Written by Adrian Beecher
Daytona, FL – William Byron in the no. 24 Axalta Chevrolet won the pole for the 61st annual Daytona 500 after running a 46.319-second lap in the 2nd round of qualifying. This marked the 5th straight time the pole for the Daytona 500 was won by a Hendrick Motorsports driver.
In round one of qualifying, Alex Bowman in the Nationwide No. 88 Chevrolet ran the fastest lap with a 46.408-second lap. Just missing the cut was Kyle Busch, who was 13th fastest with a 47.08-second lap, which was 0.008-seconds slower than 12th place Paul Menard in the No. 21 Quick Lane Tires & Auto Center Ford.
The rest of the field making the cut in round 1 for a spot at the pole were William Byron, Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Daniel Hemric, Austin Dillon, and Denny Hamlin.
Round 1 Above Cutline Results
| 1 | #88 Alex Bowman | 193.932 | 46.408 | 0 |
| 2 | #24 William Byron | 193.832 | 46.432 | 0.024 |
| 3 | #9 Chase Elliott | 193.678 | 46.469 | 0.061 |
| 4 | #48 Jimmie Johnson | 192.93 | 46.649 | 0.241 |
| 5 | #22 Joey Logano | 192.382 | 46.782 | 0.374 |
| 6 | #2 Brad Keselowski | 192.32 | 46.797 | 0.389 |
| 7 | #19 Martin Truex Jr | 192.295 | 46.803 | 0.395 |
| 8 | #14 Clint Bowyer | 192.074 | 46.857 | 0.449 |
| 9 | #8 Daniel Hemric | 192.057 | 46.861 | 0.453 |
| 10 | #3 Austin Dillon | 191.742 | 46.938 | 0.53 |
| 11 | #11 Denny Hamlin | 191.453 | 47.009 | 0.601 |
| 12 | #21 Paul Menard | 191.196 | 47.072 | 0.664 |
In round two of qualifying, Daniel Hemric in the No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet was the first car to run faster than they did in round 1, after four cars ran on the track. William Bryon would take the pole for the Daytona 500 running a .036-second faster lap than teammate Alex Bowman, who will start on the front row with Byron. The rest of the field will be determined in the Duels next Thursday.
Full Round two results.
| 1 | #24 William Byron | 194.305 | 46.319 | 0 |
| 2 | #88 Alex Bowman | 194.154 | 46.355 | 0.036 |
| 3 | #48 Jimmie Johnson | 193.807 | 46.438 | 0.119 |
| 4 | #9 Chase Elliott | 193.782 | 46.444 | 0.125 |
| 5 | #8 Daniel Hemric | 192.46 | 46.763 | 0.444 |
| 6 | #22 Joey Logano | 192.448 | 46.766 | 0.447 |
| 7 | #19 Martin Truex Jr | 192.353 | 46.789 | 0.47 |
| 8 | #14 Clint Bowyer | 192.291 | 46.804 | 0.485 |
| 9 | #2 Brad Keselowski | 192.263 | 46.811 | 0.492 |
| 10 | #3 Austin Dillon | 191.416 | 47.018 | 0.699 |
| 11 | #21 Paul Menard | 191.107 | 47.094 | 0.775 |
| 12 | #11 Denny Hamlin | 190.492 | 47.246 | 0.927 |
