DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth had two of the strongest cars in the season-opening Daytona 500 but had nothing to show for it after a pair of engine failures. The Joe Gibbs Racing duo is determined not to let that happen Saturday night in their return to Daytona International Speedway. Busch and Kenseth swept the front row in Friday qualifying, with Busch turning a lap at 193.723 mph (311.767) to win the pole, finishing just ahead of Kenseth. It's Busch's third pole of the season and 13th of his career, but the first ever for a restrictor plate race. “I've not had many opportunities for me to win poles at restrictor plate races, so I've got to thank the team, all the guys at Joe Gibbs Racing that did such a good job building a slick race car,” Busch said. Kenseth led 86 laps at Daytona in February when his engine failed with teammates Busch and Denny Hamlin right behind him. Two laps later, Busch was headed to the garage with his own race-ending failure. “We were lined up 1-2-3 when I broke and Kyle broke shortly after that,” said Kenseth. “Our plate stuff has been really fast this year. Qualifying doesn't always mean a lot at a superspeedway, but it's nice to start up front. .” Clint Bowyer qualified third and Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. was fifth as Toyota drivers took four of the first five spots. MWR team co-owner Michael Waltrip was seventh. It was a strong showing for the Toyota drivers, who have battled various engine woes all season as manufacturer Toyota Racing Development has struggled to find the right balance of speed and durability. Kasey Kahne prevented a Toyota sweep of the first two rows by wedging his Chevrolet in at fourth. Paul Menard was sixth in a Chevrolet and Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson was eighth, followed by rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his Roush-Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle as the highest-qualifying Fords. Danica Patrick wound up 11th in in her return to Daytona, where she became the first woman to start from the pole in the season-opening Daytona 500. — AP
