Dale Earnhardt, Junior grabbed his 10th career pole on Sunday for NASCAR's biggest race of the year. Junior put up a fast last of 186.089 mph in Daytona 500 qualifying, nipping his teammate Jeff Gordon, who timed in at 185.966 mph.
Qualifying for the season opening race is different then that of other races. Sunday session sets the front row for the 500 only. The rest of the drivers will start based on how they finish in Thursday's Gatorade 150s.
The top 35 in last seasons points are locked in to the race, along with the cars with the top three speeds from qualifying, not in the top 35, and one past champion. That means Bill Elliott, Joe Nemecheck, Travis Kvapil and Terry Labonte know they are locked into the race. Eight other drivers will have to race their way in, via the twin 150s. The top two finishers from each race will get the final spots.
Here's a look at the starting lineuos for Thursday's Duels:
DUEL ONE:
| Starts Pos | Car# | Driver | Manu | Qualifying Speed | odd opts, by speed non top-35 by speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevy | 186.089 | pole sitter |
| 2 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevy | 185.422 | 35-odd |
| 3 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevy | 185.002 | 15-odd |
| 4 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevy | 184.991 | 13-odd |
| 5 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevy | 184.911 | 7-odd |
| 6 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 184.896 | 11-odd |
| 7 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Chevy | 184.763 | 17-odd |
| 8 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 184.748 | 21-odd |
| 9 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevy | 184.740 | 3-odd |
| 10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevy | 184.687 | 1-odd |
| 11 | 09 | Bill Elliott |
Chevy | 184.532 | 1st fast non top 35 |
| 12 | 43 | A J Allmendinger | Ford | 184.290 | 19-odd |
| 13 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 184.222 | 3rd fast non top 35 |
| 14 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 184.102 | 5-odd |
| 15 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevy | 183.793 | 5th fast non top 35 |
| 16 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevy | 183.681 | 29-odd |
| 17 | 4 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | 183.602 | 31-odd |
| 18 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | 183.576 | 27-odd |
| 19 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 183.557 | 25-odd |
| 20 | 97 | Kevin Conway | Toyota | 182.949 | 7th fast non top 35 |
| 21 | 34 | David Gilliland | Ford | 182.697 | 33-odd |
| 22 | 66 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | 182.434 | 9th fast non top 35 |
| 23 | 46 | J J Yeley | Chevy | 180.977 | 11th fast non top 35 |
| 24 | 71 | Andy Lally | Chevy | 180.828 | 23-odd |
DUEL TWO:
| Starts Pos | Car# | Driver | Manu | Qualifying Speed | even opts, by speed non top-35 by speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevy | 185.966 | outside pole sitter |
| 2 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 185.445 | 28-even |
| 3 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevy | 185.223 | 10-even |
| 4 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevy | 185.071 | 12-even |
| 5 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 184.911 | 6-even |
| 6 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | 184.612 | 24-even |
| 7 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 184.475 | 4-even |
| 8 | 38 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | 184.271 | 2nd fast non top 35 |
| 9 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | 184.019 | 18-even |
| 10 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | 184.008 | 26-even |
| 11 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | 183.966 | 4th fast non top 35 |
| 12 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevy | 183.685 | 14-even |
| 13 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 183.595 | 8-even |
| 14 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevy | 183.456 | 22-even |
| 15 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 183.206 | 16-even |
| 16 | 60 | Todd Bodine | Toyota | 183.057 | 6th fast non top 35 |
| 17 | 13 | Casey Mears | Toyota | 182.867 | 8th fast non top 35 |
| 18 | 77 | Steve Wallace | Toyota | 182.574 | 30-even |
| 19 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | 182.120 | 32-even |
| 20 | 32 | Terry Labonte |
Ford | 181.492 | 10th fast non top 35 |
| 21 | 37 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Ford | 181.466 | 34-even |
| 22 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 181.316 | 2-even |
| 23 | 64 | Derrike Cope | Toyota | 177.894 | 12th fast non top 35 |
| 24 | 92 | Brian Keselowski | Dodge | 177.581 | 13th fast non top 35 |
