Dalziel Captures Pole For 24-Hour Race At Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Ryan Dalziel’s qualifying performance was somewhat surprising.

He knew his car was fast, but given that the team had just two weeks to tune it and then failed to turn a lap in the first practice session because of engine failure, sitting on the pole was hardly expected.

Nonetheless, Dalziel bested Max Angelelli, Chip Ganassi’s two-car powerhouse team and IndyCar regular Ryan Hunter-Reay on the road course at Daytona International Speedway.

Dalziel turned a fast lap of 1 minute, 41.119 seconds in Thursday’s qualifying session. He will lead the field to the green flag for the 50th running of the around-the-clock event. The race begins Saturday and ends Sunday.

“To get the pole is very rewarding, but it’s a long race,” said Dalziel, who drives for Starworks Motorsport. “The pole doesn’t mean too much. It proves to us that we have a fast car, but we already knew we had a reliable car and had a great crew.”