Pole winner Dale Jr. plays it coy on returning for the ‘Clash’

RELATED: Dale Jr. snags Daytona pole | Weekend schedule DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr., in his final full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, is eligible to run in the "Clash" preseason race at Daytona by virtue of being a previous event winner. Earnhardt, though, said earlier this year he would rather earn his way in by winning a Coors Light Pole Award. Well, Earnhardt earned it. He'll start first in Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after winning the Coors Light Pole Award on Friday at Daytona International Speedway. In the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Earnhardt Jr. was the final driver to take a lap in the second and final round of group qualifying. His speed of 190.973 mph topped teammate Chase Elliott's mark of 190.795 mph for his first pole since 2013. So, how about the "Clash," Junior? "I'll talk to the boss (Rick Hendrick) and see what he's got in the shed," Earnhardt Jr. said with a wry smile. In other words, stay tuned. [gallery_content baseUrl="https://www.nascar.com" galleryID="1261"]