At the end of Nationwide Series qualifying on Friday afternoon, it’d be Trevor Bayne taking the pole for the DRIVE4COPD 300 with a lap of
50.801 seconds, 177.162 mph. It marks the sixth pole in 86 Nationwide Series starts for the driver of the No. 6 Cargill Ford.
The 2011 Daytona 500 winner takes over the No. 6 Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing after back-to-back series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made the move up to the Sprint Cup Series for 2013, driving the No. 17 Best Buy Ford Fusion.
Sam Hornish Jr. posted the second quickest speed, 0.084 seconds off of Bayne, for his second top 10 start at Daytona. He begins the full schedule with Penske Racing once again.
Parker Kligerman posted the third quickest time for his second top 10 start at Daytona. Kligerman will be driving a Kyle Busch Motorsports Nationwide Series car as they go for their first driver’s championship.
Bayne’s Roush Fenway teammate Travis Pastrana was fourth as he enters his first full season of Nationwide Series competition.
Richard Childress Racing driver and defending rookie of the year Austin Dillon rounded out the top five.
Elliott Sadler qualified sixth after moving over to Joe Gibbs Racing from RCR, followed by teammate Kyle Busch. Alex Bowman was the highest qualifying rookie in eighth. He was followed by defending Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart.