DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 12 (UPI) -- On a very windy day, Jeff Burton captured the pole Sunday for next week's 48th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona Beach, Fla.
Burton's No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet circled the 2.5-mile super-speedway in 47.581 seconds at 189.151 miles per hour. Also starting on the front row will be Jeff Gordon, who had the second-best time of the day at 47.650 seconds.
"I'm real proud of the guys," Burton said afterwards. "We caught the wind just right."
Burton's pole win was the third of his career, the last coming in August 2000 at the Richmond International Raceway.
Only the front row for the Daytona 500 was determined on Sunday. The remainder of the field will be set after Thursday's twin 150-mile qualifying races.
