NASCAR: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. takes 2020 Daytona 500 pole

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took the pole position in his debut with JTG Daugherty Racing for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500.

For the first time since 2014, it will not be a Hendrick Motorsports driver on the pole position to open up a NASCAR Cup Series season in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

With Hendrick engine power, it was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who took the pole position to open up the 36-race 2020 season in his first qualifying session behind the wheel of the #47 Chevrolet for JTG Daugherty Racing. This pole position marks Chevrolet’s eighth consecutive pole position for this race, extending the all-time record.

Stenhouse took the pole position for this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked superspeedway oval in Daytona Beach, Florida by recording a top lap time of 46.253 seconds (194.582 miles per hour) in the single-car qualifying session for this race.

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This session set only the front row for this race. Behind Stenhouse, three Hendrick Motorsports drivers lined up from second through fourth place, but only second place Alex Bowman locked into his starting position behind the wheel of his #88 Chevrolet.

Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson, despite finishing in third and fourth place in their #9 Chevrolet and #48 Chevrolet, respectively, will have to wait until Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacations Duels to find out where they line up next Sunday afternoon for the 62nd running of the “Great American Race”.

Behind the top four were two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in fifth and sixth place. Denny Hamlin, the reigning Daytona 500 winner, placed fifth in his #11 Toyota, while Kyle Busch, the reigning series champion, placed sixth in his #18 Toyota.

The fastest Ford driver was Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola in seventh place in #10 Ford. He finished ahead of the fourth Hendrick Motorsports driver, William Byron. Byron, who took the pole position for last year’s Daytona 500, finished in eighth in his #24 Chevrolet.

Rookie Christopher Bell of Leavine Family Racing finished in ninth place in his #95 Toyota ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones in 10th in his #20 Toyota.

Of the 43 drivers on the entry list for this race, 42 made qualifying runs, as Rick Ware Racing’s B.J. McLeod did not make an attempt. He is, however, one of the 36 drivers driving a chartered entry, so he is locked into the race.

Two of the seven drivers who did not enter this qualifying session locked into the race were able to do so. Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley and Beard Motorsports’ Brendan Gaughan placed 31st and 33rd in their #16 Chevrolet and #62 Chevrolet, respectively, as the fastest two drivers among this group of seven to secure their positions in the field of 40 next Sunday.

The other five will need to wait until Thursday to see whether or not they will be competing in next Sunday’s main event. Of these other five drivers, only two will qualify for the race.

Here are the full results of the single-car qualifying session for the 2020 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

NOTE: * = driver is not locked into the Daytona 500

Qualifying Results
1st – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2nd – Alex Bowman
3rd – Chase Elliott
4th – Jimmie Johnson
5th – Denny Hamlin
6th – Kyle Busch
7th – Aric Almirola
8th – William Byron
9th – Christopher Bell
10th – Erik Jones
11th – Joey Logano
12th – Kevin Harvick
13th – Clint Bowyer
14th – Cole Custer
15th – Ryan Newman
16th – Matt DiBenedetto
17th – Ryan Preece
18th – Tyler Reddick
19th – Chris Buescher
20th – Kyle Larson
21st – Martin Truex Jr.
22nd – Kurt Busch
23rd – Brad Keselowski
24th – Michael McDowell
25th – John Hunter Nemechek
26th – David Ragan
27th – Ryan Blaney
28th – Ross Chastain
29th – Austin Dillon
30th – Ty Dillon
31st – Justin Haley
32nd – Darrell Wallace Jr.
33rd – Brendan Gaughan
34th – Reed Sorenson*
35th – Timmy Hill*
36th – Daniel Suarez*
37th – Corey LaJoie
38th – Quin Houff
39th – J.J. Yeley*
40th – Brennan Poole
41st – Chad Finchum*
42nd – Joey Gase
43rd – B.J. McLeod

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Fox Sports 1 is set to broadcast the Bluegreen Vacations Duels live from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 13. These two races will set the starting lineup for the 62nd annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 16. This race is set to officially open up the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, and it is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

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