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The 2023 Daytona 500 runs on Sunday, but qualifying opens Wednesday night with the Busch Light Pole Qualifying event. The 42 drivers in the field will each run a single lap in an attempt secure the pole for Sunday’s race. The fastest drive claims the pole and the second fastest drive claims the other spot on the front row. The rest of the field will compete in the Bluegreen Vacation Duel races on Thursday.
NASCAR held a random drawing on Tuesday afternoon to determine the order in which the field will leave pit road for Wednesday qualifying. The drivers that finished in the top 20 spots in owners’ points last season received the last 20 spots in qualifying.
The full field of drivers is listed below. Chandler Smith will run the first lap and Austin Cindric will run the final lap. The four favorites for the race at DraftKings Sportsbook are Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott (all at +1200). Blaney is running 35th, Larson 31st, Hamlin 39th, and Elliott 24th.
The qualifying laps began at 8:15 p.m. ET and will air on FS1.
2023 Daytona 500 pole qualifying results
| Pos | Name | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Pos | Name | Number |
| 1 | Alex Bowman (clinch pole) | 48 |
| 2 | Kyle Larson (clinch front row) | 5 |
| 3 | William Byron | 24 |
| 4 | Aric Almirola | 10 |
| 5 | Joey Logano | 22 |
| 6 | Chase Briscoe | 14 |
| 7 | Ryan Blaney | 12 |
| 8 | Austin Cindric | 2 |
| 9 | Harrison Burton | 21 |
| 10 | Kyle Busch | 8 |
| 11 | Bubba Wallace | 23 |
| 12 | Daniel Suarez | 99 |
| 13 | Chris Buescher | 17 |
| 14 | Chase Elliott | 9 |
| 15 | Ross Chastain | 1 |
| 16 | Rvan Preece | 41 |
| 17 | Kevin Harvick | 4 |
| 18 | Brad Keselowski | 6 |
| 19 | Ty Gibbs | 54 |
| 20 | Tyler Reddick | 45 |
| 21 | Christopher Bell | 20 |
| 22 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 |
| 23 | Jimmie Johnson | 84 |
| 24 | Michael McDowell | 34 |
| 25 | Travis Pastrana | 67 |
| 26 | Denny Hamlin | 11 |
| 27 | Erik Jones | 43 |
| 28 | Noah Gregson | 42 |
| 29 | Zane Smith | 36 |
| 30 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 |
| 31 | Justin Haley | 31 |
| 32 | Austin Hill | 62 |
| 33 | Austin Dillon | 3 |
| 34 | Todd Gilliland | 38 |
| 35 | Rickv Stenhouse Jr. | 47 |
| 36 | BJ McLeod | 78 |
| 37 | Cody Ware | 51 |
| 38 | Riley Herbst | 15 |
| 39 | Ty Dillon | 77 |
| 40 | Corey LaJoie | 7 |
| 41 | Chandler Smith | 13 |
| 42 | Conor Daly | 50 |