Kurt Busch Finishes 5th in Daytona 500 Qualifying Race 

February 21, 2013

Kurt Busch diced his way to a fifth-place finish in Thursday's first Budweiser Duel qualifying race here at Daytona International Speedway. 

The top-five result will have Busch starting 11th in Sunday's Daytona 500, the opening points race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. 

Busch started the qualifying race from the 17th position and patiently tested the conditions before making a move in the 60-lap, 150-mile event. When the race was restarted with four laps remaining following a caution for an accident on the backstretch, Busch's No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet SS was positioned in ninth place. 

The former NASCAR champion showed his savvy driving skills in the draft by picking up an additional four positions when he took the checkered flag. 

"We'll take a top-five," said Busch. "We needed something positive to give our team a boost. We had some tough luck last week, but today our Furniture Row Chevy wasn't a magnet for being collected in a wreck. I would like to see a few more tweaks to the car to find a bit more speed. But overall, I am pleased where we're at with a few more days before the 500. The race did teach us a lot about how the new Gen-6 car acts in the draft."

The race winner in the first Budweiser Duel was Kevin Harvick. Rounding out the top-five in order were: Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jimmie Johnson and Busch. 

The race winner in the second Budweiser Duel was Kurt's brother Kyle, who was followed to the checkered flag by Kasey Kahne, Austin Dillon, Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth. 

Sunday's Daytona 500 will be televised on FOX, beginning with a 60-minute prerace show at noon ET.