DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — In an era where every team has essentially the same car, where the innovative box is so small and the rules are so limited, what Hendrick Motorsports is able to accomplish every year in Daytona 500 pole qualifications is staggering.
Hendrick drivers have won eight of the last nine Daytona 500 poles.
By sweeping the front row for Sunday’s 65th Daytona 500 in Wednesday night’s pole qualifications, Alex Bowman continued a streak of six-straight front row starts in NASCAR’s biggest race. He extends a series record as the only driver to achieve that.
Bowman won the pole with a lap at 181.686 miles per hour in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. It was his third Daytona 500 Pole.
Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson took the outside of the front row with a lap at 181.067 mph in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.
Bowman on track at Daytona. (HHP/Chris Owens)
It was the 11th consecutive Daytona 500 pole for Chevrolet, the 21st time in Daytona 500 history that Chevy has swept the front row and the 31st Daytona 500 pole for the car maker.
It was also the 16th Daytona 500 pole for Hendrick Motorsports, the most of any team in NASCAR history.
“It’s a really interesting thing to be a part of because I have so little to do with it, right?” Bowman quipped as he gave credit to the team at Hendrick Motorsports for preparing the fastest car at Daytona. “Once you get five, man, it would be really cool to have six. Next year I’ll be like, ‘Man, it will be really cool to have seven.’
“At the same time, it’s way more about my guys and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. I appreciate all their hard work, the time and effort, whether it’s the engine shop or all the guys in the car shop. There is a ton of effort that goes into trying to qualify well here. Most of it is on their end, so I’m really appreciative.”
When asked how Bowman was able to find more speed in the No. 48 than Larson could out of the No. 5, the diminutive driver had an interesting answer.
“I think it’s just because he’s taller, he can push the gas further,” Larson quipped.
“Hats off to their team. We were able to edge them out last year. I don’t remember what lap times were last year, but they clobbered us all this year.
“Hats off to the 48 team and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports because everybody has a hand in all of our cars going as fast as they do in qualifying here.”
Hendrick Motorsports scored a 1-2-3 sweep with William Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet third at 180.727 mph. Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford was third at 180.723 mph for Stewart-Haas Racing.
2015 Daytona 500 winner and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano rounded out the top five at 180.712 mph.
The only drivers that are locked into their starting positions are Bowman and Larson in the front row. The remainder of the single-lap qualifications determine the starting lineups for Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacations Duels.
Jimmie Johnson aboard the No. 84 Chevrolet. (HHP/Chris Owens)
The 36 charter teams are guaranteed a starting position in the 40-car field. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson of Legacy Motor Club was the fastest driver to earn a position in the Daytona 500 based on speed at 179.276 mph in the No. 84 Carvana Chevrolet.
That was 23rd fastest. The No. 84 entry did not exist last year, so it has no entrant points and is a part-time ride.
Action and extreme sports star Travis Pastrana took the other starting position based on lap time when he ran a lap at 179.254 mph in the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing. That was 25th fastest.
The highest finishing non-charter driver other than Johnson and Pastrana will have to make the starting lineup in Thursday’s two 150-mile qualifying races. There are 42 drivers entered for the 40-car field, so that means only two drivers will pack up and leave after Thursday night.
NTT IndyCar Series driver Conor Daly did not get to make a qualification lap on Wednesday night because of an issue with his car. He will have to race his way in.
That’s something the two drivers up front don’t have to worry about.
So, how did Bowman do it?
“I don’t really feel like I tried to do anything different than the other guys,” he said. “I try to let the race car go where it wants and not bind it up.
“As a driver, really all you can do is get the best launch you can, hit your shift points right, try to run the best you can, not mess it up.
“I’m glad I didn’t mess it up. I was kind of just letting the race car go where it wanted to.”
Larson begins his third season at Hendrick Motorsports and is highly impressed at the track record the team has in qualifications.
It’s even more impressive considering the Next Gen car is standardized throughout the field with the same body pieces for each auto manufacturer. That leaves very little that the team can do to find additional performance.
“They’ve got something figured out for sure,” Larson said. “There are other teams outside of Hendrick Motorsports that use Hendrick engines. The cars are more similar these days, where they’re not kind of hand-built in the shop.
“There are obviously tricks and stuff that they’ve learned along the way that still apply to I’m assuming these cars. It’s pretty neat. It’s pretty cool to see the success that they’ve had on qualifying day.
“Rick (Hendrick, team owner) gets really excited about that. I know he’d be even more excited if one of the four of us could end up in Victory Lane on Sunday.”
Keyword: A Historic Daytona Pole Day For Bowman, Hendrick