Kyle Busch won his first Daytona 500 pole position on Wednesday night as the last driver on the track.
Busch had the fastest time during the first round of single-car qualifying and backed it up with another top run in the 10-car shootout for the pole.
Last year’s pole-sitter Chase Briscoe finished second and will start alongside Busch on the second row for the race.
Busch has never won the Daytona 500 in 20 previous tries, but won 2008 Coke Zero 400 and pole position for the 2013 Coke Zero 400.
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“Maybe it was the flames that brought all the speed and the heat we needed tonight,” Busch said, referencing the paint scheme on his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
The 45 cars will now move on to the Daytona Duels on Thursday night, which will set the rest of the starting lineups for the Daytona 500.
Corey Heim and Justin Allgaier were the top open entry cars during single-car qualifying, which secured them starting spots in the Daytona 500. The top two Duel finishers out of the other six open cars will join them in the race.
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