There were happy teammates and even happier friends in the immediate aftermath of qualifying for the Daytona 500 on Thursday night.
Alex Bowman clinched a front row starting spot for the Great American Race for the sixth consecutive year. It was also his third Daytona 500 pole. He will be joined on front row on Sunday by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson — giving the Chevrolet flagship their third straight front row lockout.
As if those weren’t enough accolades, this was also the eighth time in nine years that Hendrick Motorsports captured the pole.
“It’s a really interesting thing to be a part of because I have so little to do with it, right,” Bowman said. “Like obviously once you get five, man, it would be really cool to have six. Next year I’ll be like, man, it will be really cool to have seven.
“At the same time, it’s way more about my guys and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. Just appreciative for all their hard work, the time and effort, whether it’s the engine shop or all the guys in the car shop. There’s a ton of effort that goes into trying to qualify well here. Most of it’s on their end. So definitely really appreciative.”
Bowman was nearly two tenths quicker in the second round than Larson — 49.53 to a 49.70.
“I don’t know,” Larson said. “I think it’s just because he’s taller, he can push the gas further.”
That was a joke.
Meanwhile, no longer a Hendrick Motorsports driver but instead the owner-driver of Legacy Motor Club, Jimmie Johnson was also ecstatic on Thursday. The two-time Daytona 500 winner and seven-time Cup Series champion locked himself into the field with the fastest time out of all the drivers without charter protections.
He was 23rd while Travis Pastrana was also fast enough, 25th, to lock himself into the Daytona 500 in the 23XI Racing No. 67 entry. Pastrana and Johnson have become close friends over the past decade and the highlight of the session had to be their bearhug on pit row upon locking themselves in.
Then came the family of the late Ken Block, more friends to the Pastranas, who was here to support his effort.
“Ken’s wife Lucy and two of his kids came down,” Pastrana said. “They watched their first NASCAR qualifying. They came out, flew out this morning. They’re flying back tomorrow morning. They just wanted to be here to support me.
“For me, I was pretty emotional at the end of this, just that they came out for…
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