Danica Patrick secured pole position for the
Daytona 500, the
NASCAR Sprint Cup series opener to be held next weekend at
Daytona International Speedway. Jeff Gordon will start alongside her after claiming second place on the grid in Sunday's qualifying session.
Patrick's lap of 45.817s (196.434mph) is the fastest
Daytona 500 pole-winning speed since 1990. It's the first time that a driver eligible for the rookie of the year title has won pole for the
Daytona 500 since Jimmie Johnson in 2002.
Patrick becomes the first ever female racer to claim a Cup pole position in NASCAR. The previous best qualifying position by a woman was in 1977 when Janet Guthrie started from ninth place. Guthrie also held the record for the best start by a female driver in the
Daytona 500 when she achieved 18th place on the grid here in 1980.
2011
Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne recorded the third fastest time in qualifying, but his actual starting position - like those of everyone except for Patrick and Gordon - will be decided by the two midweek Duel short races.
Qualifying times1.
#10 Danica Patrick Chevrolet
45.817s (Leader) 196.434mph2.
#24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
45.850s (+ 0.033s) 196.292mph3.
#21 Trevor Bayne Ford
45.924s (+ 0.107s) 195.976mph4.
#39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet
45.931s (+ 0.114s) 195.946mph5.
#14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet
45.936s (+ 0.119s) 195.925mph6.
#5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet
45.953s (+ 0.136s) 195.852mph7.
#11 Denny Hamlin Toyota
45.972s (+ 0.155s) 195.771mph8.
#18 Kyle Busch Toyota
45.973s (+ 0.156s) 195.767mph9.
#22 Joey Logano Ford
45.973s (+ 0.156s) 195.767mph10.
#20 Matt Kenseth Toyota
45.983s (+ 0.166s) 195.725mph11.
#88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet
46.016s (+ 0.199s) 195.584mph12.
#17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Ford
46.027s (+ 0.210s) 195.537mph13.
#42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet
46.034s (+ 0.217s) 195.508mph14.
#27 Paul Menard Chevrolet
46.035s (+ 0.218s) 195.503mph15.
#13 Casey Mears Ford
46.037s (+ 0.220s) 195.495mph16.
#33 Austin Dillon Chevrolet
46.063s (+ 0.246s) 195.385mph17.
#99 Carl Edwards Ford
46.097s (+ 0.280s) 195.240mph18.
#15 Clint Bowyer Toyota
46.100s (+ 0.283s) 195.228mph19.
#56 Martin Truex, Jr. Toyota
46.105s (+ 0.288s) 195.207mph20.
#31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet
46.117s (+ 0.300s) 195.156mph21.
#48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet
46.134s (+ 0.317s) 195.084mph22.
#1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet
46.144s (+ 0.327s) 195.042mph23.
#2 Brad Keselowski Ford
46.163s (+ 0.346s) 194.961mph24.
#9 Marcos Ambrose Ford
46.203s (+ 0.386s) 194.793mph25.
#29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet
46.215s (+ 0.398s) 194.742mph26.
#43 Aric Almirola Ford
46.215s (+ 0.398s) 194.742mph27.
#16 Greg Biffle Ford
46.218s (+ 0.401s) 194.729mph28.
#55 Mark Martin Toyota
46.229s (+ 0.412s) 194.683mph29.
#38 David Gilliland Ford
46.236s (+ 0.419s) 194.654mph30.
#34 David Ragan Ford
46.245s (+ 0.428s) 194.616mph31.
#26 Michael Waltrip Toyota
46.317s (+ 0.500s) 194.313mph32.
#35 Josh Wise Ford
46.331s (+ 0.514s) 194.254mph33.
#78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet
46.474s (+ 0.657s) 193.657mph34.
#98 Michael McDowell Ford
46.501s (+ 0.684s) 193.544mph35.
#95 Scott Speed Ford
46.502s (+ 0.685s) 193.540mph36.
#32 Terry Labonte Ford
46.508s (+ 0.691s) 193.515mph37.
#51 Regan Smith Chevrolet
46.609s (+ 0.792s) 193.096mph38.
#7 Dave Blaney Chevrolet
46.633s (+ 0.816s) 192.996mph39.
#47 Bobby Labonte Toyota
46.738s (+ 0.921s) 192.563mph40.
#36 JJ Yeley Chevrolet
46.852s (+ 1.035s) 192.094mph41.
#83 David Reutimann Toyota
47.284s (+ 1.467s) 190.339mph42.
#93 Travis Kvapil Toyota
47.333s (+ 1.516s) 190.142mph43.
#87 Joe Nemechek Toyota
47.357s (+ 1.540s) 190.046mph44.
#19 Mike Bliss Toyota
47.509s (+ 1.692s) 189.438mph45.
#52 Brian Keselowski Toyota
48.946s (+ 3.129s) 183.876mphBudweiser Duel 1 starting grid1.
Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
2.
Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford
3.
Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
4.
Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
5.
Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford
6.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
7.
Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
8.
Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford
9.
Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford
10.
Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
11.
Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
12.
Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford
13.
Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
14.
Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford
15.
David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford
16.
Michael Waltrip Swan Racing Toyota
17.
Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
18.
Scott Speed Leavine Family Racing Ford
19.
Regan Smith Phoenix Racing Chevrolet
20.
Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota
21.
David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota
22.
Joe Nemechek Nemco-JRR Toyota
24.
Brian Keselowski Brian Keselowski Racing Toyota
Budweiser Duel 2 starting grid1.
Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2.
Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
3.
Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
4.
Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
5.
Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
6.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford
7.
Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
8.
Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
9.
Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
10.
Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
11.
Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
12.
Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
13.
Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
14.
Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
15.
David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford
16.
Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford
17.
Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford
18.
Terry Labonte FASLane Racing Ford
19.
Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
20.
J.J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
21.
Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota
22.
Mike Bliss Humphrey-Smith Racing Toyota