List of Daytona 500 pole position winners

In early years, qualifying had varying formats: from one timed lap, to the average of two laps, to the better of two laps. The idea of having two individual races to establish the starting lineup of the Daytona 500 dates back to the first race in 1959.[16] That event, advertised as "the 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes",[17] featured cars from NASCAR's Grand National division racing against cars in the Convertible division.[16] The first of the 100-mile (160 km) qualifying races consisted of Convertible division cars and the second of Grand National cars.[16] Shorty Rollins won the 100-mile Convertible race to become the track's first winner.[18] When the green flag was thrown on the first Daytona 500, 59 cars raced to the starting line; the event was held without a caution period during the entire race.[17] In 1960 (incidentally, the first ever national telecast of a NASCAR race), the last chance race was eliminated; from 1960 through 1967 the qualifying events were 100 miles (160 km) in length.[15] When the season opened in 1968, the qualifying races were increased to 125 miles (201 km),[15] which meant the drivers would have to make at least one pit-stop to refuel (though the races were not held because of weather in 1968). Prior to 1971, the qualifying races yielded points to the drivers' championship.[19]

The 12-mile-per-hour (19 km/h) reduction in speed for the 1971 qualification was a result of NASCAR's effort to limit the increasing speeds achieved through the late 1960s and early 1970s. Engine size and technology, along with increased aerodynamic styling changes,[20] brought speeds to over 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) at some of the larger superspeedways.[21] In an effort to reduce the escalating costs of developing faster racing equipment, increased horsepower, and the lack of parity in competition, NASCAR implemented several restrictions for the 1971 season,[20][22] attempting to reduce speed by two methods. It experimented with restrictor plates for the first time at Michigan in August 1970.[23] At the beginning of the 1971 season, NASCAR limited an engine's cubic inch displacement.[20] The reductions had the effect of reducing costs for teams, but also limiting the horsepower and top speeds of NASCAR teams.[21] At the time, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. stated:

Special cars, including the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler, Ford Talladega, Dodge Daytona, Dodge Charger 500, and Plymouth Superbird shall be limited to a maximum engine size of 305 cubic inches.

— Bill France Sr., [22]

Corporate sponsors purchased naming rights to qualifying races; between 1982 and 1984, Uno cards was the title sponsor for the "Uno Twin 125's" qualifying events. In 1985 they became known as "7-Eleven Twin 125's"; no sponsors funded the 1988 and 1989 qualifying events and the races were called "Daytona Twin Qualifiers". Gatorade became the sponsor of the dual qualifying events in 1991. In 2005, the event was increased 150 miles (240 km),[15] and became known as the "Gatorade Duels" until 2015. Starting in 2016 CanAm took over sponsorship of the races, where it stands today.[6]

Since the restrictor plate era began in 1988 until 2014, qualifying was the better single lap of two;[24] drivers are permitted one warm-up lap followed by two consecutive timed laps. Since restrictor plate cars require more time to accelerate to full speed, drivers often consider their first timed lap a "throwaway lap," and use it essentially as a second warm-up lap; and the second timed lap is usually the fastest of the three laps.[24]

In August 2009, NASCAR announced that it would reschedule the 2010 opening round of qualifying to avoid a conflict with the NFL Super Bowl.[25] The events that determine the top two starters for the Daytona 500 were rescheduled after the NFL moved the Super Bowl day one week to February 7, 2010.[26] Qualifying had originally been scheduled for February 7, but NASCAR moved the date back to Saturday, February 6, to avoid conflict with the NFL. Daytona Speedway president, Robin Braig, stated:

We're excited about the new schedule, [...] By moving Daytona 500 qualifying to Saturday, we are now providing even more value to our race fans. (They) can now enjoy a unique racing triple-header as well as all the festivities surrounding the Super Bowl the following day.

— Robin Braig, [27]

In 2014, NASCAR adopted, starting with the second race of the year in Phoenix, a Formula One-style knockout qualifying system. After tweaking it in the 2014 GEICO 500 at Talladega, the format became three five-minute rounds, with the first round being split as two five-minute rounds with half the field in each round. As is the case for standard knockout qualifying, the top 24 advanced to the second round, and the top 12 advancing to the final round. This format was used at the Daytona 500 for the first time in 2015, but was soon abandoned for restrictor plate races after a series of incidents taking place during qualifying.

Restrictor plate races eventually gets a new two-round qualifying format starting from the first Talladega race. In round 1, each car goes out one at a time for one warm-up, one timed, and one cool down lap. The order for the cars released was determined by a random draw. NASCAR will release the next car to begin their lap while the current car is finishing their timed lap with the goal to have the next car start their timed lap no more than 20 seconds after the previous car finishes. The top 12 cars from round 1 will make a second run in the same format to determine the starting lineup for positions 1–12, with the order of cars released are the invert of round 1 result (i.e. the 12th placed car will be released first). Positions 13th and below are determined by round 1 result.

Curtis Turner's 1967 pole qualifying car

David Pearson, 1974 pole winner

Ricky Rudd, 1983 pole position winner

Dale Jarrett's 2000 pole & race winning car

• 1959: Cotton Owens (143.198 mph) was the fastest qualifier.[29]
• 1960: Fireball Roberts (151.556 mph) was the fastest qualifier.[31]
• 1963: Johnny Rutherford (165.183 mph) was the fastest qualifier.[36]
• 1964: On April 4, 1959, Dick Rathmann set the one-lap Daytona International Speedway track qualifying record driving in a USAC Champ Car race at 173.210 mph.[59] The Champ Cars would not return to the track. The one-lap record held until 1964 when Paul Goldsmith finally broke it in a NASCAR stock car with a speed of 174.910 mph.[29]
• 1969: David Pearson (190.029 mph) was the fastest qualifier.[37]
• 1976: A. J. Foyt (185.943 mph) was the fastest qualifier.[38]
• 1980: A. J. Foyt (195.020 mph) was the fastest qualifier again.[39]
• 1983: On his first of two qualifying laps, Cale Yarborough ran a lap of 200.503 mph, a new track record, and the first 200 mph lap (320 km/h) in Daytona history. On the second lap, however, gusty winds caused him to spin, flip over, and crash in turn 4. The car had to be withdrawn, and the lap did not count. Yarborough started a backup car on race day, and was moved to the rear of the field.[60] Ricky Rudd was credited with the fastest qualifying speed at 198.864 mph.[40]
• 1990: Pole winner Ken Schrader crashed during the Gatorade Twin 125's, and was required to start a back-up car on race day. His car was moved to the rear of the field, and duel winner Geoff Bodine moved up to the pole position.[42]
• 2003: Starting with the 2002 Subway 400 at Rockingham (the race after the 2002 Daytona 500), teams were not permitted to change engines during the race week. For the Daytona 500, a team must race their qualifying race with the same engine they used to qualify. An engine change between first qualifying practice and the qualifying race means the team must start in the back for that race only. After the qualifying races, teams will be allowed one engine change before the start of the final Daytona 500 practices on the Saturday before the race. The engine in the car for the Saturday practices before the Daytona 500 is the declared engine, with any engine change after the first Daytona 500 practice that occurs after the qualifying race will be penalized with the team being sent to the rear of the field. As is the case for a backup car after a crash, the respective column of cars moves up when the offending car is moved to the back. This is the first Daytona 500 with the new engine rule.
• 2004: Greg Biffle won his first Nextel Cup Series pole but changed engines after final Daytona 500 practice the Saturday before the race. This moved the inside column of cars up, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. started first and won the race.[47]
• 2011: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Coors Light Pole Award, but crashed in Wednesday practice. Although a backup car was implemented and Earnhardt started in the rear for the first Duel, he also was moved to the rear for the Daytona 500 under an oddity in Daytona 500 qualifying rules. Drivers who switch to backup cars after incidents in Wednesday practice do not have to move to the back for the Daytona 500 if the car raced in the Duel is the same car for the 500, unless it is one of the front row qualifying cars. Kurt Busch, who won the first Duel, started first.
• 2015: Starting with 2014 The Profit on CNBC 500 the next week at Phoenix, multiple-round knockout qualifying, used in many codes of motorsport, was implemented. The knockout format was used for the first time at the Daytona 500, using the old restrictor plate qualifying format (three five-minute rounds, with the first round split evenly between cars, each having a five-minute round, top 24 advance to the second round, top 12 advancing to the final round). Six drivers were faster than pole speed in Q1, and three drivers (including eventual pole winner Jeff Gordon) were faster than the pole speed in Q2. The pole time was set in Q3. Aric Almirola (44.473 seconds/202.370 mph (325.683 km/h)) was the fastest qualifier, but the time was set in Q1; he finished 15th in Q2 (originally 17th, but moved up after two post-Q3 disqualifications) and did not advance to Q3.
• 2016: Starting with the 2015 GEICO 500 at Talladega, one-lap single car qualifying was used on plate tracks. After the round was completed, the top 12 cars advance to Q2, where the drivers take one more timed lap. The two drivers with the fastest laps in Q2 start first and second, respectively, in the Daytona 500.

Cale Yarborough qualified on the pole 4 times (1968, 1970, 1978, 1984)

• 4 pole positions
  • Buddy Baker (1969, 1973, 1979, 1980)[29]
  • Cale Yarborough (1968, 1970, 1978, 1984)[29]
  • Bill Elliott (1985, 1986, 1987, 2001)[29]
• 3 pole positions
  • Fireball Roberts (1961, 1962, 1963)[29]
  • Ken Schrader (1988, 1989, 1990)[29]
  • Dale Jarrett (1995, 2000, 2005)[28]
  • Alex Bowman (2018, 2021, 2023)
• 2 pole positions
  • Donnie Allison (1975, 1977)[29]
  • Jimmie Johnson (2002, 2008)[28]
  • Jeff Gordon (1999, 2015)
  • Chase Elliott (2016, 2017)

Ken Schrader was the Daytona 500 pole winner for three consecutive years (1988–1990)

• 3 consecutive
  • Fireball Roberts (1961–1963)[29]
  • Bill Elliott (1985–1987)
  • Ken Schrader (1988–1990)
• 2 consecutive
  • Buddy Baker (1979–1980)
  • Chase Elliott (2016–2017)

• Bobby Allison (1981), Donnie Allison (1975, 1977) (Brother of Bobby), and Davey Allison (1991) (Son of Bobby)
• Dale Earnhardt (1996) (Father) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2011) (Son)
• Richard Petty (1966) (Father) and Kyle Petty (1993) (Son)
• Bill Elliott (1985–87, 2001) (Father) and Chase Elliott (2016–2017) (Son)

• 1962 - Fireball Roberts[29]
• 1966 - Richard Petty
• 1968, 1984 - Cale Yarborough
• 1980 - Buddy Baker
• 1985, 1987 - Bill Elliott
• 1999 - Jeff Gordon
• 2000 - Dale Jarrett