Nascar Blog

They qualified the first two positions yesterday for the 2010 Daytona 500, and it’s an all Hendricks front row, again. The rest of the qualifying spots will be determined by the twin 125 races this coming week. As far as the times on this qualifying run go, Johnson was 7th and Gordon was 10th, so all of the Hendricks vehicles were running in the top 10. After looking like he was going to do well in the Bus Shootout, things are looking good for Gordon as well in the Daytona 500.

Three weeks ago, at a Fan Fest appearance at Daytona International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke of a renewed spirit of cooperation at the Hendrick Motorsports shop shared by the No. 5 and No. 88 teams.

What Earnhardt termed a “change in culture” spurred by personnel moves within the shop was in full flower Saturday at Daytona.

Daytona 500 quals
Video: Martin races to pole
Video: Junior on front row
Results: Qualifying times
Lineup: Gatorade Duel 1
Lineup: Gatorade Duel 2
Mark Martin, who led the Sprint Cup Series with seven poles last year, added another to his resume, putting his No. 5 Chevy in the top starting spot for the Feb. 14 season-opening Daytona 500. Navigating the 2.5-mile superspeedway in 47.074 seconds (191.188 mph), Martin edged Earnhardt (190.913 mph) for the pole.

Those two drivers, who will start first and second in the 52nd running of NASCAR’s most prestigious race, are the only two who know their positions on the grid for the Valentine’s Day event. The starting order for the rest of the 43-car field won’t be determined until Thursday, with the running of the two Gatorade Duel 150-mile qualifying races. Source: Nascar.com

Here is how they qualified:
1 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet GoDaddy.com
2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Amp Energy / National Guard
3 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet U.S. Army
4 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
5 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target
6 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite
7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s
8 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper
9 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s
10 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont
11 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Crown Royal
12 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1
13 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull
14 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Kroger Floral
15 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Penske Racing
16 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota NEMCO Motorsports
17 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot
18 71 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet TaxSlayer.com
19 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker
20 151 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts
21 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Office Depot / Old Spice
22 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine
23 98 Paul Menard Ford Peak / Menards
24 6 David Ragan Ford UPS
25 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Best Buy
26 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac
27 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express
28 9 Kasey Kahne Ford Budweiser
29 36 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Wave Energy Drink
30 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil
31 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar
32 7 Robby Gordon Toyota Monster Energy
33 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts
34 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies
35 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull
36 19 Elliott Sadler Ford Stanley
37 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M
38 132 Reed Sorenson Toyota Dollar General
39 190 Casey Mears Chevrolet Keyed-Up Motorsports
40 13 Max Papis Toyota GEICO
41 49 David Gilliland Toyota Warner Music Nashville / Larry the Cable Guy
42 34 John Andretti Ford Window World Cares
43 197 Jeff Fuller Toyota FrontRowJoe.com
44 38 Robert Richardson Jr. Ford Mahindra Tractors
45 37 Travis Kvapil Ford Extenze
46 09 Aric Almirola Chevrolet Phoenix Racing
47 46 Terry Cook* Dodge Whitney Motorsports
48 26 Boris Said Ford Window World Cares
49 66 Dave Blaney Toyota Prism Motorsports
50 55 Michael McDowell Toyota Prism Motorsports
51 175 Derrike Cope Dodge Asset Protect/Strutmasterspro.com
52 127 Kirk Shelmerdine Toyota Kirk Shelmerdine Racing
53 192 Mike Wallace Dodge K-Automotive Motorsports
54 157 Norm Benning Chevrolet Norm Benning Racing

Update:
Here is how they will start the Daytona 500:
1 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet GoDaddy.com
2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Amp Energy/National Guard
3 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s
4 9 Kasey Kahne Ford Budweiser
5 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell/Pennzoil
6 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Office Depot/Old Spice
7 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s
8 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target
9 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios/Hamburger Helper
10 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite
11 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies
12 19 Elliott Sadler Ford Stanley
13 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops/Tracker
14 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts
15 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Best Buy
16 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot
17 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet U.S. Army
18 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Kroger Floral
19 6 David Ragan Ford UPS
20 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine
21 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont
22 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull
23 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M
24 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Crown Royal
25 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express
26 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Penske Racing
27 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac
28 36 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Wave Energy Drink
29 55 Michael McDowell Toyota Prism Motorsports
30 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull
31 13 Max Papis Toyota GEICO
32 98 Paul Menard Ford Peak/Menards
33 34 John Andretti Ford Window World Cares
34 7 Robby Gordon Toyota Monster Energy
35 37 Travis Kvapil Ford Extenze
36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1
37 38 Robert Richardson Jr. Ford Mahindra Tractors
38 26 Boris Said Ford Window World Cares
39 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar
40 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
41 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota NEMCO Motorsports
42 71 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet TaxSlayer.com
43 151 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts

Did Not Qualify
44 190 Casey Mears Chevrolet Keyed-Up Motorsports
45 127 Todd Bodine Toyota Kirk Shelmerdine Racing
46 49 David Gilliland Toyota Warner Music Nashville/Larry the Cable Guy
47 46 Terry Cook Dodge Whitney Motorsports
48 175 Derrike Cope Dodge Asset Protect/Strutmasterspro.com
49 09 Aric Almirola Chevrolet Phoenix Racing
50 66 Dave Blaney Toyota Prism Motorsports
51 132 Reed Sorenson Toyota Dollar General
52 192 Mike Wallace Dodge K-Automotive Motorsports
53 157 Norm Benning Chevrolet Norm Benning Racing
54 197 Jeff Fuller Toyota FrontRowJoe.com