Gragson, Villeneuve clinch Daytona 500 starting spots

Two drivers for non-chartered teams can breathe with a measure of relief after locking in their Daytona 500 berths with Wednesday’s Busch Light Pole Qualifying. And what a contrast for those two.

Give one starting spot to Noah Gragson, the plucky 23-year-old Xfinity Series regular who pushed the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet into the field with the fastest lap – 33rd overall – among the open teams. The other guaranteed berth went to Team Hezeberg’s Jacques Villeneuve, the 50-year-old Canadian who has a Formula 1 title and Indianapolis 500 win in his trophy case.

Noah Gragson and Jacques Villeneuve

Both will race in Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX) for the first time. 

The rest of the 40-car field will be sorted after Thursday’s 60-lap, 150-mile Duel races. 

SEE QUALIFYING RESULTS HERE

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Information taken from NASCAR