Earnhardt, Gordon lead Hendrick sweep of Daytona 500 front row

Earnhardt, Gordon lead Hendrick sweep of Daytona 500 front row

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(February 13, 2011)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—With at lap a 186.089 mph, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Coors Light pole award for next Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500, the first time Earnhardt has started from the top spot at a restrictor-plate superspeedway.
Earnhardt cruised around 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway in 48.364 seconds Sunday afternoon, narrowly edging Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon (48.396 seconds, 185.966 mph) for the top spot on the grid during a session that locked only the top two qualifiers into their starting spots—a unique feature of the Daytona 500 qualifying procedure.
Rookie Trevor Bayne (185.445) was third fastest in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, followed by Richard Childress Racing teammates Paul Menard (185.422), Clint Bowyer (185.223) and Jeff Burton (185.071).
It was the third front-row sweep for Hendrick Motorsports, which placed Ken Schrader and Darrell Waltrip first and second in 1989. Mark Martin won the pole for last year’s Daytona 500, with Earnhardt starting on the outside of the front row.
Earnhardt also will start from the pole in the first of Thursday’s two Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying races. Gordon will lead the field to the green flag in the second Duel. Those races will finalize the field for the 53rd running of the Great American Race.
Bill Elliott (17th fastest), Travis Kvapil (20th) and Joe Nemechek (21st) all earned guaranteed spots in the 500 as the three fastest drivers among those required to qualify on speed. Terry Labonte also knows he will start the race, thanks to a provisional available to the most recent past champion not otherwise qualified.
Four more starting positions are available in Thursday’s Duels, two from each race.