DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson will lead his Hendrick Motorsports teammates to the green flag in Saturday night's race at Daytona International Speedway following Friday's two-round, single-car qualifying session.
The driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Patriotic Chevrolet SS will roll off the grid in eighth.
Johnson's three teammates did not advance through the first round of qualifying. The defending July Daytona winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will take the green flag 16th, while his teammate Kasey Kahne will start in the 18th position.
"It's going to be slick in the race and handling is going to be real important," Earnhardt said. "I'm more concerned really with the car just driving good. It might not be the fastest car out there but that's not the car that's going to win the race. I think it's going to be the guy who has the best handling package."
Chase Elliott will start Saturday's 160-lap, 400-mile race 24th.
"Most importantly, I want to have a shot at it tomorrow night," Elliott said. "I made a pretty big boo-boo here in February so we'll try to correct that and give ourselves a better chance. The big thing is obviously racing in the sunshine versus racing at night here, I think is going to be different so I expect that to make a big change."