HMS driver Alex Bowman, who announced a three-year contract extension earlier on Wednesday, posted the fastest lap of qualifying in the final round, a 181.686mph, to claim the pole for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
Joining him on the front row is Larson, who just missed out after posting a 181.057 mph lap.
Bowman has now started on the front row of the season-opener for a NASCAR record sixth consecutive time. He owns four career poles, with three of them coming in the Daytona 500.
“That’s the trick, right?” Bowman said, when asked how he transfer his front row start over to a victory. “We obviously haven’t been able to do that the last five years. We’ll try to make the right decisions in transferring everything over to race trim for Sunday the best we can.
“I’m just so proud of Hendrick Motorsports, the engine shop, all the guys. This Ally Camaro is obviously very fast. I don’t have a lot to do with qualifying here – just fortunate to qualify some really fast race cars.”
Fellow Hendrick team-mate William Byron ended up taking third in qualifying, with Aric Almirola fourth and reigning series champion Joey Logano rounded out the top-five. Completing the top 10 were Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton and Kyle Busch.
But only Bowman and Larson’s starting positions are locked in for Sunday, as the remaining starting grid will be set by the results of Thursday night’s twin 150-mile qualifying races.
Bowman’s pole is also the ninth consecutive Daytona 500 a team powered by a Hendrick engine has started on the pole – a run that also stretches to 10 of the last 11.
However, a Hendrick-run driver hasn’t won the Daytona 500 since 2014, when Dale Earnhardt Jr held off Denny Hamlin by 0.092s.
Earlier in qualifying, by posting the top two speeds among the six unchartered cars, Jimmie Johnson and Travis Pastrana both locked themselves into the field for the Daytona 500.
Starting line-up for the Duels at Daytona
| Duel #1 Lineup | Car No. | Driver | Team |
| 1 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske |
| 5 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 6 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing |
| 7 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing |
| 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 9 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 10 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 11 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 12 | 84 | *Jimmie Johnson | Legacy Motor Club |
| 13 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports |
| 14 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club |
| 15 | 36 | *Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports |
| 16 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing |
| 17 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing |
| 18 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 19 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing |
| 20 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports |
| 21 | 13 | *Chandler Smith | Kaulig Racing |
| Duel #2 Lineup | Car No. | Driver | Team |
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 3 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 4 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske |
| 5 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing |
| 6 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 8 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 9 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing |
| 10 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing |
| 11 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 12 | 67 | *Travis Pastrana | 23XI Racing |
| 13 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 14 | 42 | Noah Gragson | Legacy Motor Club |
| 15 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing |
| 16 | 62 | *Austin Hill | Beard Motorsports |
| 17 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports |
| 18 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 19 | 15 | Riley Herbst | Rick Ware Racing |
| 20 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports |
| 21 | 50 | *Conor Daly | The Money Team Racing |
*Open entries
