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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t take any credit for his qualifying effort Sunday, a 192.864 mph lap that put his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the front row for next week’s season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.


"Ain’t much to it," Earnhardt quipped. "The car does all the work."


Earnhardt, twice a winner of the "Great American Race," won’t be on the pole, but he’ll start alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, giving the team a front-row sweep for the second time in the last three years.


His previous wins in the 500 came from third (in 2004) and ninth (’14).


Earnhardt is regarded as one of the best at restrictor-plate racing but qualifying is a solo effort. There are no other cars off which to pick up a push or gain an advantage. It’s all about horsepower. But there’s a bit of technique required as well.


"The transitions are kind of important as far as feeding the car into the corner and also running as tight as you can on the apron without bouncing the skirt off the apron or giving up any speed, or just time adding feet to your lap by running high, at least a little bit, can make a big difference," he said. 


"But other than that, the driver, I don’t think he’s feeling like he’s in control of too much. The car is doing most of the work."


Sidelined for the last half of the 2016 season after suffering concussion-like symptoms, Earnhardt is eager to be back behind the wheel. He chose not to compete in Sunday’s Advance Auto Parts Clash, instead allowing Alex Bowman to field his entry. Bowman had won the pole at Phoenix driving in relief of Earnhardt last fall, a distinction that Earnhardt said earned the driver the opportunity.


But after spending "The Clash" working as an analyst in the booth for Fox Sports, Earnhardt traded in his suit and tie for a firesuit, and eased his way back into more familiar surroundings.


He was second-fastest in the opening round of qualifying; Elliott ended the session atop the board. In the final round, the No. 88 went to the top of the board with only one driver, Elliott, remaining.


"I certainly would have loved to have gotten a pole, but my boss man is happy," Earnhardt said of team owner Rick Hendrick. "I just talked to him on the phone and he’s got to be thrilled with having his cars up front."


Elliott’s final-round run, a lap of 192.872 mph, gave the Dawsonville, Georgia, youngster his second consecutive Daytona 500 pole. It was the third straight No. 1 qualifying effort for his No. 24 team, which also started out front here in ’15 with four-time series champion Jeff Gordon behind the wheel.


"Obviously Dale is good down here, and we all knew he was going to be fast today," Elliott, 21, said. "That’s no surprise. But I don’t really care who it is. I’m not going to feel bad about beating somebody.


"It’s cool to share a front row with a teammate is really the biggest thing I look at with that. But Dale is a good guy. I’m happy to share the front row with him, but happier to beat him, obviously, but regardless of who it is, that’s what you’re trying to do, you know."


Elliott and Earnhardt were the only two drivers to officially lock in their starting positions for next weekend’s Daytona 500 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The remainder of the field will be determined through the Can-Am Duels, a pair of 150-lap qualifying races scheduled for Thursday evening (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).


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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Veteran drivers Brendan Gaughan and Elliott Sadler secured positions in next weekend’s Daytona 500 (Feb. 26, 2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) thanks to their qualifying efforts Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.


Sadler and Gaughan were fastest among six drivers without secured spots in the 40-car field, guaranteeing their chance to race next weekend by virtue of their two-lap qualifying runs Sunday.


Thirty-six of the 40 starting positions are secured through team charters. The other four spots on the Daytona 500 grid include the two best qualifiers among Open teams (Sadler and Gaughan), plus the top Open finisher in each of Thursday’s Can-Am Duel races.


The 40-year-old NASCAR veteran Gaughan secured just his second Daytona 500 starting position thanks to his speed of 189.294 mph in the No. 75 Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet — helping the young Beard Motorsports team to its Daytona 500 debut. The speed was 33rd overall among 42 entries, but fastest among the Open, non-Charter teams.


Gaughan finished 19th in the 2004 Daytona 500, which was his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut. It also is his only scheduled Monster Energy Series start as he will compete full time again in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for Richard Childress Racing.


"This is a team that’s never made a Cup race," Gaughan said. "Nice owner and very nice group of guys. You never know what will happen, but I know how hard it is to do this Cup stuff.  Jay Robinson gave the owner of this race car, Mark Beard, some advice.  He said, ‘Go buy a speedway car and a big motor from (Earnhardt Childress Racing),’ and that’s exactly what he did, and then they called me to come drive it.


"This man has tried six or seven times to make a race, and his first Cup race is the Daytona-freaking-500. I’m so glad to do it for him."


Sadler, meanwhile, was 36th fastest overall in Tommy Baldwin Racing‘s No. 7 Golden Corral Chevrolet at 188.561 mph, good for second-best among Open teams.


This will be the 41-year-old Sadler’s 14th Daytona 500 start. His best finish was a runner-up showing to Ward Burton in 2002. Baldwin was Burton’s crew chief for the victory.


"It’s a good start for the week," a grinning Baldwin said. "It allows us to relax the next two or three days and just focus on the 500. We finished eighth in last year’s Daytona 500 and hopefully we just stick to that plan. I’ve got all the notes from that."


Drivers Reed Sorenson, D.J. Kennington, Corey LaJoie and Timmy Hill are vying for the final two spots in the Daytona 500.


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Sunday’s Coors Light Pole qualifying set the front row for the Daytona 500 — Chase Elliott is on the pole, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start second when the green flag drops Feb. 26 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

The qualifying speeds also set the lineups for Thursday’s Can-Am Duels at Daytona (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the twin 60-lap races that determine both the field and the full lineup for the "Great American Race."

 

As a reminder, 36 Charter teams are locked into the Daytona 500, leaving four available spots to be filled by six Open, or non-Charter teams.

 

Duel 1 is typically comprised from the odd-numbered drivers on the Daytona 500 qualifying speed chart — first, third, fifth, etc. Duel 2 is then the even-finishing drivers. The duel lineups could be minimally altered from that formula, though, to ensure an even number of Open teams in each duel race (three apiece).

 

Below is the official lineup for each race:

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RELATED: Junior reacts to first laps of ’17

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Great patience surpassed high anticipation surrounding Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s return to the race track Saturday morning at Daytona International Speedway.

Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports crew was still working feverishly on his No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet in the garage area as his competitors rolled out for Daytona 500 opening practice. Earnhardt, meanwhile, stood back still wearing a ball cap, his arms crossed as he alternated between glancing at the scoring screen and watching his team prep the car — computers on the roof, hood up.

About 30-40 fans lined up four- and five-deep in the fan area behind the garage while a dozen photographers waited just outside his stall. The two-time Daytona 500 winner put his helmet on 30 minutes into the session and climbed into the car for his first official practice laps since July of 2016. (He missed the final 18 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races of 2016 because of a concussion.)

And then just as it looked like he would join competition for the first time in seven months, a caution flag came out for debris.


Earnhardt was the 36th car to roll onto the track, nearly 50 minutes into the almost four-hour session. His first lap was 17th-fastest at 190.504 mph. He finished the session in 11th place at 192.67 mph. Joey Logano led the practice, which was in preparation for Sunday’s single-car, two-round qualifying (3:10 p.m. ET, FOX).

 

Earnhardt ended the session with the 11th-fastest lap and some invaluable confidence being back in the driver seat again.

 

"It felt good to just get out there and get to work a little bit and be with the guys and see all the familiar faces in the garage, other drivers and team members and so forth," Earnhardt said following Saturday’s nearly four-hour practice. "Just trying to put as many laps as I can behind me and get further and further into this deal to where the events from last year become more of a distant memory and don’t define me as who I am so much anymore. It will be good to get in the car and get some good wins and good finishes under our belt this season. That is our plan."

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MORE: Full starting lineup | Practice results

The exhibition event known as the Advance Auto Parts Clash (Feb. 18, 8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the kickoff to the 2017 NASCAR season. The non-points paying event at Daytona International Speedway features a select field of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers at the 2.5-mile track. How does the race work? What is the format? How does one qualify for the event? NASCAR.com answers those questions and more.


Programming info for The Clash:
When: Feb. 19, 11:35 a.m. ET
Where: Daytona International Speedway
TV: FS1
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Defending race winner: Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing


What is the format?
The 75-lap, 187.5-mile race will be split into two segments. A competition caution at Lap 25 will separate the segments. 


How do drivers qualify for this event?
Drivers are eligible for this event by the following ways: 2016 Coors Light Pole Award winners, former Clash race winners and former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full-time in 2016. All 16 drivers from the 2016 playoffs are also eligible.

Which drivers are eligible to race then? | Entry list for ‘The Clash’
20 drivers meet the requirements. They are:
Chris Buescher (2016 playoff qualifier)
Greg Biffle (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Alex Bowman (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Kurt Busch (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Kyle Busch (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Austin Dillon (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Former Clash Race winner)
Carl Edwards (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Chase Elliott (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Denny Hamlin (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Kevin Harvick (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Jimmie Johnson (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Matt Kenseth (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Brad Keselowski (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Kyle Larson (2016 playoff qualifier)
Joey Logano (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Jamie McMurray (2016 playoff qualifier)
Danica Patrick (Former Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole Award winner)
Tony Stewart (Former Clash Race winner)
Martin Truex Jr. (2016 Coors Light Pole Award winner)


Some of those names are not driving in 2017 or have yet to secure rides
That’s a good point. Biffle does not have a ride as of yet for the 2017 season, so he will not be competing. Edwards stepped away from racing last month, but NASCAR has allowed his replacement, Daniel Suarez, to drive in the race. Stewart has retired from NASCAR competition. So that puts the field at 18.

Bowman and Dale Jr. drove the same car in 2016; how can they both be in the race?
They won’t. Alex Bowman will drive the No. 88 in The Clash as a nod to the work he did as a substitute driver while Dale Earnhardt Jr. was out last season with concussion-like symptoms. Instead, Dale Jr. will be in the TV booth calling the action on FS1 with commentators Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip.


So the field will be made up of how many cars?
Seventeen drivers will make up the field: Buescher, Bowman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Elliott, Hamlin, Harvick, Johnson, Kenseth, Keselowski, Larson, Logano, McMurray, Patrick, Suarez and Truex Jr.


How is the lineup determined?
A draw will be held to determine drivers’ starting positions. In past years, the crew chiefs have drawn for position. Hamlin, last year’s winner, started the race 15th. | See the starting lineup

Are there any points on the line?
No, this is a non-points event, just like the Monster Energy All-Star Race in May.

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RELATED: Junior returns at Daytona | Practice results

Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned to competition for the first time in seven months, but it was Joey Logano in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford who led qualifying practice for the Daytona 500 on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

Logano’s fastest lap of 193.116 mph held firm at the top of the leaderboard after the nearly four-hour practice session and gave him a boost heading into Coors Light Pole Qualifying on Sunday (3:10 p.m. ET, FOX).

 However, lots of eyes were on Junior, who missed the final 18 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races in 2016 because of a concussion. Thirty minutes into practice, Junior climbed into the car, then after a debris caution 20 minutes later the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports took the track.

Earnhardt Jr.’s first lap was 17th-fastest at 190.504 mph. Junior finished the session in 11th place at 192.670 mph.

"It felt good to just get out there and get to work a little bit and be with the guys and see all the familiar faces in the garage, other drivers and team members and so forth," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Yeah, just trying to put as many laps as I can behind me and get further and further into this deal to where the events from last year become more of a distant memory and don’t define me as who I am so much anymore."

Behind Logano in second and third place, respectively, were Aric Almirola and Brad Keselowski, both in Fords. Rounding out the top five at the 2.5-mile superspeedway were Kyle Larson in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet and another Ford driven by Wood Brothers Racing‘s Ryan Blaney.

This was the only practice scheduled before Sunday’s single-car, two-round qualifying that will set the front row for the 59th running of The Great American Race.

MORE: How the field is set for the Daytona 500

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# Car Driver Team
1 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Little Joes Autos/Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet
2 51 * Timmy Hill(i) Spoonful of Music Foundation/Bubba Burger Chevrolet
3 83 * Corey LaJoie Dustless Blasting Toyota
4 96 * DJ Kennington Lordco/Castrol Toyota
5 55 * Reed Sorenson Toyota
6 23 Joey Gase(i) Best Home Furnishings Toyota
7 15 Michael Waltrip Aaron’s Toyota
8 72 Cole Whitt Florida Lottery Ford
9 37 Chris Buescher Cottonelle Mega Roll Chevrolet
10 7 * Elliott Sadler(i) Golden Corral Chevrolet
11 75 * Brendan Gaughan(i) Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet
12 38 David Ragan Camping World Ford
13 32 Matt DiBenedetto EJ Wade Construction Ford
14 34 Landon Cassill Love’s Ford
15 95 Michael McDowell K-Love Radio Chevrolet
16 3 Austin Dillon DOW Chevrolet
17 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger Click List Chevrolet
18 10 Danica Patrick Aspen Dental Ford
19 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna McDonald’s Chevrolet
20 78 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER BOATS Toyota
21 13 Ty Dillon # GEICO Chevrolet
22 24 Chase Elliott NAPA Chevrolet
23 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s Ford
24 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota
25 27 Paul Menard Menards/Peak Chevrolet
26 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota
27 77 Erik Jones # 5-hour Energy Extra Strength Toyota
28 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
29 20 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Toyota
30 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet
31 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford
32 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet
33 14 Clint Bowyer Mobil 1 Ford
34 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford
35 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford
36 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet
37 19 Daniel Suarez # ARRIS Toyota
38 21 Ryan Blaney Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
39 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet
40 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford
41 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Foods Ford
42 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford

* Required to qualify on time, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he intends to race "for more years," but NASCAR’s most popular driver also said he won’t sit down to discuss his contract with team owner Rick Hendrick until he’s confident his health isn’t an issue.

Earnhardt, 42, missed the final 18 races of the 2016 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season while recovering from a concussion suffered at mid-season.

He is in the final year of his contract as driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

"I told Rick (Hendrick) that I would like to get a couple of races, a couple of months under my belt to get confidence in my health," Earnhardt said Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, site of next week’s season-opening Daytona 500.

"This is the only reason I feel that way. There’s no underlying crap about it. When I got hurt last year, what I saw it put the company through, how I saw it frustrate certain aspects of the company — maybe not frustrate but it put a strain on our relationships. Our partners were worried about my future, Rick and everybody was worried. I don’t want to do that again.

"I want to get some races under my belt and get confidence in my health before I can commit to him. I don’t want to make him a promise that I can’t deliver on.

"Once I feel like, ‘You know what? I think I’m good. I think I can withstand the wear and tear of driving these cars to do a couple more years,’ I’m ready to do it. Because I want to race; I want to be here and I want to race."

Earnhardt joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 after eight seasons with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company founded by his father, the seven-time series champion and inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee. Nine of his 26 career victories have come since the move to HMS.

In addition to competing for HMS, Earnhardt also co-owns JR Motorsports, a race organization that fields four teams in NASCAR’s XFINITY Series.

He will make his first start since his injury next week here at DIS. He’s a two-time winner of the Daytona 500 and considered one of the sport’s best on the big superspeedways, where NASCAR mandates the use of restrictor plates to limit speeds.

Retirement has been on his mind, Earnhardt admitted, even before last season’s setback. But he said the injury made him realize that it might now be best to put off such thoughts until he knows his health isn’t a concern. Earnhardt said in December that he hoped to sit down and discuss a contract extension before the ’17 season got underway.

"I’ve been trying over the last year or two to put a number on it, say, ‘This is when I’m going to retire,’" he said. "’This will be the year or the day or the age.’ But I’ve decided that maybe it’s best that I don’t. Considering my health, I can’t even think about putting a date on it because I don’t know what’s going to happen to me going forward.

"I want to get a couple of races under my belt, a couple of months, and then we’ll sit down and say, ‘You know, if everything is going great and we haven’t had any issues, I’m confident to continue to race.’"

Earnhardt has twice signed five-year contracts with HMS – the first from 2008 through ’12 and the most recent, an extension which ran from 2013-17.

Hendrick Motorsports also fields Monster Energy Series teams for seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Chase Elliott.

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RELATED: Starting lineup

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Persistent rain on Saturday night forced postponement of the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona.
 
The race has been rescheduled for Sunday morning, with the green flag at 11:35 a.m., broadcast on FS1. The Clash will precede Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying for the Daytona 500, which will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.
 
With starting positions drawn by lot, Brad Keselowski will lead the field to the green flag in the Clash. Denny Hamlin, the defending winner of the exhibition race that signals the start of the NASCAR season, will start on the outside of the front row.
 
Hamlin is seeking to become the first back-to-back winner of the event since Kevin Harvick in 2009-2010.
 
The 17-driver field includes Coors Light Pole Award winners from the previous season, playoff drivers from the previous season, former Clash winners and former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full-time in 2016.
 
Sunoco rookie Daniel Suarez was added to the field after Carl Edwards unexpectedly stepped away from NASCAR racing in early January. Because Joe Gibbs Racing‘s preparation of Edwards’ cars was at an advanced stage when Edwards announced his departure from the No. 19 Toyota, Suarez was allowed to compete in the Clash as his successor.
 
Edwards led the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with six poles in 2016.

 

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Editor’s note: Every Friday during the season, "Tweets You Might Have Missed" presents eight of the best NASCAR-related tweets from the week. 

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