Brad Keselowski will have the best seat in the house for the start of Saturday night’s non-points Advance Auto Parts Clash for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway.
The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford will bring the field to the green flag from the pole position for the 75-lap exhibition race that kicks off NASCAR’s SpeedWeeks in Daytona.
Keselowski got the pole thanks to a blind draw by his crew chief, Paul Wolfe, prior to practice on Friday afternoon.
Despite getting the pole on a blind draw, Keselowski said it’s a great way to start the year.
“We just need to make sure we finish there,” he said. “That’s something to be joyous about, but at the end of the day it’s just a draw and you’ve got to make it count.”
Keselowski led the first practice session on Friday, and said from what he and his team can tell, they had good speed.
“It’s hard to get a full picture when only half the cars draft, but it was a good start,” he said. “We have some things to work on handing-wise, so we’ll get through that and figure it out.”
As to what fans can expect to see during the running of the Clash on Saturday night, Keselowski said he would assume they’ll see some aggressiveness.
“There’s really nothing to lose and everybody is a little rusty and wanting to kind of poke that chest out, so it should be good.”
Defending race winner Denny Hamlin will roll from outside of the front row, with Jamie McMurray third, Austin Dillon fourth and Martin Truex, Jr. fifth.
Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch round out the top ten starters.
WDUN will have live MRN Radio coverage of Saturday night's Monster Energy NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 7 pm on 102.9 FM and 550 AM.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL
Advance Auto Parts Clash – Feb. 17, 2017
Saturday’s Starting Line Up
1. (2) Brad Keselowski Ford
2. (11) Denny Hamlin Toyota
3. (1) Jamie McMurray Chevrolet
4. (3) Austin Dillon Chevrolet
5. (78) Martin Truex, Jr. Toyota
6. (48) Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet
7. (4) Kevin Harvick Ford
8. (88) Alex Bowman Chevrolet
9. (22) Joey Logano Ford
10. (41) Kurt Busch Ford
11. (42) Kyle Larson Chevrolet
12. (10) Danica Patrick Ford
13. (18) Kyle Busch Toyota
14. (24) Chase Elliott Chevrolet
15. (20) Matt Kenseth Toyota
16. (19) Daniel Suarez Toyota
17. (37) Chris Buescher Chevrolet
