DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — In a career that will eventually make him a first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Famer, there are few races Kyle Busch hasn’t won. Much to his chagrin, the Daytona 500 happens to be on that list.
But Busch will look to snap his multi-decade winless streak in NASCAR’s biggest race from the pole position after setting the fastest time in Daytona 500 qualifying Wednesday night.
The last driver to post a qualifying time, Busch bumped Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe off the No. 1 spot to prevent Briscoe from winning the Daytona 500 pole for a second consecutive year. It is Busch’s first Daytona 500 pole and seventh for Richard Childress Racing.
“This feels good,” Busch said. “Feels really good for RCR as a group. … Just a valiant effort by everybody here. It would be really nice to be doing an interview like this about being No. 1 come Sunday night.”
Busch is seeking his first Daytona 500 in his 21st attempt. His best finish was second to then-JGR teammate Denny Hamlin in the 2019 race. A win Sunday would make Busch the first driver to win their first Daytona 500 past their 20th start.
“Kyle, we gotta get this 500,” team owner Richard Childress said.
Ryan Preece, Hamlin, Corey Heim, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott completed the top 10 qualifiers, though their actual starting spots will be determined in Thursday’s Duel qualifying races.
Heim and Justin Allgaier assured themselves a position in Sunday’s race regardless of how they perform in the Duel races by being fastest of the eight “opens” not guaranteed a starting spot. This marks Heim’s debut in NASCAR’s marquee race.
The final two transfer positions will be decided Thursday amongst Anthony Alfredo, B.J. McLeod, Casey Mears, Corey LaJoie, Chandler Smith and J.J. Yeley, going to whomever is the highest finishing driver in each of the Duels.
Although seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson is an “open” entry, he opted to take the open exemption provisional to lock in his position in the Daytona 500. The provisional is reserved for a marquee driver and awarded at NASCAR’s discretion, something Johnson earned by winning a record-tying seven Cup championships before retiring from full-time competition following the 2020 season.
In last year’s Daytona 500, Johnson started 40th then drove to a third-place finish. On Sunday, he will start last in the 41-car field.
Noah Gragson had his time disallowed after putting his left hand up to the window on his lap to deflect air. The infraction comes in the first race since NASCAR issued a rule over the offseason prohibiting the practice, resulting in Gragson having to start last in his Duel qualifier.
“Yeah, I completely forgot about the rule,” Gragson said. “So, that one is on me.”