Daytona 500 Coors Light qualifying took place this afternoon, and Danica Patrick ran the fastest lap out of all 45 drivers. The first row is now set for NASCAR’s most prestigious race of the season.
Patrick ran a lap speed of 196.434 and will start on the pole. Jeff Gordon ran a lap speed of 196.292 and will start alongside her.
Patrick is the first female driver to win the pole at the 500.
The other 43 drivers will ultimately have their starting position determined by their results in Thursday’s Budweiser Duels. Their speeds in this afternoons qualifying run determines their starting position in the duels. In the duels the cars will be split in two fields.
The 55th running of the Daytona 500 is set for Feb.24
Qualifying results for Daytona 500:
1. Danica Patrick, 196.434
2. Jeff Gordon, 196.292
3. Trevor Bayne, 195.976
4. Ryan Newman, 195.946
5. Tony Stewart, 195.925
6. Kasey Kahne, 195.852
7. Denny Hamlin, 195.771
8. Kyle Busch, 195.767
9. Joey Logano, 195.767
10. Matt Kenseth, 195.725
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 195.584
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 195.538
13. Juan Pablo Montoya, 195.508
14. Paul Menard, 195.503
15. Casey Mears, 195.495
16. Austin Dillon, 195.385
17. Carl Edwards, 195.240
18. Clint Bowyer, 195.228
19. Martin Truex Jr., 195.207
20. Jeff Burton, 195.156
21. Jimmie Johnson, 195.084
22. Jamie McMurray, 195.042
23. Brad Keselowski, 194.961
24. Marcos Ambrose, 194.793
25. Kevin Harvick, 194.742
26. Aric Almirola, 194.742
27. Greg Biffle, 194.729
28. Mark Martin, 194.683
29. David Gilliland, 194.654
30. David Ragan, 194.616
31. Michael Waltrip, 194.313
32. Josh Wise, 194.254
33. Kurt Busch, 193.657
34. Michael McDowell, 193.544
35. Scott Speed, 193.540
36. Terry Labonte, 193.515
37. Regan Smith, 193.006
38. Dave Blaney, 192.996
39. Bobby Labonte, 192.563
40. J.J. Yeley, 192.094
41. David Reutimann, 190.339
42. Travis Kvapil, 190.142
43. Joe Nemechek, 190.046
44. Mike Bliss, 186.974
45. Brian Keselowski, 183.876