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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Auto racing: Dale Earnhardt Jr. to start on pole after rain washes out qualifying

Dale Earnhardt Jr. secured pole with practice lap time, washout. (Associated Press)
Associated Press

Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned the pole for today’s race at Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, Florida, because his crew chief correctly predicted the weather.

Greg Ives instructed Earnhardt to go flat-out at the start of Friday’s first practice session because the rules state the field will be set by practice times if a qualifying session is canceled. When rain washed out the session, Ives proved to be a skilled weatherman.

“I asked Greg before we went out to practice what we were trying to accomplish in that first practice and that was the first thing he mentioned, was to go out that first run and try to put a lap down because the weather wasn’t looking real good,” Earnhardt said. “That was his decision. It ended up working out for us.”

NASCAR’s most popular driver is a two-time Daytona 500 winner and won this race in 2001.

By earning the pole, he got first choice of pit selection, which he believes will be beneficial today.

Austin Dillon will start second and will be followed by Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard and Trevor Bayne.

David Gilliland, AJ Allmendinger, David Ragan, Jamie McMurray and Kasey Kahne round out the top 10.

Jeff Gordon will start 24th in his final race at Daytona. The four-time NASCAR champion, who is retiring at the end of the year, won the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500 and the May race at Talladega.

NASCAR, ISC to install more soft walls at tracks

NASCAR is adding more soft walls beyond Daytona International Speedway.

International Speedway Corp., NASCAR’s sister company that owns Daytona and several other sanctioned tracks, announced plans to install about 54,000 feet of additional energy-absorbing SAFER Barrier at its facilities. That total includes the 4,100 feet recently installed at Daytona and the 4,000 feet track officials have planned following today’s race.

Austin Dillon wins Xfinity Series race at Daytona

Austin Dillon has won the Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway by avoiding a late accident and then holding off the competition on a two-lap sprint to the finish.

Brian Scott dominated the race and led 84 of the 104 laps, but with four scheduled laps remaining, he tried to shoot up the track to block Elliott Sadler. Scott ran into Sadler, triggering a 12-car crash.

It is Dillon’s third victory of the season and first at Daytona.

Hamilton takes pole position for British GP

Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton will start from pole position for the eighth time in nine races this season as he chases a third British Grand Prix triumph today at Silverstone, England.

The British defending champion, who clocked 1 minute, 32.248 seconds in qualifying on Saturday, will share the front row of the grid with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg for the seventh time this year.