Busch Locks Down Outside ARCA Pole at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 5, 2004) - Running on a damp race track, 18-year-old Kyle Busch still managed the second-quickest lap in ARCA Series qualifying at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, driving his No. 87 ditech.com Chevrolet to a lap of 183.847 mph (49.007 seconds). Busch posted his best numbers on the second of two attempts, putting him on the outside of Row 1 for Saturday’s ARCA 200. Bobby Gerhart, a two-time ARCA Series winner at Daytona, earned the pole position with a lap of 184.309 mph (48.831 seconds) in his No. 5 Chevrolet. “It’s exciting for me to be here competing at Daytona and gaining more experience,” Busch said. “I can’t thank ditech.com and Hendrick Motorsports enough for giving me the chance to do this. “I’m not sure if the weather hurt us or not. Either way, Bobby Gerhart put down a great lap and I’ll look forward to starting next to him on Saturday.” Inclement weather immediately set in as Busch took the track for his qualifying effort, with a slight drizzle putting down water in Turn 2. The rain increased during his first and second attempts, making the 2.5-mile track treacherous in every turn. ARCA officials postponed the session immediately after Busch’s final lap, which was good enough for the provisional pole position. After a slight delay, qualifying continued with Gerhart posting his pole-winning speed after jet dryers had cleared the racing surface. Saturday’s ARCA 200 will be carried live on SPEED Channel beginning at 4 p.m. ET.