Track:  Daytona International Speedway, 2.5-mile oval, Daytona Beach, Florida
Pole Winner: Mark Martin

Pole Time:  49.433 seconds

Pole Speed:  182.065 mph
TV/Radio: SPEED/MRN/SIRIUSXM

No. 34 Ford Qualifying Position: 40th

No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford Qualifying Position: 27th

NASCAR goes restrictor-plate racing again this weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400.  And, like at many summer events in Florida, rain was an unwelcome visitor at the track on race weekend.

The teams watched a downpour for much of Thursday afternoon, cancelling the Sprint Cup Series' first practice and condensing the second practice session to just 45 minutes.  The session still proved productive for both Front Row Motorsports teams.  David Gilliland was 11th fastest as he practiced the two-car draft for most of the session with Tony Stewart -- his drafting partner from the April Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway race.  Travis Kvapil worked solo to ensure his Long John Silver's Ford would have enough speed for Friday's qualifying session to make the starting field.

The No. 38 team's efforts were successful, with Kvapil qualifying for the race in the 27th position.  Gilliland put the No. 34 Ford on the grid in 40th.  The starting field was impounded, so teams will not be doing any further work on the cars -- just strategizing on how and whom to work with in the ever-important two-car draft.

Mark Martin will start Saturday night's race on the pole, becoming just the eighth driver in series history to earn 50 poles in his career.  Martin bumped Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne, who held the top spot for much of the afternoon's qualifying session.  Tony Raines and J.J. Yeley failed to make the race.

All the action under the lights will air live on TNT, with Coke Zero 400 coverage beginning Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

David Gilliland

Comments from No. 34 Ford team driver David Gilliland after qualifying at Daytona:  

"I wasn't expecting us to qualify all that high, so that's no big deal.  It's probably good to hang around in the back for a while anyway, which is what Tony (Stewart) and I did for most of the Talladega race.  But he and I practiced really well together yesterday and we'll plan to work together tomorrow during the race.  Of course, we've got other options, too, because you can't just count on one person being there to work with you. Anything can happen, and in these races, they do.

"Our Ford Fusion is fast, and it's just as good, if not better, than it was at the Daytona 500.  So I think we have a really good chance of topping our third-place finish from February and even getting in Victory Lane."

Travis Kvapil

Comments from Long John Silver's Ford team driver Travis Kvapil after qualifying at Daytona: 

"It was really hard to tell where we stood after practice yesterday.  You just don't know where you're going to stack up.  I'm actually a little disappointed that we didn't qualify higher.  I thought we'd run a better lap than that.  But I'm excited for the race.  Our car was fast in both superspeedway races we've run this year, working really well in the two-car draft.  So, I'm really looking forward to see what we can do tomorrow night."

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