NASCAR Daytona: Kyle Busch leads Matt Kenseth in Joe Gibbs front row
Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth gave Joe Gibbs Racing a front-row sweep for the NASCAR Sprint Cup's return to Daytona
Toyota proved to have the upper hand in qualifying trim, with Busch's 46.458-second lap, at an average of 193.723mph, putting him 0.102s clear of team-mate Kenseth, winner at Kentucky last weekend.
Fellow Toyota squad Michael Waltrip Racing claimed third with Clint Bowyer. Team owner Waltrip qualified seventh for his return to the driving seat.
Hendrick Chevrolet's Kasey Kahne managed to prevent an all-Toyota top four by pushing early provisional polesitter Martin Truex Jr back to fifth, alongside Paul Menard.
Championship leader Jimmie Johnson, winner at Daytona in February's 500, was second best of the Hendrick stable in eighth.
Roush Fenway duo Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Greg Biffle completed the top 10 in the fastest of the Fords.
It was an underwhelming qualifying session for Daytona 500 polesitter Danica Patrick. She only managed 11th, though that still made her Stewart-Haas' top contender.
Johnson's closest points rival Carl Edwards starts 12th for Saturday night's 400-mile race, with reigning champion Brad Keselowski 15th.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Toyota 46.458s 2. Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Toyota 46.560s +0.102s 3. Clint Bowyer Waltrip Toyota 46.594s +0.136s 4. Kasey Kahne Hendrick Chevrolet 46.595s +0.137s 5. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota 46.601s +0.143s 6. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 46.614s +0.156s 7. Michael Waltrip Waltrip Toyota 46.618s +0.160s 8. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 46.630s +0.172s 9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr Roush Fenway Ford 46.636s +0.178s 10. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 46.645s +0.187s 11. Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 46.649s +0.191s 12. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford 46.656s +0.198s 13. Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 46.662s +0.204s 14. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 46.665s +0.207s 15. Brad Keselowski Penske Ford 46.680s +0.222s 16. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 46.681s +0.223s 17. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet 46.699s +0.241s 18. Joey Logano Penske Ford 46.701s +0.243s 19. Casey Mears Germain Ford 46.701s +0.243s 20. Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford 46.733s +0.275s 21. Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 46.748s +0.290s 22. Kurt Busch Furniture Row Chevrolet 46.756s +0.298s 23. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 46.766s +0.308s 24. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Toyota 46.768s +0.310s 25. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 46.827s +0.369s 26. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 46.838s +0.380s 27. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 46.905s +0.447s 28. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 46.935s +0.477s 29. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 46.986s +0.528s 30. Aric Almirola Petty Ford 47.045s +0.587s 31. Michael McDowell Parsons Ford 47.171s +0.713s 32. JJ Yeley Baldwin Chevrolet 47.186s +0.728s 33. AJ Allmendinger Phoenix Chevrolet 47.188s +0.730s 34. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota 47.275s +0.817s 35. David Stremme Swan Toyota 47.318s +0.860s 36. Scott Speed Leavine Ford 47.405s +0.947s 37. Josh Wise Front Row Ford 47.412s +0.954s 38. David Ragan Front Row Ford 47.419s +0.961s 39. Terry Labonte FAS Lane Ford 47.460s +1.002s 40. Travis Kvapil BK Toyota 47.620s +1.162s 41. David Reutimann BK Toyota 47.687s +1.229s 42. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 47.689s +1.231s 43. Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 47.840s +1.382s
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments