William Byron claims Daytona 500 Pole Award
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Hendrick Motorsports brought the four fastest cars to Daytona Beach and it was William Byron who topped the speed charts in Daytona 500 Qualifying on Sunday.
Byron, 21, claimed his first Cup pole and will start on the Pole for The Great American Race at Daytona International Speedway. Byron posted a fast lap of 194.305 mph./46.319 seconds around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Byron is the second youngest Daytona 500 Pole Award winner. Hendrick Motorsports has now claimed the last five Daytona 500 Pole awards. Byron’s Pole Award also netted Chevrolet its 700th Cup Series Pole.
Alex Bowman will start on the front row for the second consecutive year. Bowman’s 46.355-second lap will allow the Arizona-native to start second.
Team Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott were third and fourth respectively in the round.
The rest of the starting positions will be set in the Gander RV Duel at Daytona on Thursday (Feb. 14).
Matt Courson View All
Matt Courson is the Managing Editor for The Racing Experts. Courson has covered NASCAR events at 19 of the 23 active racetracks. When not at the track, the 20-year-old Journalism major enjoys spending time with family and playing Ingress.