For the second consecutive time, the Chevrolet SS race car earned front row starting positions for the upcoming 56th running of the Daytona 500, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season kickoff at Daytona International Speedway (DIS). In bringing back the iconic No. 3 to the sport, Austin Dillon won the pole with a lap of 45.914 seconds, 196.019 mph. It was the first pole in just two career starts at DIS for the 23 year-old Rookie of the Year contender.
Martin Truex, Jr. placed his No. 78 Chevrolet SS on the outside front row, marking his sixth top-10 start in 18 races at DIS. Known as the biggest qualifying session of the year; it is also ranked as the most prestigious in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
“Congratulations to Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Chevrolet SS team on clinching the pole for the Daytona 500,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Richard Childress and the entire RCR team have been hard at work during the off-season preparing for 2014. It was also special having Martin Truex Jr & the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet SS team lock-up the outside of the front row for the Daytona 500.
“It’s a long race but it will be exciting to start the 2014 Daytona 500 with an all-Chevy front row,” added Campbell.
Dillon and Truex, Jr. are now the only two drivers to have secured starting positions for next Sunday’s Great American Race. The balance of the 43-car field starting order will be set in the Budweiser Duel at Daytona, a pair of 150-mile qualifying races, which are set for Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7:00 p.m.
Team Chevy PR
