Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric Clinch Daytona 500 Front Row

Chase Briscoe earned the pole position for the upcoming Daytona 500 on Wednesday, triumphing over more than three dozen other NASCAR Cup Series vying to start first in the Great American Race. The 30-year-old Briscoe won the pole driving the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, giving him the distinction of being the first ever driver to start on the Daytona 500 pole in a Toyota. Briscoe will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday, accompanied by 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric on the front row. Cindric, who’s starting second, fended off Briscoe and several other drivers when he won the sport’s most prestigious race three years ago. Briscoe’s speed of 182.745 miles per hour just barely bested Cindric’s 182.463. A First for ToyotaAnd for Briscoe “A great way to start our season,” Briscoe said after his career third and biggest pole award. “Unbelievable way to start off the year. Unbelievable way to start off with Toyota. To be able to be the guy to deliver them the first anything when they’ve already accomplished so much is pretty cool.” Only Briscoe and Cindric have locked in their starting positions for the 67th annual Daytona 500. The rest of the field will be set by The Duel at Daytona, a pair of races Thursday night that establish the starting order of the inside and outside lines respectively. The two winners of these races will start third and fourth, with the runner-ups starting fifth and sixth, and so on. Not only is Briscoe’s triumph a first for Toyota, it’s a first for his tenure at a new race team. Briscoe joined Joe Gibbs Racing this season following the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing last season, taking over for the retiring NASCAR champion Martin Truex Jr. Briscoe’s first major NASCAR campaign outside of a Ford machine is off to a strong start. Truex, Johnson Clinch Starting Spots Speaking of Truex, the 44-year-old clinched his spot in the Daytona 500 Wednesday, ensuring his much-anticipated return from retirement. Truex was one of eight drivers not guaranteed a starting spot, but by setting the fastest time among those eight drivers he clinched a berth in Sunday’s race. Also clinching is a fellow champion returning from retirement: seven-time series champ and two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson. The remaining six drivers battling it out for two remaining positions are Anthony Alfredo, Justin Allgaier, Corey LaJoie, BJ McLeod, Chandler Smith, and JJ Yeley. “They were sweating all afternoon, and luckily, we were able to put a good lap in,” Truex said. “All of the guys at TRICON and also at JGR, Toyota and TRD. I’m sure, it’s a big deal for them—both cars that just locked in are Toyotas. Big night for them, and hopefully, we can have some fun the rest of the weekend.” Starting Lineups for the Daytona Duels Also locked in on Wednesday was the starting lineup for each of Thursday night’s Duel races. They will run as follows. DUEL #1: Chase Briscoe – #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing) Ryan Preece – #60 BuildSubmarines.com Ford (RFK Racing) Josh Berry – #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford (Wood Brothers Racing) Austin Dillon – #3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing) Ty Dillon – #10 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet (Kaulig Racing) Zane Smith – #38 Speedy Cash Ford (Front Row Motorsports) Kyle Busch – #8 Zone Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing) Chase Elliott – #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports) Michael McDowell – #71 Go Bowling Chevrolet (Spire Motorsports) AJ Allmendinger – #16 Celsius Chevrolet (Kaulig Racing) William Byron – #24 Axalta Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports) Martin Truex Jr. – #56 Bass Pro Shops Toyota (TRICON Garage) Ty Gibbs – #54 Monster Energy Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing) Tyler Reddick – #45 Nasty Beast Toyota (23XI Racing) Bubba Wallace – #23 McDonald’s Toyota (23XI Racing) Justin Haley – #7 Chili’s Chevrolet (Spire Motorsports) Justin Allgaier – #40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet (JR Motorsports) Carson Hocevar – #77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet (Spire Motorsports) Ross Chastain – #1 Busch Light Chevrolet (Trackhouse Racing) Helio Castroneves – #91 Wendy’s Chevrolet (Trackhouse Racing) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – #47 SunnyD Chevrolet (Hyak Motorsports) Chandler Smith – #66 Quick Tie Chevrolet (Garage 66) JJ Yeley – #44 Green River Whiskey Chevrolet (NY Racing) DUEL #2: Austin Cindric – #2 Discount Tire Ford (Team Penske) Joey Logano – #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford (Team Penske) Denny Hamlin – #11 National Debt Relief Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing) Christopher Bell – #20 DeWalt/Interstate Batteries Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing) Kyle Larson – #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports) Alex Bowman – #48 Ally Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports) Todd Gilliland – #34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford (Front Row Motorsports) Brad Keselowski – #6 Kroger/Cottonelle Ford (RFK Racing) Chris Buescher – #17 Fastenal Ford (RFK Racing) Ryan Blaney – #12 Menards/Peak Ford (Team Penske) Noah Gragson – #10 Rush Truck Centers Ford (Front Row Motorsports) Daniel Suárez – #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet (Trackhouse Racing) Riley Herbst – #25 Monster Energy Zero Sugar Toyota (23XI Racing) Jimmie Johnson – #84 Carvana Toyota (Legacy Motor Club) Shane van Gisbergen – #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet (Trackhouse Racing) Cole Custer – #41 HaasTooling.com Ford (Haas Factory Team) Corey LaJoie – #01 Take 5 Oil Change/DuraMax Ford (Rick Ware Racing) Erik Jones – #43 AdventHealth Toyota (Legacy Motor Club) John Hunter Nemechek – #42 Dollar Tree Toyota (Legacy Motor Club) Anthony Alfredo – #62 Fortify Building Solutions Chevrolet (Beard Motorsports) BJ McLeod – #78 HitchGo Chevrolet (LiveFast Motorsports) Cody Ware – #51 Parts Plus/Jacob Construction Ford (Rick Ware Racing)