DAYTONA BEACH — Michael McDowell could only watch as Joey Logano, the last bullet he needed to dodge, rocketed past the start-finish line at Daytona International Speedway.
Logano stole the top prize away at the last second and still, McDowell came away with quite the consolation prize.
Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 champion turned in a time of 49.465 seconds under the lights Wednesday night to claim the pole for Sunday's 66th Daytona 500. He'll be joined on the front row by McDowell, who had the pole up until the bitter end with a time of 49.536.
Each will start at the front of one of Thursday's BlueGreen Vacation Duel at Daytona races which will set the rest of the field for the Daytona 500.
DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY:Michael McDowell: 'If Joey Logano is leading ... there will be a crash.'
The result gave Ford its first pole in the Great American Race since Carl Edwards in 2012. Chevrolet had claimed the last 11 poles and the last 15 out of 16 with Hendrick Motorsports winning the last 8 of 9.
"Finally someone else wins the pole!" Logano said with a grin. "That part feels good. I’ve never even been close to a superspeedway pole before. Couldn’t be at a cooler event than the Daytona 500."
Logano had the fastest time in the first round, advancing to the second along with Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, William Byron, Chase Elliott, McDowell, Austin Cindric, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain and Harrison Burton.
McDowell, laid down his lap early in Round 2 and had the pole within his grasp until Logano walked it off with the day's best run.
"This is all about the team. Honestly, I'd like to take credit but I can't today," Logano said. "Superspeedway qualifying is 100% the car. There's only so much the driver can do. I'm really proud of them. That's a big win for our team."
As for McDowell, the single-lap speed was surprising and though there was some disappointment with not finishing at the top, he said he was glad to settle for a front-row start.
"Yes, it did surprise me," McDowell said. "We put a lot of emphasis on having as much speed as we could build in our Daytona 500 car down here.
"It stinks that Joey beat us for the pole but I'm super proud of the effort and it's a cool experience to be in a spot that we're not typically in."
In addition to solidifying the front row, Anthony Alfredo and David Ragan both earned entry into the Daytona 500 field by virtue of having the two fastest qualifying times among six open cars. That will leave Jimmie Johnson, Kaz Grala, JJ Yeley and B.J. McLeod trying to race their way in during Thursday night's duels.
For Alfredo, it was a quick early lap and an emotional ensuing wait. The 24-year-old was the first to lock in and finished with the best lap among the six open cars at 50.098 seconds.
Alfredo will make his second career Daytona 500 start with the first coming in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting in the Great American Race and feeling a full, normal Speedweek made the moment even heavier, he said.
“It was enough to make me shed a tear, that’s for sure. I wasn’t anticipating that kind of feeling,” Alfredo said. “I have raced in the Daytona 500 in 2021, but that was during the pandemic and it was super weird. There was no media day, not many fans … I don’t think I got to truly appreciate what the event means from a driver’s perspective.”
For Ragan, Sunday will mark Daytona 500 start No. 18 and his first since finishing eighth for Rick Ware Racing in 2022.
“It’s always big to be in the Daytona 500 and the whole week, I was just trying to make sure we didn’t make any mistakes,” Ragan said. “To be able to get locked in on pole night is really special.”
Speedweek is set to resume on Thursday afternoon with an ARCA Menards Series practice at 4:05 and a Craftsman Truck Series practice at 5:05. The first of the two Duel races is slated for a 7 p.m. start and will air on FS1.
Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick fail inspection twice
Both Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick failed pre-qualifying inspection twice, resulting in the loss of crew members and pit stall selection for Thursday night's Duel races.
Bowman finished 17th on the speed chart, ending a run of six-consecutive front-row starts in the Daytona 500.
Daytona 500 qualifying results (top 10)
- Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford, 49.465
- Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford, 49.536
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 49.55
- Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford, 49.667
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 49.675
- William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 49.676
- Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, 49.705
- Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, 49.725
- Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, 49.756
- Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, 49.909
Daytona Duel 1 lineup
- Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
- Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
- Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
- Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
- Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
- Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- JJ Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
Daytona Duel 2 lineup
- Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
- William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
- Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
- Riley Herbst, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
- Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
- David Ragan, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
- Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
- Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
- BJ McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet
- Kaz Grala, No. 76 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Daytona 500 schedule of events
Thursday, Feb. 15: ARCA Menards Series practice, 4:05-4:55 p.m.; Craftsman Truck Series practice, 5:05-5:55; Cup Series, Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1, 7; Cup Series, Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2, 8:45 (approx.)
Friday, Feb. 16: ARCA Menards Series qualifying, 1:30 p.m.; Craftsman Truck Series qualifying, 3; Xfinity Series practice, 4:35-5:25; Cup Series practice, 5:35-6:25; Craftsman Truck Series, Fresh From Florida 250, 7:30
Saturday, Feb. 17: Cup Series final practice, 10:30-11:20 a.m.; Xfinity Series qualifying, 11:30; ARCA Menards Series, Daytona ARCA 200, 1:30 p.m.; Xfinity Series, United Rentals 300, 5
Sunday, Feb. 18: Daytona 500, 2:30 p.m..
