Daytona 500. The last was Dale Jarrett in 2000.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (second) will make his second Daytona 500 front row appearance. His last was 2003 when he started second and finished 36th.(NASCAR Statistics)(2-6-2010)

Coverage of Qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 1:10pm/et.
TV: FOX - 1:00pm/et
Radio: MRN Radio and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio
Qualifying Re-Air: none scheduled

Daytona 500 qualifying: is quite different then regular qualifying. See my Daytona 500 Qualifying Procedures for more info.

Pole Progression: (who had the pole first, who got it next and who ended up with it)
#7-Gordon, 1st out to qualify, 188.735mph, depends on Gatorade Duek 150 finish
#39-Newman, 2nd out, 190.577, depends on Gatorade Duek 150 finish
#88-Earnhardt Jr., 6th out, 190.913, starts 2nd
#5-Martin, 12th out, 191.188, starts 1st

How did the non Top-35 teams do in qualifying?
[54 entered for 43 spots]:
will make the race, at least thru the Past Champ Provisional:
#71-Bobby Labonte [PC1], 189.665
have made a qualifying attempt:
#21-Bill Elliott [PC2], 190.573
#82-Scott Speed, 189.958
#87-Joe Nemechek, 189.709
#71-Bobby Labonte [PC1], 189.665
#51-Michael Waltrip, 189.454
#36-Mike Bliss, 189.052
#32-Reed Sorenson, 188.391
#90-Casey Mears, 188.301
#13-Max-Papis, 188.198
#49-David Gilliland, 187.766
#97-Jeff Fuller, 187.363
#09-Aric Almirola, 187.278
#46-Terry Cook, 187.056
#66-Dave Blaney, 186.254
#55-Michael McDowell, 185.924
#75-Derrike Cope, 185.040
#27-Kirk Shelmerdine, 184.407
#92-Mike Wallace, 182.678
#57-Norm Benning, 180.607

Rookie of the Year Candidates:
how fast were they and where do they start:
#37-Kevin Conway, DNR
#46-Terry Cook (X), 187.056mph, starts ?, depends on Gatorade Duek 150 finish
(X) = needs to race their way in to the race
DNR = Did not race
DNQ = Did not qualify for race

Some Qualifying Notes:
#17-Kenseth was due out 34th, but had a battery issue, skipped his turn and was on the 5 minute clock, the team changed the battery and Kenseth went out 36th

Practice Results:
Practice Speeds Page

Race info at: Race Info Page

Event Entry List

Past Champions Provisional page

All Time Sprint Cup Pole Winners

What happens if qualifying gets rained out? [very unlikely at Daytona, lots of extra days]
If it is the first five races of the season, the previous season OWNERS points are used:

#1) - Previous season Owner Points [position 1-35][top 35 teams do NOT need to attempt ALL the races]
#2) - Race winners from the previous and current season not already in the field
#3) - ALL Past Cup Champions not in by 1 or 2
#4) - Current season Owner Points [Top 35][not in by rules 1-3]
#5) - Current season race attempts ties broken by current owners points standings [not in by rules 1-4]