DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The final two runs in Sunday's qualifying session brought a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the 2017 Daytona 500.
For the third consecutive year, the No. 24 Chevrolet SS will start on the pole for "The Great American Race" and for the second consecutive year, Chase Elliott will be behind the wheel.
"This is really cool," Elliott said. "I'm just really happy for our NAPA team, it's great to have NAPA colors on board this weekend. A big thanks to the Hendrick Engine shop and Chevrolet and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. I'm happy to be a part of it and hopefully we can run good next Sunday."
Elliott's teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- who is returning to NASCAR Cup Series competition for the first time in seven months -- will take the green flag from the outside of the front row.
It is the fifth time in the organization's history that Hendrick Motorsports has swept the Daytona 500 front row.
"It feels good," Earnhardt said. "I'm absolutely thrilled to have an all-Hendrick front row. We'll work on the balance, practice a lot this week and see if we can't get our car and make sure it's a good-handling car for the race. It's a good way to start the week."
It marked Hendrick Motorsports' 11th Daytona 500 pole. Elliott adds his second pole to a resume including Ken Schrader with three, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson with two apiece, and Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. with one each.
The pole also marked No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS crew chief Alan Gustafson's third Daytona 500 pole in a row and he becomes the first crew chief in NASCAR Cup Series history to accomplish that feat since Ernie Elliott (1985-1987).
"It's amazing," Gustafson, an Ormond Beach, Florida native, said. "I really want to win a race here, that would be huge. It would mean so much to me and this team. I think we've got a good NAPA Chevy, it's got some speed. Thanks to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports that's worked really hard during the offseason to get the speed and we'll go see what happens."
Qualifying was made up of two single-car sessions, with the top 12 drivers advancing to the second and final round of the session.
Chase Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne made it to the finals, with Jimmie Johnson securing his 14th-place starting position in Round 1.
With Elliott and Earnhardt cementing their front row starting positions, Kahne -- who finished eight in the final round of qualifying -- and Johnson's spots will be determined by their finishes in Thursday's 150-mile Duels at Daytona International Speedway.