NASCAR: Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona – Austin Dillon on pole
By Asher Fair
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon will start from the pole position in the NASCAR Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona.
Austin Dillon, the NASCAR Cup Series driver of the #3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, is set to start tomorrow’s Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida from the pole position.
The race is set to feature 17 of the 20 drivers who were eligible to compete in it, with Danica Patrick, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. sitting out since none of them have full-time rides in the Cup Series this season.
Patrick, however, is set to drive in the Daytona 500 for Premium Motorsports next Sunday. That race is set to be the final race of her Cup Series career. Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. have retired from Cup Series competition completely.
Eligibility for this year’s Clash at Daytona was given to the 20 drivers who have done one or more of the following:
Won a career Daytona 500 pole
Won a pole in the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season
Qualified for the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs
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Here is a full entry list for tomorrow’s race.
The starting order for the Clash was determined by a random drawing. Drawing for Dillon was Seth Chavka, the team’s lead engineer, who is substituting for Dillon’s crew chief Justin Alexander, who is ill with the flu. Hopefully he can return as soon as possible in a healthy condition.
Chavka ended up drawing the #1 starting position for tomorrow’s exhibition race to open up the 2018 Cup Series season for the #3 Chevrolet, so that is the position from which Dillon will begin. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who drives the #11 Toyota, is set to start alongside him on the front row.
The race is scheduled for 75-laps around the 2.5-mile tri-oval. Two stages are set for the race, with the first one set to come to the end following the conclusion of the race’s 25th lap.
Here is the full starting order for tomorrow’s Clash at Daytona.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Engine |
| 1 | Austin Dillon | #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 3 | Joey Logano | #22, Team Penske, Ford |
| 4 | Erik Jones | #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 5 | Jimmie Johnson | #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota |
| 7 | Kasey Kahne | #95, Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet |
| 8 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 9 | Kevin Harvick | #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 10 | Kyle Larson | #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 11 | Ryan Newman | #31, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 12 | Chase Elliott | #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 13 | Kyle Busch | #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 14 | Kurt Busch | #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 15 | Ryan Blaney | #12, Team Penske, Ford |
| 16 | Jamie McMurray | #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 17 | Brad Keselowski | #2, Team Penske, Ford |
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Will Austin Dillon be able to win tomorrow’s Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida? The race is set to take place at 3:00 pm ET and it is set to broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 at that time.