Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson set the fastest time in Wednesday’s single-car qualifying session, earning the Busch Light Pole for Sunday’s 64th running of the Daytona 500.
Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman will join Larson on the front row for Sunday’s opener at Daytona International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Larson raced around the 2.5-mile tri-oval in 49.68 seconds at 181.859 mph, becoming the first defending series champion since Jimmie Johnson in 2008 to earn the pole for the Daytona 500 and spoiling Bowman’s bid for a third Daytona pole position. Still, Bowman’s five straight appearances on the front row is an all-time record.
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William Byron, who set the best mark in Round 1 of qualifying, Aric Almirola and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five fastest speeds in two rounds of qualifying.
Noah Gragson and Jacques Villeneueve topped the board among the six Open entries (teams without a charter), securing their starting spots in Sunday’s race. Gragson, a full-time contender in the Xfinity Series, attempted and failed to qualify a season ago. The 2022 Daytona 500 will be his Cup Series debut.
The other four Open drivers — Kaz Grala, Greg Biffle, JJ Yeley and Timmy Hill — will have to race their way in via Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) races. Those races set the lineup for Sunday’s main event.
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This story will be updated.