Daniel Hemric laid down a blistering lap to win the NASCAR Daytona XFINITY Series pole. He’ll lead the way in the PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway Saturday afternoon (Feb. 17).
Hemric swept both rounds of qualifying after being the fastest car in final practice. The No. 21 Chevrolet was the only car to surpass 189 mph as an average speed with its 189.310 mph lap in the second round.
It is Hemric’s second career pole and first at Daytona.
Kyle Larson (188.980 mph) will join Hemric on the front row. Hemric’s Richard Childress Racing teammate Matt Tifft (188.917 mph) will start third, while Joey Logano (188.253 mph) and Spencer Gallagher (188.131 mph) rounded out the top five.
Defending race and two-time Daytona winner Ryan Reed (185.912 mph) will line up in 16th. Austin Dillon made the race on owner points but will start 40th after failing pre-qualifying inspection four times and not being allowed to post a time.
Dillon’s crew chief Nick Harrison and car chief Michael Scearce have been ejected from the race.
Tifft followed Hemric in the first round, while Logano, Larson and Gallagher rounded out the top five.
Forty-six cars attempted to make the 40-car field. Gray Gaulding, Ray Black Jr., Chris Cockrum, Morgan Shepherd, Josh Bilicki and Mike Harmon failed to qualify.
Harmon was also unable to post a lap time due to failing pre-qualifying inspection. Unfortunately, he did not have enough owner points to get into the race.
The PowerShares QQQ 300 is set for a 2:48 p.m. ET green flag on Saturday afternoon on FOX Sports 1.
POWERSHARES QQQ 300 QUALIFYING RESULTS
About the author
Michael Massie is a writer for Frontstretch. Massie, a Richmond, Va. native, has been a NASCAR superfan since childhood, when he frequented races at Richmond International Raceway. Massie is a lover of short track racing and travels around to the ones in his region. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies.
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