Carl Edwards on pole for the Daytona 500

Ford Racing sweeps the front row for the Daytona 500.
Courtesy of Ford Racing

Carl Edwards won the pole for the Daytona 500 on Sunday right from the get-go. Edwards went out fifth and no one was able to top his speeds. Not even Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won last year’s pole award. Following Carl Edwards on the timing charts was teammate Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Marcos Ambrose, and Casey Mears.

Edwards' pole speed of 194.738 mph is the fastest pole winning speed in Daytona 500 Coors Light 
Pole qualifying since 1999 (Jeff Gordon, 195.067 mph). With the announcement earlier today that NASCAR is 

reverting back to the old ways of Shootout eligibility, Edwards is the first driver to claim his spot in the 2013 

Shootout.

A big factor that played into today’s qualifying was the wind, which gradually picked up as more cars finished up their laps. This is why it is evident that cars who qualified early in the session did better in the long run. 

Edwards and Biffle are the only two drivers with their Daytona 500 starting positions set, the remainder of the 41 positions are up for grab in Thursday's Gatorade Duels. Of the go or go home cars, 4 drivers were able to lock into the field: Trevor Bayne, Tony Raines, David Stremme and Terry Labonte will all be in the Daytona 500. The remaining spots are up for grabs on Thursday and will likely come down to a battle heading to the checkered flag. 

Clint Bowyer had a problem post-qualifying, his car was too low on inspection and his time will be disallowed. Bowyer will start from the rear of the field in his duel race. No penalties will be assessed to his team per NASCAR. 

See how your driver qualified for The Great American Race here:

1. Carl Edwards

2. Greg Biffle

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

4. Marcos Ambrose

5. Casey Mears

6. Jeff Gordon

7. Martin Truex Jr.

8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

9. Trevor Bayne

10. Tony Stewart

11. Mark Martin

12. Jimmie Johnson

13. Aric Almirola

14. Paul Menard

15. David Ragan

16. Matt Kenseth

17. Ryan Newman

18.AJ Allmendinger

19. Brad Keselowski

20. Kevin Harvick

21. Joey Logano

22. Clint Bowyer

23. Jeff Burton

24. Juan Pablo Montoya

25. Kasey Kahne

26. Tony Raines

27. David Stremme

28. Kyle Busch

29. Jamie McMurray

30. Danica Patrick

31. Kenny Wallace

32. Terry Labonte

33. Dave Blaney

34. Kurt Busch

35. Elliott Sadler

36. Michael Waltrip

37. Joe Nemechek

38. Denny Hamlin

39. Regan Smith

40. Michael McDowell

41. Landon Cassill

42. David Gilliland

43. Bobby Labonte

44. Bill Elliott

45. Mike Wallace

46. David Reutimann

47. Robert Richardson Jr.

48. Robby Gordon

49. J.J. Yeley

Television schedule:

Practice- 12 PM ET Wednesday on SPEED

Practice- 2:30 PM ET Wednesday on SPEED

Gatorade Duels- 1 PM ET Thursday on SPEED

Practice- 11 AM ET Friday on SPEED

Practice- 12:30 PM ET Friday on SPEED

Practice- 10:30 AM ET Saturday on SPEED

Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway- 12 PM ET Sunday on FOX