Denny Hamlin gave Toyota its first victory at NASCAR’s top level, winning Thursday’s second qualifying race to set up a Daytona 500 showdown between Joe Gibbs Racing and mighty Hendrick Motorsports.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first qualifier for Hendrick and will start on the second row of Sunday’s race with Hamlin. Hendrick driver Jimmie Johnson [...]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 2-for-2 in his Hendrick Motorsports debut, winning one of Thursday’s qualifying races and establishing himself as the favorite to win the Daytona 500.

Duel 1:
Pos, Qual Position, Car#, Driver, Manu, Qual Speed, Prev Year Ops
1 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevy 187.075 1
2 3 78 Joe Nemechek Chevy 186.498 x
3 6 5 Casey Mears Chevy 186.054 5
4 9 60 Boris Said Ford 185.893 x
5 15 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevy 185.479 15

All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers — #48-Jimmie Johnson, #24-Jeff Gordon, #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. and #5-Casey Mears — will start in the back of the field in Thursday’s 150-mile qualifying races for the Daytona 500 after their engines were replaced on Wednesday afternoon. Jeff Andrews, HMS’s head engine builder, said the problem appears to be related [...]

Dale Jarrett said he would not consider getting into teammate #00-David Reutimann’s car if the worst-case scenario happens Thursday and Jarrett fails to qualify for the Daytona 500. Some people have speculated that team owner Michael Waltrip might ask Reutimann to skip the race to allow Jarrett to compete in his final Daytona 500 start, [...]