DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Matt Kenseth won the second of the twin 150-mile qualifying races Thursday with a bold pass of Greg Biffle, earning a spot on the second row for Sunday’s Daytona 500 — right behind Roush Fenway Racing teammates Carl Edwards and Biffle.
Tony Stewart, the defending NASCAR champion, won the first race and will line up next to Kenseth at Daytona International Speedway.
Biffle was leading headed into the final lap, but he tried to block Kenseth, who dived to the inside and used a push from Jimmie Johnson to take the lead. Regan Smith, driving the No. 78 of Denver-based Furniture Row Racing, was second and will start alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the third row.
Robby Gordon and Michael McDowell earned the two spots up for grabs in the first race, and Joe Nemechek and Dave Blaney each raced his way into the 500 in the second qualifying race.
Gordon said he would be willing to sell his seat to two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip, who failed to qualify after wrecking as he tried to return to the track surface after a late pit stop. The accident means it will be the first time since 1972 neither Darrell nor Michael Waltrip will be in NASCAR’s biggest race of the season.
“I just went the wrong way and lost the car,” Michael Waltrip said. “I feel like I let everybody down. I don’t know what to say. It’s just sad.”
On the last lap of the first race, with Stewart trying to hold off Earnhardt in a race to the checkered flag, Danica Patrick was wrecked as the pack raced down the backstretch.
Patrick was hit by Aric Almirola. The contact sent her Chevrolet sliding across the track and into an inside retaining wall. She was not injured and will make her Daytona 500 debut in a backup car.
“We were just looking to finish, to be honest, and unfortunately that wasn’t the case,” Patrick said. “It felt pretty big. I don’t know what it looked like.”
