Qualifying for The Great American Race fell in favor of The Blue Oval on February 14th, 2024, as two NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse racers will lead the field to the green flag for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Mustang, laid down a blistering lap around the 2.5-mile trioval superspeedway, making the run in 49.465 seconds at 181.947 mph in the final round of qualifying. That time was good enough to earn the pole position, besting the No. 34 Mustang of Michael McDowell by 0.261 seconds.
“This is all about the team,” said Logano. “I’d like to take credit, but I can’t today. The guys have done such an amazing job working on these cars. Speedway qualifying is 100 percent the car. There’s only so much a driver can do, so I’m really proud of them. It’s a big win for our team.”
Logano is no stranger to success in the Daytona 500, taking the trophy in the 2015 running. McDowell is also a Daytona 500 champion, having won the event in 2020.
“Obviously these Mustangs are fast,” McDowell said. “To lock out the front row with two Ford Mustangs is great. Everybody at Roush Yates Engines shop, and all the things that it takes to make race cars go fast. But when it comes to the details the guys did at the shop, they did a good job.”
McDowell and Logano are the only two drivers who will keep their qualifying positions for the 2024 Daytona 500, as the rest of the field will race for position in the two Bluegreen Vacations Duel 150-mile qualifying races on February 15th. The odd-numbered qualifiers will take part in Duel 1 and the even-numbered qualifiers will compete in Duel 2, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. EST.
The 2024 Daytona 500, meanwhile, is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 18th, although there is quite a bit of rain in the forecast this weekend.
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Congrats gentlemen!