Ford "swept the front row" in qualifying for the Daytona 500, with former race winners Joey Logano and Michael McDowell "shocking" powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick drivers had won the pole at Daytona in eight of the last nine years. The "entire night," in which only the front row for Sunday’s season-opening race was set, "belonged to Ford." Four drivers in the manufacturer’s new Dark Horse advanced to the final round-of-10 qualifying portion (AP, 2/14). Today's BlueGreen Vacation Duel at Daytona races "will set the rest of the field" for the Daytona 500. The first of the two Duel races is slated for a 7pm ET start and will air on FS1 (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 2/14).
NY Racing Team was "a late entry" to the Daytona 500 qualifying field, but the driver "was unknown." There was "speculation that it would be Greg Biffle," but he "shut that down with a social media post Monday night, claiming his prior contract with the team was not fulfilled and so he would not take part in Speedweek" (TREASURE COAST NEWS, 2/14).
