Boris Said can master a superspeedway as well. The road-racing specialist was the surprising Pepsi 400 pole-winner Friday night at Daytona International Speedway, posting a lap at 186.143 mph. It was the second pole of his career; the other was at Infineon Raceway’s road course in 2003.

Driving in the second of four scheduled races for the newly formed No Fear Racing team, the team receives technical support, engines and Ford Fusion bodies from Roush Racing. Said credited all the help for his strong run.

“The only thing I did that was really smart was a few months ago go talk to Jack Roush,” he said. “As far as me driving one qualifying lap, NASCAR can put a monkey in to fly a rocket, so even I can drive this car one lap around here.”

Tony Stewart, the defending race winner, qualified second and will start right next to Said on the front row. The two tangled during last week’s road course race in Sonoma, Calif., — Stewart even made an obscene gesture at Said — and the drivers were critical of each other after the race.

“Maybe we’ll start bumping each other on the pace lap,” Said joked. “We’re good. We made up. It was all good fun, I don’t mind a little bumping and banging, but it hurt both our chances.”

Stewart, who led all but nine laps to win this race last year, was racing in Friday night’s Busch Series race and not immediately available for comment.

David Stremme, a rookie who is having a rough first season, qualified third. He was replaced in the No. 40 Dodge last week for road racer Scott Pruett to ensure the car would make the field.

“I was probably a little upset that I was out last week, but on the other hand, our team put ourselves in that hole,” he said. “But I really think our team has kind of turned our program around and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Jeff Gordon, a three-time winner of this race, qualified fourth and was followed by Joe Nemechek, rookie Denny Hamlin, Dale Jarrett, and rookie Martin Truex Jr.

Jimmie Johnson, winner of the Daytona 500 and April’s race at Talladega, will go for his third restrictor-plate race win this season from the ninth position. Matt Kenseth rounded out the top 10.

Starting Lineup:

1 60 Boris Said Sobe-No Fear Ford

2 20 Tony Stewart The Home Depot Chevrolet

3 40 David Stremme Coors Light Dodge

4 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet

5 01 Joe Nemechek U.S. Army Chevrolet

6 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Chevrolet

7 88 Dale Jarrett UPS Ford

8 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet

9 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet

10 17 Matt Kenseth R&L Carriers Ford

11 18 J.J. Yeley Interstate Batteries Chevrolet

12 16 Greg Biffle National Guard Ford

13 38 Elliott Sadler M&M’s Ford

14 5 Kyle Busch Kellogg’s Chevrolet

15 32 Travis Kvapil Tide/Downy Chevrolet

16 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge

17 25 Brian Vickers ditech.com/GMAC Chevrolet

18 09 Mike Wallace Miccosukee Resort Dodge

19 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Dodge

20 14 Sterling Marlin Ginn/Waste Management Chevrolet

21 96 Tony Raines DLP HDTV Chevrolet

22 00 Hermie Sadler Aaron’s Dream Machine Chevrolet

23 12 Ryan Newman Alltel Dodge

24 6 Mark Martin AAA Ford

25 7 Robby Gordon Harrah’s Chevrolet

26 26 Jamie McMurray Smirnoff Ice Ford

27 27 Kirk Shelmerdine Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine Chevrolet

28 10 Scott Riggs Valvoline Dodge

29 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford

30 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniels Chevrolet

31 21 Ken Schrader U.S. Air Force Ford

32 29 Kevin Harvick Hershey’s Chevrolet

33 45 Kyle Petty Tire Kingdom Dodge

34 43 Bobby Labonte Pillsbury/Cinnabon Dodge

35 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Chevrolet

36 66 Jeff Green Best Buy Chevrolet

37 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge

38 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge

39 31 Jeff Burton Cingular Wireless Chevrolet

40 42 Casey Mears Texaco/Havoline Dodge

41 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Dodge

42 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge

43 61 Chad Chaffin Taco Bell Chevrolet

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