Anthony Alfredo and David Ragan Become the First Open Entries to Qualify for the Daytona 500 as Ford Breaks Chevy’s 11-year streak to Win Pole

The first part of qualifying for the 66th running of the Daytona 500 concluded on Wednesday, and once again, history was made at the Daytona International Speedway. After 11 years of Chevrolet dominance, the #22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse of Joey Logano won the pole position. Additionally, among the open entries, David Ragan and Anthony Alfredo qualified for The Great American Race, with the latter being the fastest of the lot, which included 7-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.

Cup Series driver Michael McDowell will start the race from P2, as Ford enjoyed a front-row lockout. Last season, the American manufacturer swept all 3 national NASCAR series, and it seems that they have carried that form into the new season. Team Penske and Front Row Motorsports were the 2 Ford teams that got the job done this time around.

Open-entry qualifiers were all jubilant after making it to the Daytona 500

Coming to the open entries, there was nothing but pure jubilation on Anthony Alfredo’s face as he qualified the fastest of the open entries into the Daytona 500. He was seen celebrating with his team and his loved ones after getting out of the car. A performance like this will definitely give him a lot of confidence heading into the Great American Race. He won’t have to worry about making it to the event when he gets in the car next, as he will look to earn as high a starting position as possible.

“This is insane. We were just talking about every possible scenario we might find ourselves in today, tomorrow, and obviously Sunday. But to make it to Sunday is a challenge. It’s such a competitive field of Open cars and drivers behind the wheel. I’m just really thankful for the Beard family giving me this opportunity and Death Wish Coffee coming on board,” the Xfinity Series star said, as per Toby Christie.

David Ragan, who will be driving the #60 RFK Racing car, was the second of the open entries to make it through, and much like Alfredo, he too was jubilant after a fantastic qualifying run. “It’s always big to be in the Daytona 500, and the whole week I’ve just been trying to make sure we didn’t make any mistakes. And I really felt like we were going to have a shot at a top-10 or top-12 starting spot, but just shows all of the hard work that this BuildSubmarines.com Ford team has done,” the motorsports veteran said.

The performers of the day were Ford, 100%. It has been a long time since NASCAR fans have witnessed this kind of consistency from the manufacturer, and it must be fantastic to watch. Things are looking good for the manufacturer so far.

Ford carries its 2023 form into the 2024 season opener

Seeing Joey Logano take pole position for the Daytona 500 was not a surprise, to be fair. The man is a two-time Cup Series champion and drives for one of the biggest teams in the history of the Cup Series. The 33-year-old hailed his team for coming up with a fantastic car that was good enough to be the fastest of the lot.

“This is all about the team. Honestly, I’d like to take credit, but I can’t today. The guys have done such an amazing job working on these cars. The superspeedway qualifying is 100 percent the car. There’s only so much the driver can do, so I’m really proud of them,” Joey Logano said, as per Toby Christie.

The man starting from P2 will be none other than last year’s Indianapolis winner, Michael McDowell. Front Row Motorsports is not the strongest team in the Cup Series, so seeing him do the second-fastest time was a bit of a surprise. But nothing can be taken away from him and the #34 team’s efforts. After the result, the NASCAR veteran also sang his team’s praises for doing such a great job.

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It’s only been one qualifying session in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series, and there have already been a few surprises. The rest of the drivers will have to battle it out in the Bluegreen Duels to determine their starting positions for the Daytona 500. It will be interesting to see how those play out. Here are the starting lineups for both duels:

Duel 1 starting positions

1. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
2. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
3. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
4. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
5. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
6. Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
7. Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
8. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
9. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
11. Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
12. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
13. Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
14. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
15. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
17. Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
18. Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
19. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
20. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
21. JJ Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet

Duel 2 starting positions

1. Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
2. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
3. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
4. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
5. Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
6. Riley Herbst, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
7. Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
8. Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
9. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
10. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
11. Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
12. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
13. David Ragan, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
14. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
15. Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
16. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
17. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
18. Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
19. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
20. BJ McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet
21. Kaz Grala, No. 76 Front Row Motorsports Ford