Daytona 500 lineup 2015: Starting grid, drivers and more

Hendrick Motorsports showed its muscle throughout the week of qualifying for the Daytona 500, placing Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all in the top three spots for the race Sunday.

“Just really proud of the effort that HMS has put into our speedway cars, says a lot about how prepared we were coming down here,” Johnson said Thursday. “I think all four of us Hendrick drivers knew it was really in our hands. The guys did their job at the shop and sent us down here with some really good hotrods.”

This marks the fourth time Hendrick Motorsports has swept the front row at Daytona, and little farther back, Kasey Kahne, driver of a fourth Hendrick team, earned a spot on the inside of the seventh row.

Television coverage for the race begins at noon (ET) on FOX. If you’d rather skip the talking and get straight to the racing, tune in at 1:30 p.m. instead.

Gordon, who will be racing in his final Daytona 500, and Johnson earned their front row positions during the convoluted qualifying process a week ago Sunday. Succeeding in a standoff that saw their group leave pit row with barely enough time to get up to speed before group qualifying ended, Gordon and Johnson finished with speeds of 201.293 mph and 201.135, respectively, to earn the front row.

Earnhardt started at the back of his Budweiser Duel heat Thursday after failing qualifying inspection, but raced his way to the front by the end to claim the third spot. In the same heat, Kahne fell back slightly to finish seventh and begins on the inside of the seventh row of the Great American Race.

“It’s pretty awesome what this group can do,” said Greg Ives, in his first year as Earnhardt’s crew chief. “Everybody at the Hendrick shop ... to see what they can produce is pretty awesome. All four cars are going to be starting 1-2-3. That’s pretty awesome.”

For Gordon, who announced in January he will step away from the 24 car at the end of this season, this will be his last running of the iconic race. Winning anything at Daytona -- from the pole to a qualifying race to the Daytona 500 itself -- marks a special spot in any driver’s life. Gordon, who made his Daytona debut in 1993, knows just what a win Sunday would mean.

“To do it in my final one I think would just make it far more emotional than ever before,” said Gordon, a three-time Daytona 500 champion whose most recent win in the race came in 2005. “There is excitement and there is pride that you have to win this race. But this year I think all these thoughts of my whole career kind of coming into one moment, one season. I think if I win anywhere it’s going to be kind of like that this year. To do it in the Daytona 500 would be unbelievable, almost surreal for me to even think about it right now.”

The race will be missing both Busch brothers. Kurt Busch was suspended by NASCAR on Friday following a Delaware court’s finding he “more likely than not” assaulted his ex-girlfriend. Kyle Busch was injured during the Xfinity race on Saturday. Regan Smith will take Kurt Busch’s spot, while Truck Series driver Matt Crafton will be in Kyle’s car.

* Matt Crafton is driving in place of Kyle Busch, who was injured during the Xfinity race Saturday.
** Regan Smith is driving in place of Kurt Busch, who was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR.

Follow the links to SB Nation’s driver profiles.

The green flag is set to wave at approximately 1:30 p.m.

Viewing: Fox will begin coverage noon. You can also stream the race via the Fox Sports Go app.

Listening: Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Channel 90

RaceView: NASCAR’s premium service the features a 3D rendering of the race, real-time driver stats and in-car audio at a cost of $79.95 per season or $9.95 per month.