Alex Bowman and William Byron qualify on the front row of the 2021 Daytona 500

February 10, 2021

By Holly Cain

Alex Bowman swapped car numbers for the 2021 season – from 88 to 48 – but has certainly retained his Daytona magic, earning the pole position for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), giving the Hendrick Motorsports driver a record fourth consecutive front row start in the NASCAR Cup Series season-opener.

Bowman, 27, went out late in the qualifying order (38th of 44 drivers) Wednesday night – the first night-time pole qualifying session in race history – but his Chevrolet handily set the pace with a lap of 191.261 mph (47.056 secs.), taking the top-spot from Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron by more than a quarter-second.

“It was fast,” Byron said, smiling about Bowman’s pole-winning lap.

The Hendrick teammates also started alongside one another in 2019, when Byron edged Bowman for the pole position. Bowman earned his first Daytona 500 pole in 2018 and started second last year. Hendrick Motorsports now has 14 Daytona 500 pole positions.

“It doesn’t really have a whole lot to do with me, right,” Bowman said on pit road after qualifying. “It’s a testament to these guys and everybody back in the shop at Hendrick Motorsports. They work so hard on these superspeedway cars. They are beautiful when they get to the race track. Our Ally Camaro has been really fast since we unloaded and they focused a lot on trying to get the pole for the Daytona 500.

“It means a lot to us and we were able to achieve that.”

And, he added, “It’s more about the people that make it happen. I floored it, but I’m pretty sure everyone else did too. I’m just appreciative my race car is fast.”

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola was third fastest in the No. 10 Ford followed on the speed chart by Bubba Wallace, who earned rave reviews in his debut driving the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, which is co-owned by three-time and defending Daytona 500 winning driver Denny Hamlin and NBA Hall of Famer, Michael Jordan. Wallace’s lap was good enough for the top spot only to be taken by Byron three cars later.

Wallace was fastest in an hour-long practice Wednesday afternoon – his first official laps with the new organization and he was clearly feeling optimistic about the week. He finished runner-up in his very first Daytona 500 in 2018.

“Everything’s shaping up to be a great ending for us, we just have to get through it,” Wallace said. “It’s kind of the same feeling I had in 2018, my first 500. The speed was there, we qualified decent and had a really good Duel and finished second in the 500.

“I think the way things are going, we just have to keep it going, keep the positive momentum going. Everything’s kind of going well in the car. I’m confident. Still getting things worked out but all in all it comes pretty natural when you have a great team behind you.”

Wallace said he got a “very positive” text from Jordan after qualifying and said the basketball superstar arrives in Daytona on Thursday in time for the Bluegreen Vacation Duels (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) that will ultimately set the starting lineup for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Hamlin, the three-time defending Daytona 500 winner was 12th fastest in qualifying. The two joked about Wallace being faster.

“I’m aware,” Hamlin said with a smile, adding, “It’s actually a pretty solid qualifying effort certainly for our FedEx team, just barely out of the top 10 there so that’s a good starting spot for us and we’re excited about it.

“Obviously that was a great run by the 23-team. They just barely missed it there by a tenth or so to get that locked in spot (on the front row). But now they get to go out there and race and get the experience they need to get a good finish on Sunday.”

Speed wise, last year’s polesitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. proved fast again – fifth quickest in the JTG Daugherty Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford), Christopher Bell (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota), Ryan Preece (No. 37 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet), 2018 Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon (No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) and Daniel Suarez (No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet) rounded out the top 10.

Preece and 13th-place qualifier David Ragan were quickest among Open car teams needing to qualify based upon time. The rest of the Open car team drivers – Austin Cindric, Kaz Grala, Timmy Hill, Noah Gragson, Ty Dillon and Garrett Smithley – will have to battle it out in the Duels with the highest finisher among them in each Duel earning a spot in the Daytona 500.

Busch Pole Qualifying – 63rd Annual DAYTONA 500
Daytona International Speedway
Wednesday, February 10, 2021

1. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 191.261 mph.
2. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 190.219 mph.
3. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 190.178 mph.
4. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 189.577 mph.
5. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 189.565 mph.
6. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 189.518 mph.
7. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 189.183 mph.
8. (37) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 189.135 mph.
9. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 188.953 mph.
10. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 188.933 mph.
11. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 188.699 mph.
12. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 188.699 mph.
13. (36) David Ragan, Ford, 188.561 mph.
14. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 188.513 mph.
15. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 188.474 mph.
16. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 188.363 mph.
17. (21) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 187.966 mph.
18. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 187.911 mph.
19. (33) Austin Cindric(i), Ford, 187.891 mph.
20. (16) Kaz Grala, Chevrolet, 187.793 mph.
21. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 187.723 mph.
22. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 187.672 mph.
23. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford, 187.656 mph.
24. (42) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 187.609 mph.
25. (41) Cole Custer, Ford, 187.266 mph.
26. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 187.219 mph.
27. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 187.017 mph.
28. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 186.858 mph.
29. (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 186.765 mph.
30. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 186.455 mph.
31. (8) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 186.154 mph.
32. (38) Anthony Alfredo, Ford, 185.866 mph.
33. (96) Ty Dillon(i), Toyota, 185.774 mph.
34. (77) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 184.631 mph.
35. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 184.551 mph.
36. (00) Quin Houff, Chevrolet, 181.558 mph.
37. (13) Garrett Smithley(i), Ford, 180.433 mph.
38. (78) BJ McLeod(i), Ford, 180.054 mph.
39. (66) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, 179.942 mph.
40. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 179.734 mph.
41. (53)  Joey Gase, Ford, 177.760 mph.
42. (52)  Josh Bilicki, Ford, 176.727 mph.
43. (15)  Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
44. (62)  Noah Gragson(i), Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.

Stenhouse and Bowman sit on 2020 Daytona 500 front row

Alex Bowman and Ricky Stenhouse Jr qualify well.

Daytona 500 Qualifying Results

Final Dover Driver Ratings: 2018 AAA 400 Drive for Autism

Joey Logano showed some speed during Saturday's final practices.

MICAH ROBERTS' 2018 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER RATINGS
2018 AAA 400 DRIVE FOR AUTISM
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, MAY 6, 2018 - 2:16 PM ET

RATING   DRIVER   ODDS                 PRAC 1  QUALIFIED  PRAC 2   PRAC 3
 1. Kyle Busch 3/1                         4th        4th     15th     10th
 2. Kevin Harvick 5/1                    3rd       2nd       6th       5th
 3. Brad Keselowski 15/1            5th        8th       2nd     11th
 4. Clint Bowyer 30/1                    9th      12th     12th      3rd
 5. Ryan Blaney 25/1                     8th      14th     20th    12th
 6. Joey Logano 15/1                   12th      18th       1st     13th
 7. Kyle Larson 9/2                         7th        1st        7th      4th
 8. Chase Elliott 8/1                      14th        6th        4th      2nd
 9. Martin Truex Jr. 7/1                  6th        3rd       3rd    14th
10. Jimmie Johnson 7/1                2nd      19th     13th      7th
11. Aric Almirola 50/1                  11th      13th       5th       1st
12. Kurt Busch 40/1                      16th        9th        9th    15th
13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 100/1     10th        5th       8th     20th
14. William Byron 200/1              28th      17th     10th      8th
15. Denny Hamlin 15/1                17th       10th    22nd    17th

Opening odds courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Micah Roberts, a former Las Vegas sports book director, has been setting auto racing odds in Las Vegas since 1994.

Westgate Las Vegas Super Book odds to win 2018 Can-Am 150 Duels

Can Brad Keselowski wins the first two Speedweeks events?

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK ODDS TO WIN
CAN-AM DUEL 150 - RACE 1
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018 - 7:20 PM ET

Brad KESELOWSKI 2/1
Joey LOGANO 9/2
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 8/1
Jimmie JOHNSON 8/1
Ryan BLANEY 8/1
Alex BOWMAN 12/1
William BYRON 15/1
Kurt BUSCH 12/1
Jamie McMURRAY 15/1
Daniel SUAREZ 20/1
Aric ALMIROLA 20/1
Ryan NEWMAN 25/1
Darrell WALLACE JR 40/1
Ty DILLON 40/1
Chris BUESCHER 80/1
FIELD (all others) 50/1

DRIVER VS DRIVER MATCHUPS

Brad KESELOWSKI - 135
Joey LOGANO +115

Ryan BLANEY - 110
Jimmie JOHNSON - 110

Jimmie JOHNSON - 110
Ricky STENHOUSE JR - 110

Ricky STENHOUSE JR - 110
Ryan BLANEY - 110

Kurt BUSCH - 120
William BYRON EVEN


CAN-AM DUEL 150 - RACE 2
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018

Denny HAMLIN 4/1
Kyle BUSCH 4/1
Chase ELLIOTT 5/1
Kevin HARVICK 6/1
Kyle LARSON 7/1
Martin TRUEX JR 7/1
Clint BOWYER 12/1
Erik JONES 15/1
Austin DILLON 18/1
Trevor BAYNE 20/1
Paul MENARD 20/1
Kasey KAHNE 35/1
AJ ALLMENDINGER 40/1
Michael McDOWELL 50/1
Danica PATRICK 50/1
FIELD (all others) 100/1

DRIVER VS DRIVER MATCHUPS

Denny HAMLIN - 110
Kyle BUSCH - 110

Denny HAMLIN - 130
Chase ELLIOTT +110

Kyle BUSCH - 130
Chase ELLIOTT +110

Kevin HARVICK - 120
Kyle LARSON EVEN

Kevin HARVICK - 120
Martin TRUEX JR EVEN

Micah Roberts Top-5 finish prediction for each Duel

Rain Washes Away Martinsville Qualifying, Larson on Pole

Kyle Larson third fastest in first Martinsville practice.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) Things keep going right for Kyle Larson.

Hours after saying he hoped qualifying for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race would be rained out, he got his wish, giving him the pole position on a track where he has struggled.

”I think it will be a good advantage to start on the pole, get the jump and hopefully take care of my stuff early,” said Larson, the early season points leader.

Read More Here....Fox Sports

Martin Truex Jr fastest during first Las Vegas practice session

Martin Truex was 12/1 to win Kobalt 400 pole position.

Martin Truex Jr. ran only seven laps during Friday's first Kobalt 400 practice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but on his final lap laid posted the fastest speed at 193.500 mph during the 85 minute session. He was the only driver to post a speed over 193 mph and should be consider the favorite to win the pole during qualifying which is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm ET tonight.

Brad Keselowski, the 2014 and 2016 Kobalt 400 winner, was second-fastest with a lap at 192.995 mph and he was followed by four-time Las Vegas winner Jimmie Johnson (192.988), Kyle Larson (192.719) and three-time Las Vegas winner Matt Kenseth (192.644) to round out the top-five fastest.

Kasey Kahne finished fourth last week at Atlanta and continued to show speed again this week with the sixth fastest lap (192.610) which was posted on the final of his 21 laps run. Kahne spent the first half of the session getting his race trim dialed in and posted the fastest 10-consecutive lap average of the session among four drivers that ran as many in a row.

Ryan Blaney grabbed the seventh fastest lap (192.239) with just a few minutes remaining in the session on his 17th and final lap turned. Last week's pole sitter and 2015 Las Vegas winner Kevin Harvick was eighth fastest (192.239) followed by Chase Elliott (192.164) and Denny Hamlin to close out the top-10.

Kyle Busch ran the most laps (27) of the session and posted the 14th fastest lap while in qualifying trim on his 25th lap.

There will be two final practices Saturday which will be the give a much better indication of how the cars will run on race day.

Practice 1 Speeds

Kurt Busch grabs pole in his hometown

Kurt Busch was 10/1 to win Las Vegas pole.

6:30 pm : Day 2 Goodnight - That will do it for today's coverage from the track. Join us again tomorrow for Sprint Cup Series Happy Hour practice, Xfinity Series qualifying and Boyd Gaming 300.

5:45 pm : Kurt Busch Wins Pole with New Track Record - Kurt Busch gave the hometown fans something to cheer about with his consecutive pole of the season and a new track record to boot. Busch's lap was 196.328 mph, more than 1.5 mph quicker that the existing record.

"It was insanely fast," Busch confirmed. "Two poles in a row. This is great.

"Man, I wasn't going to lift for anything. I was giving it all I had. I was overdriving the car and I needed to settle in. Tony Gibson (crew chief) made a great adjustment in that last round. I was hoping to put on a show for the home crowd, get the pole, but now we’ve got to go to work tomorrow.

Joey Logano joins Busch on the front row for the start of Sunday's Kobat 400 with a 195.851 mph lap.

"I always talk about the guts-to-brain ratio," said Logano. "And this is a track you need more guts than brains to tell yourself to put your foot on the throttle when you really feel like you shouldn’t. It is fun for that reason. We were good in (turns) three and four but not enough to beat Kurt. Another front row starting spot, our third in a row here, but second always stings a little bit."

Rounding out the top five are Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon.

5:35 pm : Brad Keselowski Fastest in 2nd Round - Keselowsi was fastest in the second qualifying round and this time the top 10 drivers outpaced the existing track record. 2nd through 5th were Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex, Jr and Matt Kenseth.

The red flag flew with a little less than 7 minutes to go in the session when Carl Edwards crashed into the outside wall. Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne were on the track when the crash occured. NASCAR decided to throw the flag after Kahne finished his lap but the flag flew before Vickers completed his lap meaning it didn't count. Team owner Tony Stewart was in a spirited conversation with NASCAR officials on pit road about the call but the best NASCAR would do at the time was invite him to the trailer to discuss the situation after qualifying.

Kahne made it into the final round while Vickers failed to crack the top 12 and had to sit it out.

5:15 pm : Kurt Busch Fastest in 1st Round - Kurt Busch was the fastest of six drivers who circled LVMS faster than the existing track record of 194.769 mph set by Jeff Gordon in 2015. Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers, and were second through 6th fastest.

Jamie McMurray had trouble during that round. His car wobbled off turn 4 and slapped the outside wall with the right rear but not hard enough to force an interruption in the qualifying round.

4:50 pm : Sprint Cup Qualifying Underway - The first round of qualifying has just begun. With just 39 entries, everyone will make the field, including Wood Brothers Racing, The Motorsports Group an Premium Motorsports, the three teams on the list not protected by franchise status.

The pole winner gets to lead the field to green on Sunday plus a way cool trophy featuring a (way) scaled down version of the Stratosphere. The trophy version measures in at just a touch under 3 feet, while the real deal is almost 1,150 feet tall.

Read More Here...LVMS.com

Starting Lineup

Keselowski record-setting fast Friday during first Kobalt 400 practice

Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were each 10/1 to win Kobalt 400 pole.

Wasn't the low downforce package supposed to to slow the Sprint Cup cars down?

You wouldn't know it by looking at the insane speeds produced Friday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor speedway during the first official Kobalt 400 practice session because three drivers topped the track qualifying record led by Brad Keselowski who laid down a lap at at 195.327 mph.

Second fastest on the speed chart with a lap of 195.263 mph was Keselowski's Penske teammate Joey Logano and he was followed by Kurt Busch (195.235), all of whom topped Jeff Gordon's qualifying record of 194.679 mph set last year. Richard Childress Racing showed speed again just like last week's practice at Atlanta with Paul Menard (194.496) fourth and Stewart Haas Racing's Brian Vickers (194.398) was fifth driving the No. 14.

Rounding out the top-10 fastest drivers in the session were Kasey Kahne (194.189), Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson (with the identical lap at 194.126) were recorded seventh and eighth-fastest respectively, while rookie Chase Elliott (194.105) was ninth and RCR's Ryan Newman (193.952) was 10th fastest. A Toyota finally showed up on the chart with Matt Kenseth being 11th fastest.

Qualifying to determine the starting lineup for Sunday’s event will be later this evening at 4:45 pm (PT – On FOX Sports 1).

Friday Practice 1 Speeds

Kyle Busch favored to win 2016 Kobalt 400 pole

Kyle Busch has two Cup poles at LVMS.

LAS VEGAS — With so many additional NASCAR fans in town with loads of cash in their pocket, sports books will be amping up their wagering menu with about 90 percent more offerings than a normal Sprint Cup weekend to get some of that additional cash churned through their bet windows. One of those options that will only be offered this weekend is the odds to win Friday's Kobalt 400 pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It's actually quite exhilarating to have a wager on a driver to win the pole, especially while at the track. Friday's first Cup practice (10:30 am PT) will be a huge part of the equation, but odds will be taken off the board while the session is in progress. They'll also be off Thursday morning (9 am PT) during NASCAR's five-hour mandated test session.

The best way to approach wagering on the pole is to look at last week at Atlanta in the first practice and qualifying, and then mix in some past Las Vegas Motor Speedway qualifying history, as well the past two years of qualifying on intermediate tracks.

MORE: Odds to win Sunday's Kobalt 400

There have been 11 different drivers to sit on the Las Vegas pole, led by Kasey Kahne with three (2004, 2007 and 2012). Kyle Busch won the pole in 2008 and 2009 — he's the only driver in 18 LVMS races to win the race from the pole (2009). Jeff Gordon, in the No. 24 Chase Elliott is driving this season, set the track qualifying record last season at 194.679 mph.

Read More Here......Odds to win Pole

Jeff Gordon grabs fifth career pole at Talladega

How about Talladega win No. 7 Jeff Gordon?

Talladega Qualifying Facts
* Jeff Gordon won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 47th Annual campingworld.com 500 with a lap of 49.234 seconds, 194.500 mph.
* This is his 81st pole in 793 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
* This is his fourth pole and 18th top-10 start in 2015.
* This is his fifth pole in 46 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
* Kasey Kahne (second) posted his 13th top-10 start of 2015 and his seventh in 24 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
* Jimmie Johnson (third) posted his 18th top-10 start at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his 17th in 32 races this season.
* Matt DiBenedetto (36th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

Starting Lineup

Denny Hamlin snags pole at Dover

Denny Hamlin has a car that can win on Sunday and he's getting 15/1 odds

Dover Qualifying Facts:

* Denny Hamlin won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 46th Annual FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks with a lap of 22.483 seconds, 160.121 mph.

* This is his 21st pole in 339 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

* This is his first pole and sixth top-10 start in 2015.

* This is his third pole in 19 races at Dover International Speedway.

* Martin Truex Jr. (second) posted his seventh top-10 start of 2015 and his ninth in 19 races at Dover International Speedway.

* Kyle Larson (third) posted his third top-10 start at Dover International Speedway. It is his seventh in 12 races this season.

* Jeb Burton (35th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

- NASCAR

FedEx 400 Qualifying Results

Final Dover Practice Notes & Driver Ratings

Kevin Harvick freaky fast again, grabs first Phoenix pole

Kevin Harvick goes for his 7th Phoenix win on Sunday

Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick continues to be the hottest driver in the sport right now, and by a wide margin.

Under beautiful clear Arizona skies on Friday afternoon, Harvick won the pole for Sunday's CampingWorld.com 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway.

The pole was Harvick's 15th of his career and his first at the 1-mile oval, although he has crushed the competition here of late, winning four of the last five PIR Sprint Cup races, including a sweep in 2014.

In his last six races overall dating back to last season, Harvick has three race victories and three runner-up finishes in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. He has firmly established himself as the man to beat both this weekend and this year.

"I didn't actually know that we hadn't been on pole here, but to get that first pole with these guys and celebrate anything that we hadn't done or have done," is special, said Harvick, who had a pole lap of 140.751 miles per hour. "Every week is just a new adventure and it's pretty special to be a part of a group of guys like this."

Joey Logano was second fast at 140.543 mph in the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford and will start on the outside of Row 1 on Sunday.

"We were just a little bit on the snug side," said Logano, who qualified on the front row for the third week in a row.

Still, Logano was frustrated afterwards. "I want to be first," Logano said. "Second's just the first loser."

Read More Here.....FOXSports.com

Starting Lineup

Jeff Gordon sets tracks record to win Las Vegas pole

Jeff Gordon grabs his first Las Vegas pole

For the second time in three races, Jeff Gordon will begin out front.

Gordon, who is racing in his final Sprint Cup season before retiring, broke the track record at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday during qualifying, clocking in at 194.679 mph. That speed demolished the mark set last year by Joey Logano at 193.278 mph and gives Gordon the pole for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 400.

MORE: Qualifing results | Weekend preview | Vickers' return | PHOTOS: Gordon's final season

"The last couple of weeks have been hard on the guys," Gordon told FoxSports after qualifying. "I think Alan (crew chief Alan Gustafson) especially, but all the guys have put so much effort into our race team. You want to start each season good and to be 36th or 40th or wherever we are in points has been tough. But nobody's given up."

Logano was fastest after the first round of qualifying at 193.092 mph and will start outside Gordon on Sunday when the green flag drops.

Read More Here.........Sporting News

Kevin Harvick favored to win Kobalt 400 Pole on Friday

Could David Ragan be a contender to win Pole on Friday? 

Friday's qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway just got a little more interesting, as the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has posted odds to win the Kobalt 400 pole. This is the only race of the season for which sports books post odds to win qualifying, and it probably offers the best long shot value of the entire weekend.

Picking a long shot to win a Vegas race has been a losing proposition since 1998, since the highest payout has been 18-to-1. Favorites usually win, but the pole is another story. The cream typically rises to the top after 267 laps, but with only one super-fast lap needed to cash, the pool of candidates to win the pole is widened.

In the first 1.5-mile race of the season last week at Atlanta, Joey Logano (8/1) laid down the fastest lap at 194 mph to win the pole. Kevin Harvick had eight poles last season and comes in as the 7-to-1 favorite to do so Friday. Jeff Gordon (8/1) is the active leader with 78 career poles, and Ryan Newman (25/1) is next with 51.

The most attractive long shots on Friday are Chip Ganassi Racing's Kyle Larson (25/1) and Jamie McMurray (20/1). Larson had one pole last season, but the most important piece for this prop is that he was fastest in the first Atlanta practice session while running in qualifying trim. In that same practice, David Ragan (30/1), driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for injured Kyle Busch, had the third fastest lap in a mock-qualifying run. Harvick was second fastest.

Read More Here...Westgate odds to win Pole

Westgate LV SuperBook odds to win 2015 Budweiser Duels

Bud Duels are Thursday night; betting available at Westgate

Does Duel win equate to 500 win?
You might think we’d have more drivers win one of the Budweiser Duels and Daytona 500 in the same year, but it’s only happened nine times since 1959. The last driver to accomplish the feat was Matt Kenseth in 2012. Before him it was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2004 and then Dale Earnhardt did it in 1998 -- the only year he ever won the Daytona 500. Cale Yarborough is the only driver ever to do it twice (1977 and 1984). The first driver to do it was Fireball Roberts in 1962. Others include Bill Elliott (1985), Bobby Allison (1988) and Sterling Marlin (1995).

Does Sprint Unlimited win equate to 500 win?
Since 1979, there have been only five occasions between four drivers that someone has won the Unlimited and Daytona 500 in the same year. The first to do it was Bobby Allsion in 1982, then Bill Elliott in 1987, Dale Jarrett in 1996 and Jeff Gordon the next year in 1997. Jarrett would do it again in 2000 and no has done it since.

BUDWEISER DUEL RACES

BUDWEISER DUEL 1
DAYTONA INT'L SPEEDWAY
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015

DALE EARNHARDT JR 6
MATT KENSETH 6
KEVIN HARVICK 7
BRAD KESELOWSKI 7
JOEY LOGANO 8
JEFF GORDON 10
TONY STEWART 12
JAMIE McMURRAY 12
KASEY KAHNE 12
KYLE LARSON 12
CLINT BOWYER 15
PAUL MENARD 20
ARIC ALMIROLA 25
TREVOR BAYNE 25
TY DILLON 25
AJ ALLMENDINGER 35
CASEY MEARS 35
FIELD 50

BUDWEISER DUEL 1 MATCHUPS

DALE EARNHARDT JR -110
MATT KENSETH -110

JEFF GORDON +140
JOEY LOGANO -160

KEVIN HARVICK -110
BRAD KESELOWSKI -110

TONY STEWART -110
JAMIE McMURRAY -110

KYLE LARSON -110
KASEY KAHNE -110

ARIC ALMIROLA -110
TREVOR BAYNE -110


BUDWEISER DUEL 2
DAYTONA INT'L SPEEDWAY
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015

KYLE BUSCH 9-2
CARL EDWARDS 9-2
DENNY HAMLIN 5
JIMMIE JOHNSON 10
KURT BUSCH 10
RYAN NEWMAN 12
AUSTIN DILLON 12
MARTIN TRUEX JR 10
GREG BIFFLE 12
RICKY STENHOUSE JR 20
RYAN BLANEY 25
MICHAEL WALTRIP 25
SAM HORNISH JR 25
DANICA PATRICK 25
BRIAN SCOTT 30
DAVID RAGAN 40
JUSTIN ALLGAIER 40
FIELD 40

BUDWEISER DUEL 2 MATCHUPS

KYLE BUSCH -110
CARL EDWARDS -110

DENNY HAMLIN -160
JIMMIE JOHNSON+140

MARTIN TRUEX JR -125
GREG BIFFLE +105

RYAN NEWMAN -110
AUSTIN DILLON -110

RICKY STENHOUSE JR -110
RYAN BLANEY -110

MICHAEL WALTRIP -110
DANICA PATRICK -110

Jeff Gordon wins Daytona 500 pole; Bowyer rips NASCAR after crashing

Jeff Gordon on the pole for what could be his final Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Many expected group qualifying at Daytona to be chaos and quite possibly a fiasco.

It didn't look for that to materialize.

Less than four minutes into Sunday's session, Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson got together and crashed hard into the wall, tearing up the outside barrier, littering the track with debris and leading to a red flag. Bobby Labonte, J.J. Yeley and Denny Hamlin also were involved in the crash.

MORE: Jeff Gordon wins pole for 500 |Harvick-Logano feud will linger | Kenseth wins crash-filled Unlimited

Chaos reigned from the beginning, with drivers nearly running into each other on pit road while scrambling to get onto the track first and get into a draft.

Sorenson got hit from behind early, damaging the rear of his car. He was leading a pack of traffic when Bowyer tried to get around him. Bowyer hooked Sorenson in the left rear, sending both cars crashing hard into the wall.

Bowyer ripped Sorenson for the crash and NASCAR for implementing the group qualifying format.

"He came flying around and comes up on the apron and jumps in front of me and then runs into the 51, stacks us all up and I run into him," Bowyer said of Sorenson.

"It's idiotic to be out here doing this anyway. It makes no sense to try to put on some cute show for whatever the hell this is and then you've got a guy out there in desperation doing crap like this. There is no reason to be out here. These guys have been six months working on these cars, busting their ass on these cars, to have some guy in desperation do that crap."

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2014 EcoBoost 400 Starting Lineup Breakdown

Denny Hamlin starts eighth on Sunday

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — The drivers in the first two rows for the NASCAR season finale are not Chase for the Sprint Cup finalists, so it wouldn’t be surprising for some of the focus to start with the third row.

Kevin Harvick, starting fifth, is the highest starter among the four drivers who enter the race on equal footing in the standings. Whoever finishes best in the Ford 400 among that group will be crowned the champion Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

MORE: Homestead picks | Odds | Teammates could play big role in deciding champ

Harvick is the favorite, having led more than 2,000 laps this year, and he showed in qualifying Friday he had the most speed. As for the other Chase finalists, Denny Hamlin will start eighth, Joey Logano will start ninth and Ryan Newman will start 21st.

Jeff Gordon is on the pole and will be joined on the front row by Kurt Busch.

Here’s the breakdown for the final race of the 2014 season (Chase finalists in CAPS):

MORE: Most surprising Cup champions | Breaking down the final four | Chase story lines

1. Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet — Still has to be wondering how in the world can he finish second in two races of the previous round and not advance to the championship round. He’ll have a lot of company in the bewilderment.

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Final Sonoma Practice Notes: Kurt Busch looks like the best of several quality candidates

Kevin Harvick could make it 10 straight different drivers to win at Sonoma

What a breath of fresh air it is to talk about road course racing this week, not only because it’s a treat to see so many drivers out of their element making right and left turns, but also because we have an entirely new cast of quality candidates to win which would break Hendrick Motorsports five race winning streak.

There have been nine different winners at Sonoma Raceway the past nine seasons, and Sunday’s race could easily be the 10th straight as we have Kevin Harvick and Marcos Ambrose rated as two of the top-four candidates to win Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350.

For the past five races, all the talk has been about horsepower and how the Hendrick Chevy engines have the most of it, but when monitoring the speeds from Friday’s two practice sessions and Saturday’s qualifying, the four Hendrick cars aren’t in the conversation much.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was surprisingly good on Friday for a driver that didn’t do any road course testing prior to this weeks race, but no top-10 finishes in 14 career starts at Sonoma make him somewhat of a leper at the sports books. Jeff Gordon has finished second in two of the past three Sonoma events, but the last of his NASCAR-best nine road course wins came in 2006. Jimmie Johnson, winner of three of the past four Cup races and 2010 Sonoma winner, was surprisingly slow on Friday with his fastest lap only being 21st best.

There are more drivers than ever that have a chance at winning Sunday, and most of them can be found from a top-10 starting positing where 18 of the 25 (72%) Sonoma races have been won from. Eight of those 25 races have been won from the front row. The furthest a driver has started to win at Sonoma is 32nd by Juan Pablo Montoya in 2007.

Of course, the double-file restarts have given drivers in the back a better opportunity to move up quicker in recent years, but with passing so difficult and only a few key sports on the 1.99-mile 10 turn course to make those passes, being near the front gives drivers the best opportunity to win just like we see in most Formula-1 races.

The driver that stands out the most based on what happened Friday and Saturday is Kurt Busch, who is making his third straight Sonoma start with a different team. It hasn’t mattered what car Busch has been in, whether it’s been the No. 97 Ford, the No. 2 Dodge, No. 78 Chevy or the No. 41 Chevy, Busch has a great feel for the track and has had the second best Loop Rating (107.8) since NASCAR began collecting loads of data at each track in 2005.

Busch won in 2011, meaning if he won Sunday, it would halt Sonoma’s different winner streak at nine. In 2012, he came close with a third-place finish and last season he was fourth. It’s quite possible that his Stewart-Haas car he’s using this week is better than all of the cars he used the past three seasons.

Clint Bowyer might have been the top-rated driver to win this week had he qualified better than 25th on Saturday. Despite the poor start, Bowyer should be one of those cars that moves up quickly, and if he can stay out dangers way while bunched up with the lesser cars in the middle of the pack, he should be competing for the win with less than 20 laps to go. His poor starting position should offer some great value at the sports books.

We left off our list a few of the fastest drivers in qualifying such as Jamie McMurray, A.J. Allmendinger and Kyle Larson only because their past history at Sonoma didn’t merit being ahead of anyone in our top-10. Allmendinger, however, is very adept on the roads and you couldn’t be faulted for taking a shot with him at the bet window if getting decent odds.

Another long shot to seriously consider that would make it 10 straight different winners at Sonoma is Bowyer’s teammate Brian Vickers. The Michael Waltrip Racing program has won the past two seasons at Sonoma and both Bowyer and Vickers appear to have similar winning type of set-ups. The big difference between the two teams is that Vickers has a much more favorable start position (8th).

Read More Here.......Final Sonoma Driver Ratings

Kenseth wins first pole of season at Fontana

Matt Kenseth is a 3-time winner at Fontana

FONTANA, Calif. — Although Matt Kenseth thinks track position is less important on Fontana's well-aged asphalt than on other NASCAR ovals, he is still excited to start up front Sunday.

Kenseth won the pole Friday, edging Brad Keselowski in another knockout qualifying session highlighted by now-familiar faces.

Kenseth won his first pole of the season, turning a lap in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 187.315 mph. He beat Keselowski's 187.105 to earn the 12th pole of his NASCAR career.

MORE: Full lineup breakdown | SN's race picks

"This is probably one of the best tracks we go to as far as passing, with all the different lanes," Kenseth said. "Unless you get stuck on the top, there's a lot of options here. This place is really wide. It's very challenging as a driver, but very fun, as well, because you can look around and if your car is running a certain way, you can find a groove that will help your car and move around a lot."

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2013 Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas: Penske duo on Front Row

Joey Logano is a major wild card this week. The Golden Nugget respects him with 14/1 odds to win Sunday. 

Kobalt Tools 400 Starting Lineup