Jeff Gordon wins pole position for farewell Daytona 500
Last Updated: 18/02/15 2:53pm
Jeff Gordon will start what is likely to be his final Daytona 500 from pole position after posting the fastest lap in Sunday's qualifying session.
The four-time Sprint Cup champion announced last month that the 2015 season would be his last in NASCAR.
Gordon has never used the word retirement to describe his decision, and he has left the door open to race at some of his favourite tracks, but he did confirm there would be no more restrictor plate racing for him at Daytona and Talladega beyond the end of this season.
With NASCAR moving to their group qualifying format for the Daytona 500 for the first time, Gordon and Hendrick Motorsport team-mate Jimmie Johnson were the last two to challenge for top spot.
They barely made it to the line in time to run their flying laps but used the 10-car draft to superb effect to claim the top two spots on the grid, the only places that were decided on Sunday.
Johnson will start in second behind Gordon, who last won pole at Daytona in 1999 when he went on to win the season-opening race.
"This is one of the more gratifying poles here at Daytona that I've ever had, not just because it's my final Daytona 500, but because you've got to try and plan it out and play that chess match and play it really, really well," Gordon said.
he other 41 spots for the sport's most prestigious event will be figured out via the Budweiser Duel qualifying races on Thursday - the race itself takes place on February 22.
Bowyer furious
Clint Bowyer was chief among those complaining about the change in qualifying format as he was taken out in the first round by a crash involving Reed Sorenson, JJ Yeley and others.
Bowyer said: "It ain't his (Sorenson's) fault. It's not. It's NASCAR's fault for putting us out here in the middle of this for nothing.
"We used to come down here and worry about who's going to sit on the front row and the pole for the biggest race of the year. Now all we do is come down here and worry about how a start and park like this out of desperation is going to knock us out of the Daytona 500.
"We've been in meetings for 45 minutes just trying to figure out what in the hell everybody's is going to do just so we could make the race. It's stupid. There's no sense in doing this."
