DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Tony Stewart had perhaps the best day in Daytona 500 qualifying, placing Stewart-Haas Racing cars in first, fourth and fifth place. This includes polesitter Danica Patrick, who became the first woman to win a pole in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series -- and in the Daytona 500, no less.
Daytona 500 2013 Qualifying results: Tony Stewart proud of total team effort
Jamey Price
Stewart, who qualified fifth, doesn’t know what the difference was between his own lap and Patrick’s but attributed teamwork as one of the principal reasons for her team’s pole run on Sunday. Stewart even went as far to joke that Patrick has two boyfriends – fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and crew chief Tony Gibson.
"They’re all but holding hands in the shop when they are there every day," Stewart quipped. "It’s good for me to see that as an owner. I like to see that sort of chemistry. Ryan (Newman) is happy being back with Matt (Borland). Tony (Gibson) and Danica are happy and I’m happy with Steve. That’s something to be said with having three teams that the drivers and teams are getting along and that goes a long way."
Stewart doesn't mind that he didn't win the pole. As an owner, he was more concerned about locking Patrick into the front row and personally focused on winning his first Daytona 500.
"My eye is still on next Sunday," Stewart said. "Ownership side this Sunday, next Sunday (the Daytona 500), that’s what I want from the driver’s side.
Unlike in previous years, where Stewart would know by qualifying or the qualifying races if he had a car that was capable of winning, the three-time Series champion doesn’t think he will have a grasp on how good his car is until the Sunday of the race.
"I think, the bigger the packs are, the more things will change," Stewart said. "Like I said, we’ll see have the field race in each race on Thursday, then Sunday you’ll see 43 cars.
"I think you’ll learn early in the 500 what you got and then it’s a matter of positioning yourself at the end of the race, middle parts of the race, to be in the right spot at the end."
Daytona 500 Qualifying Results:
1. Danica Patrick
2.Jeff Gordon
3. Trevor Bayne
4. Ryan Newman
5. Tony Stewart
6. Kasey Kahne
7. Denny Hamlin
8. Kyle Busch
9. Joey Logano
10. Matt Kenseth
11. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
12. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
13. Juan Pablo Montoya
14. Paul Menard
15. Casey Mears
16. Austin Dillon
17. Carl Edwards
18. Clint Bowyer
19. Martin Truex, Jr.
20. Jeff Burton
21. Jimmie Johnson
22. Jamie McMurray
23. Brad Keselowski
24. Marcos Ambrose
25. Kevin Harvick
26. Aric Almirola
27. Greg Biffle
28. Mark Martin
29. David Gilliland
30. David Ragan
31. Michael Waltrip
32. Josh Wise
33. Kurt Busch
34. Michael McDowell
35. Scott Speed
36. Terry Labonte
37. Regan Smith
38. Dave Blaney
39. Bobby Labonte
40. JJ Yeley
41. David Reutimann
42. Travis Kvapil
43. Joe Nemechek
44. Mike Bliss
45. Brian Keselowski
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