Marcos Ambrose has backed up his impressive third place finish in yesterday's Bud Shootout aboard the Stanley Ford Fusion, with the fourth fastest time in official qualifying for next weekend's Daytona 500.
Ambrose's job however is far from complete, with a unique qualifying system utilised, which only locks in the front row starting positions, with the remaining line up determined by the Gatorade Duels on Thursday (USA time).
For the first of two Gatorade Duels, Ambrose will line up on the inside of the second row behind Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jnr, with the race determining the starting positions for the main event.
In an ominous sign for the competition, six Fords are currently positioned inside the top-ten on the time sheets, with a total of 49 cars attempting qualifying runs today.
"It was a good effort, it's a fast car and we've qualified well," Ambrose said.
"It's the best speedway car I've had down here in my three or four years in Cup.
"I'm excited for Sunday, I'm excited for the Duels, and I think we have a real shot to win it.
"I was actually more nervous today (than in the Bud Shootout) because you know that any small jerk on the wheel can really affect your time.
"There's not much a driver can do but mess up out there, they can't gain any speed, but they can sure lose some."
The Daytona 500 will be shown live in Australia from 4:00am next Monday live on ONE HD and SPEED.
Daytona 500 Qualifying Results
1. Carl Edwards (Ford)
2. Greg Biffle (Ford)
3. Dale Earnhardt (Chevrolet)
4. Marcos Ambrose (Ford)
5. Casey Mears (Ford)
6. Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet)
7. Martin Truex Jnr (Toyota)
8. Ricky Stenhouse Jnr (Ford)
9. Trevor Bayne (Ford)
10. Tony Stewart (Chevrolet)
Australian TV Guide
Times in AEDST, check local guides for details.
Monday February 20
9:00am Bud Shootout, SPEED, SPEED HD
10:30am Daytona 500 Qualifying, SPEED, SPEED HD
8:00pm Daytona 500 Qualifying, SPEED, SPEED HD
Tuesday February 21
5:00am Daytona 500 Qualifying, SPEED, SPEED HD
7:00am LIVE NASCAR Now, ESPN2, ESPN2 HD
Thursday February 23
2:30pm Bud Shootout, SPEED, SPEED HD
4:00pm Daytona 500 Qualifying, SPEED, SPEED HD
10:00pm Bud Shootout, SPEED, SPEED HD
Friday February 24
4:00am Daytona 500 Qualifying, SPEED, SPEED HD
6:00am Gatorade Duels LIVE, SPEED, SPEED HD
10:00am Gatorade Duels, ONE HD
6:30pm Gatorade Duels, SPEED, SPEED HD
Saturday February 25
3:30am Gatorade Duels, SPEED, SPEED HD
Sunday February 26
8:30am Daytona 500 Final Practice, SPEED, SPEED HD
6:30pm Daytona 500 Final Practice, SPEED, SPEED HD
Monday February 27
3:00am Daytona 500 Final Practice, SPEED, SPEED HD
4:00am Daytona 500 LIVE, SPEED, SPEED HD
10:00am Daytona 500, ONE HD
Daytona International Speedway
Track Distance: 2.5 miles/4.025km
Track Type: Superspeedway Tri-oval
Crowd Capacity: 168,000
Marcos Ambrose Results at Daytona International Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2012 (Shootout): 3rd (led 1 lap)
2011 (2): 17th
2011 (1): 37th
2011 (Duel): 21st
2010 (2): 32nd (contact)
2010 (1): 41st (mechanical)
2010 (Duel): 8th
2009 (2): 6th
2009 (1): 17th
2009 (Duel): 13th
NASCAR Nationwide Series
2008 (2): 20th
2008 (1): 39th (contact)
2007 (2): 35th
2007 (1): 16th
