Daytona 500: Robby Gordon qualifying report

Daytona Beach, FL (February 9, 2009) -- Robby Gordon and the No. 7 Jim Beam Camry went out tenth in the qualifying line for the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon.

The team picked up speed from their top practice run to post a fast lap of 48.515 seconds. When qualifying had completed, the effort placed the No. 7 Jim Beam Camry 39th position out of the 56 drivers attempting to make the Daytona 500. Gordon will start 20th in the first Gatorade Duel on Thursday afternoon, which will set the starting order for the Daytona 500 grid.

"We didn't come here to qualify well; we came here to race well," stated Gordon. "Since we finished in the top-35 last year, we are locked into the Daytona 500, which is a great feeling. In restrictor-plate racing, it doesn't really matter where you start, it matters where you finish. We came here with a down force car, which will enable us to race well in the draft. Looking at the Shootout last night, that was a good call. We will be good when it is time to go racing."

The 2009 Season kicks off next week with the Sprint Cup Series' biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500.

-credit: rgm