NASCAR qualifying ends at Daytona for Coke Zero Sugar 400. Lineup set for Saturday race

Over 17 year and 489 races in his Cup Series career, Michael McDowell has won four poles.

All four have come this season.

And the fourth came Friday at Daytona, where he piloted his Ford to the fastest lap in qualifying to set the lineup for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400.

The six fastest cars were all Fords, and none as fast as McDowell’s No. 34 Front Row Motorsports ride. He averaged 183.165 mph around the 2.5-mile tri-oval, turning his lap in 49.136 seconds, less than a tenth of a second faster than Front Row teammate Todd Gilliland, who averaged 182.801.

McDowell said the four poles this season, along with a near miss at the Daytona 500 (he qualified second) has been a matter of addition effort and attention to detail.

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“It takes so much time, and you wonder, ‘is it all worth it?’ ” he said of focusing on pole day. “We just decided, ‘OK, we’re gonna take as much time as we have available to execute everything we can and really focus on taking our time an trying to do every detail perfect.’

He said the joke around the shop back in February was obvious: “If we go to Daytona and qualify 18th, we’re never putting this much effort into it again.”

When they qualified second, the whole attitude toward qualifying changed.

Coke Zero Sugar 400 lineup at Daytona

Row 1

1. Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

2. Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

Row 2

3. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

4. Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Row 3

5. Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

6. Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Row 4

7. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

8. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

Row 5

9. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

10. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Row 6

11. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

12. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

Row 7

13. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

14. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

Row 8

15. Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

16. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Row 9

17. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

18. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

Row 10

19. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

20. Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

Row 11

21. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

22. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Row 12

23. Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

24. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Row 13

25. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

26. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Row 14

27. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

28. Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Row 15

29. Parker Retzlaff, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet

30. Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Row 16

31. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

32. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Shane van Gisbergen will compete in seven of the final 12 Cup Series races in 2024. Acceptance Insurance will sponsor him at Darlington and Atlanta. https://t.co/bcuFVp3b5J

— Jayski (@jayski) August 23, 2024