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Daytona 500: Nemecheck qualifying report

Nemechek eighth fastest in Daytona 500 pole qualifying. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 8, 2004) 0x2022 Fighting a gust of wind, U.S. Army Chevrolet driver Joe Nemechek posted the eighth fastest speed in Sunday's Daytona 500 pole qualifying here at ...

Published: Feb 9, 2004, 5:57 AM

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Nemechek eighth fastest in Daytona 500 pole qualifying.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 8, 2004) 0x2022 Fighting a gust of wind, U.S. Army Chevrolet driver Joe Nemechek posted the eighth fastest speed in Sunday's Daytona 500 pole qualifying here at Daytona International Speedway.

Nemechek, who drew the third qualifying spot, covered the 2.5-mile tri-oval in 47.936 seconds at 187.750 miles per hour. Greg Biffle captured the pole with a speed of 188.387

Sunday's pole qualifying locked in the fastest two qualifiers for the Daytona 500 (Feb. 15) and also determined the starting fields for Thursday's (Feb. 12) 125-mile qualifying races.

By recording the eighth fastest speed, Nemechek will start fourth and compete in the second qualifying race Thursday. That race will have the biggest impact in determining the starting positions for the Daytona 500 (see below).

"It's too bad we got caught up in the big gust of wind, especially coming off of Turn 2," said Nemechek. "But overall I felt we did a good job. We were fast in practice yesterday and fast in last month's test session. I feel we've gotten off to a strong start.

"From here on in we'll be in race trim, which has me excited because this team has had some very strong restrictor-plate cars. The first test will be Thursday in the 125 race. Judging from everything I've seen, I am confident the Army Chevrolet will run up front."

Nemechek continued his streak of posting top-10 qualifying positions at every event he has driven the U.S. Army car. He joined the team with four races remaining in 2003.

Thursday's Twin 125 qualifying races will be televised on TNT, beginning at 1 p.m. EST.

-mb2-

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