Daytona 500 Qualifying Results 2015: Winner, Group Times, Highlights, Reaction
In the offseason, Jeff Gordon made it abundantly clear that this would be his final full-time season. During his final Speedweeks, Gordon took the pole with a time of 44.711 seconds and 201.293 mph Sunday afternoon.
NASCAR provided the final result for the pole position from Daytona:
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Gordon's pole was just the second of his long career in the Daytona 500 and was a fitting start to his final season in the No. 24 machine. Just behind Gordon was Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson, who posted a time of 44.746 seconds and 201.135 mph.
Hendrick's official Twitter account noted just how often the team has swept the front row:
Gordon offered his thoughts on taking the pole during his final year, via Hendrick:
Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth finished just behind Gordon and Johnson, but neither will stay at third or fourth. The placement simply means they will start at the front of the pack during the Budweiser Duels, with Hamlin on the front row of the first Duel and Kenseth at the front of the other.
Here's a look at the full order following the qualifying round and the groups for the Budweiser Duels on Thursday night.
| 1 | Jeff Gordon |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin |
| 4 | Matt Kenseth |
| 5 | Kyle Busch |
| 6 | Kasey Kahne |
| 7 | Carl Edwards |
| 8 | Ty Dillon |
| 9 | Austin Dillon |
| 10 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 11 | Jamie McMurray |
| 12 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 13 | Johnny Sauter |
| 14 | Greg Biffle |
| 15 | Trevor Bayne |
| 16 | Sam Hornish Jr. |
| 17 | Aric Almirola |
| 18 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 19 | Brad Keselowski |
| 20 | Ryan Blaney |
| 21 | Joey Logano |
| 22 | Michael Waltrip |
| 23 | J.J. Yeley |
| 24 | Bobby Labonte |
| 25 | Paul Menard |
| 26 | Alex Bowman |
| 27 | A.J. Allmendinger |
| 28 | Ryan Newman |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick |
| 30 | Kurt Busch |
| 31 | Tony Stewart |
| 32 | Danica Patrick |
| 33 | Casey Mears |
| 34 | Brian Scott |
| 35 | Michael Annett |
| 36 | Justin Allgaier |
| 37 | Kyle Larson |
| 38 | David Gilliland |
| 39 | Michael McDowell |
| 40 | Jeb Burton |
| 41 | Clint Bowyer |
| 42 | Reed Sorenson |
| 43 | Justin Marks |
| 44 | David Ragan |
| 45 | Cole Whitt |
| 46 | Josh Wise |
| 47 | Landon Cassill |
| 48 | Mike Wallace |
| 49 | Ron Hornaday Jr. |
| 1 | Jeff Gordon | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | Matt Kenseth |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | Kasey Kahne |
| 4 | Carl Edwards | Ty Dillon |
| 5 | Austin Dillon | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 6 | Jamie McMurray | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 7 | Johnny Sauter | Greg Biffle |
| 8 | Trevor Bayne | Sam Hornish Jr. |
| 9 | Aric Almirola | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | Ryan Blaney |
| 11 | Joey Logano | Michael Waltrip |
| 12 | J.J. Yeley | Bobby Labonte |
| 13 | Paul Menard | Alex Bowman |
| 14 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ryan Newman |
| 15 | Kevin Harvick | Kurt Busch |
| 16 | Tony Stewart | Danica Patrick |
| 17 | Casey Mears | Brian Scott |
| 18 | Michael Annett | Justin Allgaier |
| 19 | Kyle Larson | David Gilliland |
| 20 | Michael McDowell | Jeb Burton |
| 21 | Clint Bowyer | Reed Sorenson |
| 22 | Justin Marks | David Ragan |
| 23 | Cole Whitt | Josh Wise |
| 24 | Landon Cassill | Mike Wallace |
| 25 | Ron Hornaday Jr. |
Heading into the biggest restrictor-plate race of the season, NASCAR decided to stick with its group qualifying rules from last season. The series rolled out the format during Talladega last fall, and it didn't turn out well for several drivers.
Things went wrong for some of the top names in the sport Sunday too.
Due to an early wreck, Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson were both left out of the second round. The two cars spun out and careened into the wall, causing damage to both Denny Hamlin and Bobby Labonte. Hamlin had the fastest time on the track before heading to the pits to repair his car during the red flag.
Bowyer then went off on an epic rant about NASCAR. Jenna Fryer of The Associated Press and Nate Ryan of NBC Sports provided some of the highlights:
Bowyer was far from the only driver left frustrated Sunday with the group format. Racers like Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch, who made the Chase last season, were both vocal about their thoughts on what took place, via Marty Smith of ESPN:
USA Today's Jeff Gluck also wasn't a fan of the format:
One driver who needed a strong run to simply make the race was Carl Edwards. After making the switch from Roush Fenway Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing, Edwards had no owner points to make the race on a provisional basis.
Edwards spoke about his interesting position heading into Sunday's qualifying.
"It's a little crazy, really," he said, via the ESPN broadcast. "We've got a new team and a new car. ... We don't want to be left out, so this is going to be really interesting today."
Luckily, Edwards didn't need to worry too much after throwing down the third-best lap in the opening round. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who missed the Talladega race due to the group qualifying, had the No. 2 lap behind Aric Almirola in the opening round.
The second round and final run went smoother, but strategy was still huge. Each pairing waited on the other drivers to drive out onto the track. In fact, the last pairing waited until just over a minute was left in the five-minute round.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., a teammate of Gordon and Johnson, spoke about the strategy and his thoughts on the format:
Outside of the top two positions, nothing is set for the race next Sunday. The Budweiser Duels on Thursday night will help decide the remainder of the order. Given the strong runs in both the Sprint Unlimited and qualifying, Kenseth might be the name to watch.
However, no one has any clue what will happen during the next series of races to ultimately decide the order for the biggest race of the year. It's been a frustrating system thus far for many of the drivers, but everything from here on out is more uniform for the Daytona 500.
Follow @RCorySmith on Twitter.
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