Jimmy John’s Driver Will Start Fifth in 59th Daytona 500
Date: Feb. 23, 2017
Event: Can-Am Duel (qualifying race for the Daytona 500)
Series: Monster EnergyNASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: Twin 150-mile qualifying races that set the field for the Daytona 500
Start/Finish: 4th/3rd (Running, completed 60 of 60 laps)
Duel No. 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Duel No. 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stewart-Haas Racing Finish:
Notes:
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“We got there, but we just didn’t clear the No. 24. Brad (Keselowski) and I were talking just about how our cars were handling. We had a very similar issue that we need to work on a little bit. We’ve got a couple things we need to work on before the 500, but, all in all, I’m pretty happy with no practice and still building our notebook on all these Fords. We’ve still got plenty of speed, so that’s a good thing.”
And you got some points tonight. “Yeah, I forgot about that, so we got some points and that’s a good thing.”
It was close quarters racing in the end. Any concerns about that? “That’s just how we race all the time. We want to race for the trophies and for wins and I think everybody knows there are points on the line tonight and you want to get your season started off well, so it went OK. We didn’t get to victory lane like we wanted to, but still OK.”
Next Up:
The 59th Daytona 500 gets underway at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m.