Daytona 500 qualifying 2021: Alex Bowman and William Byron on the first row following pole qualifying

Alex Bowman’s car number has changed from 88 to 48 for the 2021 season, but he hasn’t lost his Daytona magic, earning the pole position for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET; Fox, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), giving the Hendrick Motorsports driver a record fourth consecutive front-row start in the NASCAR Cup Series season opener.

Bowman, 27, started late in the qualifying order (38th of 44 drivers) on Wednesday night, but his Chevrolet easily set the mark with a lap of 191.261 mph (47.056 seconds), taking the lead from Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron by more than a quarter-second.

“It was fast,” Byron said, smiling, about Bowman’s pole-winning lap. 

In 2019, when Byron beat out Bowman for the pole position, the Hendrick teammates started alongside one another as well. Bowman won his first Daytona 500 pole in 2018 and finished second the following year. Hendrick Motorsports currently has 14 pole positions in the Daytona 500.

“It doesn’t really have a whole lot to do with me, right?” Bowman said on pit road after qualifying. “It’s a testament to these guys and everybody back in the shop at Hendrick Motorsports. They work so hard on these superspeedway cars. They are beautiful when they get to the race track. Our Ally Camaro has been really fast since we unloaded and they focused a lot on trying to get the pole for the Daytona 500. 

“It means a lot to us and we were able to achieve that.”

And, he added, “It’s more about the people that make it happen. I floored it, but I’m pretty sure everyone else did, too. I’m just appreciative my race car is fast.”

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola finished third in the No. 10 Ford, followed by Bubba Wallace, who drew rave reviews in his debut driving the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, which is co-owned by three-time and defending Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. Wallace’s lap was good enough for first place, but Byron took it three cars later.

Wallace was the fastest in an hour of practice Wednesday afternoon — his first official laps with the new organization — and he was clearly excited about the week ahead. In 2018, he finished second in his first Daytona 500.

“Everything’s shaping up to be a great ending for us, we just have to get through it,” Wallace said. “It’s kind of the same feeling I had in 2018, my first 500. The speed was there, we qualified decent and had a really good Duel and finished second in the 500. 

“I think the way things are going, we just have to keep it going, keep the positive momentum going. Everything’s kind of going well in the car. I’m confident. Still getting things worked out but all in all it comes pretty natural when you have a great team behind you.” 

Wallace said he received a “very positive” text from Jordan after qualifying and that Jordan will arrive in Daytona on Thursday in time for the Bluegreen Vacation Duels (7 p.m. ET; FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), which will determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

In qualifying, Hamlin was the 12th fastest. Wallace was faster, the two joked.

“I’m aware,” Hamlin said with a smile, adding, “It’s actually a pretty solid qualifying effort certainly for our FedEx team, just barely out of the top 10 there, so that’s a good starting spot for us and we’re excited about it. 

“Obviously that was a great run by the 23 team. They just barely missed it there by a tenth or so to get that locked-in spot (on the front row). But now they get to go out there and race and get the experience they need to get a good finish on Sunday.” 

In terms of movement, previous year’s polesitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fifth-fastest in the JTG Daugherty Chevrolet. The top ten were completed by Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford), Christopher Bell (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota), Ryan Preece (No. 37 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet), Austin Dillon (No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet), and Daniel Suarez (No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet).

Preece and 13th-place qualifier David Ragan were the quickest Open car teams that needed to qualify based on time. The remaining Open car team drivers — Austin Cindric, Kaz Grala, Timmy Hill, Noah Gragson, Ty Dillon, and Garrett Smithley — will compete in the Duel, with the winner of each Duel earning a spot in the Daytona 500.

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