DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Anthony Alfredo and David Ragan were two drivers with reason to celebrate during Wednesday night’s Daytona 500 pole qualifications.
Neither will start on the front row, but both are assured of making the field as the two fastest drivers that were not assured starting positions in Sunday’s 66th Daytona 500.
Alfredo and Ragan were locked into the Daytona 500 based on speed.
For Ragan, though, he is still using Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacations Duels qualifying races to determine how competitive his Ford will be in Sunday’s 66th Daytona 500.
“The Duels, that’s the best opportunity for you to learn how your car is going to drive in the draft, what kind of speed it has, and build some rapport with other cars out there to get a feel for who can help you, who you can help,” Ragan explained. “We’re going to race. We came down here to race, and that’s a good opportunity to learn.
“Certainly, if things get a little sideways, we’ll back it off a little bit and be a little more conservative than normal. But I feel like the Duels are a great chance to race, and that’s what we’re here for.”
Alfredo races for Beard Motorsports, a small team out of Michigan and Ragan is driving a third entry for RFK Racing.
Ragan was locked in when seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson’s speed was not fast enough.
“It’s always big to be in the Daytona 500,” Ragan said. “I’ve tried to not make any mistakes. It goes to all the hard work this team has done. I’m really proud for the whole RFK guys and Brad Keselowski and Jack Roush to give me a chance to run the Daytona 500.
“Well, initially I thought, ‘Man, we’re cutting this way too close.’ I felt like we’d have a really fast race car, and we do. I really wasn’t expecting that lap from Anthony. That was a great lap for him and that team. Congratulations to those guys.
“I didn’t have a chance to beat Jimmie Johnson too often in my career when he and I were running week in, week out. I’ll take the small victories when I can.
“That just shows you how close the competition is. All these teams work hard on all the details. Every 10th, half of a 10th mean something. To be able to get locked in on pole night is really special. We’ve still got a lot of work in front of us to have some speed to go contend for a win.
“Couldn’t be prouder of the RFK team for the efforts so far.”
Alfredo, Beard’s Breakthrough
Beard Motorsports was owned by the late Mark Beard Jr., but after he passed away, his widow Linda and his daughter, Annie, own the small operation that is most famous for fielding cars for Brendan Gaughan at Daytona from 2017-’20 and Noah Gragson in 2021-’22.
Austin Hill was the driver for the team at Daytona in 2023.
“It’s makes it sweet today to be able to do this,” Linda Beard said. “It’s a great feeling.”
Linda Beard spent most of her 30-year professional life teaching third- and fourth-grade students – eventually becoming an elementary school librarian and even an assistant principal in her Mt. Pleasant, Mich., hometown.
Alfredo had some strong emotions when he realized he had made the race.
“It was certainly enough for me to shed a tear,” Alfredo said. “I definitely didn’t expect that feeling. I had race din the Daytona 500 in 2021, but that was weird because of the Pandemic. There was no Media Day and there weren’t many people in the stands.
“To be here is a dream come true in a way, but this is only the first step. I’m truly honored to be here for the Beard Family.”
Johnson will have to race his way into the field in the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota.
“It’s not the positions I want to be in, but we’ll do all we can to get into the field on Thursday night,” Johnson said. “I had higher expectations for sure, but we are lumped right there with the other Toyotas. The 43 (Erik Jones) car got a little more out of it, so I wish we had a bit more out of ours, but it is what it is. We will go out and race hard tomorrow night and try to make the 500.
“I’ve never been in this position, so I don’t know,” Johnson continued. “I came down here mentally prepared to race my way in if that was required. I’m well studied. I spent a lot of time working on the environment of the Duels and the way the race will unfold. Just get out there and race hard and see how it unfolds.”
A driver already in the NASCAR Hall of Fame and a former Daytona 500 winner admitted he was nervous that he may not get into this year’s Daytona 500.
“Of course,” he said. “Much more nervous now. I thought we were going to be in a little bit better position than this, but it is what it is. We will go to work.”