Speedweek begins tonight with qualifying for the front row of the Daytona 500.  Forty-five drivers will compete for a spot to sit on the pole.

In an early morning practice, Denny Hamlin topped the list of drivers; as he did during The Clash.

RFK drivers Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher had steering issues during practice.

With the charter system, 36 of the 45 drivers are guaranteed a starting spot in the race.  The remaining nine drivers will be competing for the four (five) starting spots.  Under the new Provisional rule, Helio Castroneves has secured a spot as a special invitee but can improve his starting position if he can time his way into the race.  If Castroneves times his way into the race, there will be 40 starting drivers.  If he takes the new Provisional, there will be 41 drivers in the race.

Two of the remaining open spots will be secured after all of the drivers have made a qualifying run.

Each of the 45 drivers will make a single qualifying lap with the top 10 drivers moving on to a second round to determine the front row of the race.

Qualifying will also set the lineup for the two Duel races on Thursday night.

Eight of the last eleven Daytona 500 poles were occupied by one of the four Hendrick Motorsports cars.

The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Justin Haley and posted a time of 49.825 seconds.  Haley’s team chose not to make any practice runs this morning.

One of the open drivers trying to enter the race is JR Motorsports with Xfinity Series champion Jusitn Allgaier behind the wheel of the number 40 car.  He posted a time of 49.863 seconds.

Seven time Cup Series champion and primary owner of Legacy Motor Club Jimmie Johnson posted a time of 49.783 seconds.

The 16th car out on the track, Austin Dillon topped the leaderboard with a time of 49.497 seconds; the first driver to break the 49.50 second mark.

With a time of 49.641 seconds, Martin Truex Jr has secured a spot in the Daytona 500 on time.

Riley Herbst and Shane van Gisbergen will compete for the Rookie of the Year honours this year.

Chandler Smith is the final open car driver to qualify for the race and guarantees Jimmie Johnson a spot in the Daytona 500 on time.

The final two open spots will be secured after the Duel races – one from each race.

This year Trackhouse Racing has a truly international lineup with American Ross Chastain, Mexican Daniel Suarez, and New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen; and for this race, Brazilian Helio Castroneves.  Trackhouse Racing is owned by Justin Marks and Latin music star Pitbull.

Chase Briscoe topped the board with a time of 49.218 seconds.

The top 10 drivers moving on to round two of qualifying are:
Chase Briscoe
Ryan Preece
Austin Cindric
Joey Logano
Ty Dillon
Josh Berry
Austin Dillon
Christopher Bell
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson

First up to make a run for the pole is Kyle Larson with a time of 49.522 seconds.

Six of the top 10 drivers in a battle for the pole have either a new crew chief and/or is on a new team.

After two rounds of qualifying Chase Briscoe puts his number 19 on the pole with Austin Cindric alongside on the front row.  This is the first time in Daytona 500 history that a Toyota sits on the pole!