Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and William Byron won front row in the Daytona 500 qualifying on Wednesday evening, taking the team to sixth pole position in the last seven races of the event.
Bowman took first place with a lap of 191.261 mph to take his second Daytona 500 pole.
“I think it means a lot to Mr. H – he wants to win everything, like any category, he wants to be at the top of the list,” Bowman said. “Here it really just comes down to who built the fastest race car. And I think it’s important for Hendrick Motorsports to prove that they are the ones who did that.”
Greg Ives, Bowman’s team chief, has put one of his cars in the front row for five consecutive years, dating back to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2017. Ives has never had a car start lower than the third since he became a cup driver in 2015.
“We put a lot of time and effort into our speedway program. It’s a show car. It’s the pinnacle of the hotrods we get from our race shop,” said Ives. “There’s a lot of pride in every part, every car, just from the paintwork to the last bolt and nut.” ‘
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Qualifying now turns into The Duels, with the results of Thursday night’s 150-mile double races used to establish the rest of the starting grid for the Daytona 500.
The Duels will air on FS1 from 7pm EST and the Daytona 500 on Fox at 2:30 pm EST on Sundays.
The Associated Press contributed to this report