PHOENIX – Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch notched the fastest lap on Wednesday, Feb. 11, night to secure his first-career Daytona 500 pole and the first for Richard Childress since 2014.

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? 

The 40-year-old from Las Vegas, Nevada, will lead the field to the green in the Great American Race for the first time alongside 2025 polesitter Chase Briscoe. Busch wheeled his No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to a lap time of 49.006 seconds.

“Being able to qualify on my first pole for the Daytona 500, that’s pretty special,” Busch said.

In his 20 prior attempts, Busch failed to add the moniker of Daytona 500 Champion to his Hall of Fame resume. Now, Busch’s quest to capture the Harley J. Earl trophy begins on the front row. 

“Maybe it was the flames that brought us all the speed and heat we needed for tonight,” Busch said jokingly. 

This pole is only the second on a superspeedway for Busch in his career.

“Just a valiant effort by everybody here,” Busch said. “It would be really nice to be doing an interview like this about being No. 1 come Sunday night.”

Defending pole winner Chase Briscoe wound up one spot short of his 2025 showing after completing 2 1/2 miles in 49.023 seconds. Briscoe led fellow Toyota drivers, Denny Hamlin and Corey Heim, in pursuit of his first Daytona 500 victory.

As for Heim, the 23XI Racing driver qualified for his first Daytona 500 on speed alone. The 2025 Craftsman Truck Series Champion set the seventh fastest lap, leading all open entries.

“Nerve-wracking for sure to say the least,” Heim said of the moments before locking in.

“I can’t say enough about the piece we brought,” Heim said. “Such a relief off your shoulders to just go have some fun in the Duels tomorrow, try to learn. Even if I do make a mistake, it’s not going to be a terminal mistake. That’s definitely a relief, and I’m looking forward to the race.”

Justin Allgaier and JR Motorsports bested Corey LaJoie’s RFK entry during time trials to join Heim as the second car locked into the field on speed alone. This is the second-straight year in which the team is led by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelly Earnhardt Miller.

“We're super proud of Justin,” Earnhardt Miller said. She thanked Travel Whiskey for supporting the program and said that the day couldn’t have been any better. 

“It's such a great sport,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “So much fun to be a part of it. It's awesome to be able to come down here and try to make your way in. It is stressful, but that's the best part.”

Thursday night’s Duel races set the remainder of the field for the 68th running of the Daytona 500. LaJoie missed out by five one-thousandths of a second and will battle against Anthony Alfredo, Chandler Smith, BJ McLeod, Casey Mears and JJ Yeley for a spot in the Daytona 500. 

The America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona begins with the first 60-lap race at 7 p.m. ET.

NASCAR also disallowed Noah Gragson’s qualifying lap after the Front Row Motorsports driver stuck his hand outside the window net. He will start from the rear of his Duel race.

The 68th Daytona 500 begins Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2:30 p.m. ET with coverage on Fox Sports.