Rookie Chase Elliott becomes youngest on Daytona 500 pole

But, uh, there’s a different driver in it. While former No. 24 driver Jeff Gordon called the qualifying session from the broadcast booth, rookie Chase Elliott put the auto back out front again.

Gordon’s not the first great Elliott had to follow: The 20-year-old is the son of Hall of Fame driver and two-time Daytona 500 champion Bill Elliott.

Elliott logged a qualifying speed of 196.314 miles per hour around Daytona International Speedway in Sunday’s qualifying session, putting him just ahead of outside polesitter Matt Kenseth on the board. Kenseth’s lap of 196.036 miles per hour edged Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was third fastest at 195.682. The rest of the results determine the starting order for the Can-Am duels, which will take place on Thursday and will determine the rest of the field for the 500.

Winning the pole doesn’t always equate to success in the Daytona 500. That kind of lets us go race on Thursday a little bit more than we would have instead of playing it conservative if we weren’t locked in. The two fastest drivers in the second round set the front row.

From the eight Open, non-Charter, teams vying for the four open spots in the Daytona 500 field, Wood Brothers Racing’s Ryan Blaney and BK Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto secured spots for the Daytona 500 field, ranking seventh and 26th, respectively, on the qualifying leaderboard. The other two open spots will be assigned Thursday. In the second round, the 12 advancing cars went out in inverse order of their first round speeds.

NOTES: NASCAR’s new charter team ownership model guarantees 36 teams starting spots for the Daytona 500….

Defending series champion Kyle Busch was fourth, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. surprisingly sat in fifth place going into the second round. He will start in the rear of the Can-Am duels.

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