In a shocking upset to the dominance of Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports, Joey Logano and Michael McDowell – prior 500 winners – locked out the front row during Wednesday nights qualifying round for the kickoff to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Logano in his Pennzoil-backed number 22 Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse secured the first-ever Penske pole position for the 500 with a speed of 181.947 mph, narrowing beating McDowell by 0.071 seconds to the top position.

It was a rare upset for the Hendrick squad that had claimed the prior nine consecutive poles at the Speedway as their highest placing driver, Kyle Larson, qualified 3rd ahead of teammates Chase Elliott (fifth) and William Byron (sixth).

Thursday Night sets up for the Bluegreen Vacations Duel races. The field will be split in half, with odd qualifiers and even qualifiers competing for their final starting spots for Sunday’s event. Only Logano and McDowell are locked into their starting positions, providing they finish their respective Duel. The results of Duel No. 1 set the inside row for the 2024 Daytona 500, while the results of Duel No. 2 set the outside row for Sunday’s race.

You can catch the action on FS1 at 7pm ET or on the Fox Sports App.

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