Roush Fenway driver to start first in season opener
Trevor Bayne secured the pole position for Saturday’s season-opening NASCAR Nationwide Series race, clocking a fast lap of 177.162 mph at Daytona International Speedway in Friday’s qualifying.
Bayne, who will run a full season in Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 Ford, will lead the field in Saturday’s DRIVE4COPD 300, scheduled for a 1:15 p.m. green flag. After clinching his sixth Nationwide pole and first at Daytona, he’ll start alongside second-fastest Sam Hornish Jr., who logged a 176.869 mph lap in a Penske Racing Mustang.
QUALIFYING: DRIVE4COPD 300
Parker Kligerman will make his first start for Kyle Busch Motorsports in third place. He edged action sports star Travis Pastrana, who will start fourth as he embarks in his first full season as Bayne’s teammate at Roush Fenway.
Austin Dillon, who finished third in the points standings last season, qualified fifth. He’ll start beside Elliott Sadler, the series runner-up for 2012.
See the table below for the final order:
| Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Cargill Ford | 50.801 | 177.162 |
| 2 | 12 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Alliance Truck Parts Ford | 50.885 | 176.869 |
| 3 | 77 | Parker Kligerman | Bandit Chippers Toyota | 50.905 | 176.800 |
| 4 | 60 | Travis Pastrana | Roush-Fenway Racing Ford | 50.952 | 176.637 |
| 5 | 3 | Austin Dillon | AdvoCare Chevrolet | 51.020 | 176.401 |
| 6 | 11 | Elliott Sadler | OneMain Toyota | 51.030 | 176.367 |
| 7 | 54 | Kyle Busch (i) | Monster Toyota | 51.030 | 176.367 |
| 8 | 99 | Alex Bowman # | Florida Lottery Toyota | 51.038 | 176.339 |
| 9 | 18 | Matt Kenseth (i) | GameStop/Turtle Beach Toyota | 51.042 | 176.325 |
| 10 | 33 | Tony Stewart (i) | Oreo/Ritz Chevrolet | 51.043 | 176.322 |
| 11 | 22 | Brad Keselowski (i) | Discount Tire Ford | 51.043 | 176.322 |
| 12 | 34 | Danica Patrick (i) | GoDaddy.com Chevrolet | 51.067 | 176.239 |
| 13 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (i) | TaxSlavyer.com Chevrolet | 51.071 | 176.225 |
| 14 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Brandt Chevrolet | 51.078 | 176.201 |
| 15 | 7 | Regan Smith | Clean Coal Chevrolet | 51.086 | 176.174 |
| 16 | 10 | Jeff Green | TriStar Motorsports Toyota | 51.161 | 175.915 |
| 17 | 30 | Nelson Piquet Jr. (i) | Worx Chevrolet | 51.167 | 175.895 |
| 18 | 55 | Jamie Dick | Viva Motorsports Chevrolet | 51.195 | 175.798 |
| 19 | 5 | Kasey Kahne (i) | Great Clips Chevrolet | 51.202 | 175.774 |
| 20 | 20 | Brian Vickers | Dollar Chevrolet | 51.217 | 175.723 |
| 21 | 32 | Kyle Larson # | Clorox Chevrolet | 51.222 | 175.706 |
| 22 | 43 | Michael Annett | Pilot Ford | 51.266 | 175.555 |
| 23 | 01 | Mike Wallace | G&K Services/Flex Seal Chevrolet | 51.305 | 175.421 |
| 24 | 8 | Scott Lagasse Jr. | Hybrid Light/Boy Scouts of America Chevrolet | 51.358 | 175.240 |
| 25 | 70 | Johanna Long | Foretravel Chevrolet | 51.363 | 175.223 |
| 26 | 19 | Mike Bliss | G-Oil Chevrolet | 51.400 | 175.097 |
| 27 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing Dodge | 51.433 | 174.985 |
| 28 | 14 | Eric McClure | Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Toyota | 51.435 | 174.978 |
| 29 | 2 | Brian Scott | Shore Lodge Chevrolet | 51.450 | 174.927 |
| 30 | 23 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Stalk It/World Ventures Chevrolet | 51.630 | 174.317 |
| 31 | 79 | Jeffrey Earnhardt # | Uponor Ford | 51.632 | 174.311 |
| 32 | 44 | Hal Martin # | American Custom Yachts Toyota | 51.713 | 174.037 |
| 33 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Florida DOT Toyota | 51.719 | 174.017 |
| 34 | 24 | Blake Koch | I Am Second/Sale Life Toyota | 51.911 | 173.374 |
| 35 | 00 | Jason White | JW Demolition Toyota | 51.929 | 173.314 |
| 36 | 15 | Juan Carlos Blum # | VMP Ford | 52.205 | 172.397 |
| 37 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | USSJamesE.WilliamsDDg95/ASE Chevrolet | Owner points | |
| 38 | 4 | Danny Efland | Flex Seal Chevrolet | Owner points | |
| 39 | 40 | Reed Sorenson | e-Swisher Chevrolet | Owner points | |
| 40 | 1 | Kurt Busch (i) | Guy Roofing Chevrolet | 51.435 | 174.978 |
Did not qualify: No. 85 Bobby Gerhart; No. 89 Morgan Shepherd; No. 92 Dexter Stacey; No. 52 Joey Gase.
We apologize. We are having technical issues with our comment sections and fan community and it is temporarily unavailable. We are actively working on these issues and hope to have it up and running soon. We are also working on enhancements to provide a better forum for our fans. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience.