Daytona 500 Qualifying

Daytona 500 Qualifying. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It was only two laps. It didn’t pay a dime or a point.

In fact, the practice session was cut short by rain.

Yet Dale Earnhardt Jr. still had the fastest car in Friday’s first practice session for the Daytona 500. And coming off the worst season of his Sprint Cup Series career, that has to count for something.

Earnhardt posted a lap at 188.679 mph to lead a field of 46 cars that were able to get onto the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway before rain halted the session. Eight teams that never got on track will have a half-hour practice session beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

Qualifying that will set the front row for the Daytona 500 field is set for 1:05 p.m. Saturday.

During Thursday’s media day session, Earnhardt was asked if he daydreamed about starting this new season with a second 500 victory. That would certainly do wonders to wash away bad memories of 2009.

“I don’t really daydream about it. You know, I know it’s our goal. It’s what we set out to do,” he said. “You know, it would definitely be a big boost for our team and a big confidence builder for us.

“Yeah, I mean, we would definitely feed off of that, I’m sure.”

How could he not?

Earnhardt finished a career-low 25th in points last year, with two top-five and five top-10 finishes in 36 races. He changed crew chiefs midseason and it could be said that he was under more media scrutiny than usual – if that’s possible.

Even a pole in the season’s biggest race would offer his fans hope.

It won’t be easy with several other strong contenders.

Only the front row is set by Saturday’s time trials. The rest of the starting lineup will be determined by Thursday’s two 150-mile qualifying races.

Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon were Friday’s second- and third-fastest drivers, respectively. Veteran Bill Elliott was fourth and Robby Gordon fifth.

In recent seasons, Daytona 500 qualifying has produced a surprise or two, including Martin Truex Jr. pole last season and David Gilliland’s in 2007.

Kurt Busch had the seventh-fastest car Friday, the best in a small fleet of Dodges competing in the Cup series.

“The first practice was just a shake-down session to make sure that we didn’t have any gremlins with the car,” he said.

“You’re always a little bit on the conservative side heading into the first session because you just don’t want to lose the 500 within the first hour of practice.”

Source: http://www.thatsracin.com/140/story/26237.html

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