the back. This is the first Daytona 500 with the new engine rule. 2004: Greg Biffle won his first Nextel Cup Series pole but changed engines after final Daytona 500 practice the Saturday before the race. This moved the inside column of cars up, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. started first and won the race. 2011: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Coors Light Pole Award, but crashed in Wednesday practice. Although a backup car was implemented and Earnhardt started in the rear for the first Duel, he also was moved to the rear for the Daytona 500 under an oddity in Daytona 500 qualifying rules. Drivers who switch to backup cars after incidents in Wednesday practice do not have to move to the back for the Daytona 500 if the car raced in the Duel is the same car for the 500, unless it is one of the front row qualifying cars. Kurt Busch, who won the first Duel, started first. 2015: Starting with 2014 The Profit on CNBC 500 the next week at Phoenix, multiple-round knockout qualifying, used in many codes of motorsport, was implemented. The knockout format was used for the first time at the Daytona 500, using the old restrictor plate qualifying format (three five-minute rounds, with the first round split evenly between cars, each having a five-minute round, top 24 advance to the second round, top 12 advancing to the final round). Six drivers were faster than pole speed in Q1, and three drivers (including eventual pole winner Jeff Gordon) were faster than the pole speed in Q2. The pole time was set in Q3. Aric Almirola (44.473 seconds/) was the fastest qualifier, but the time was set in Q1; he finished 15th in Q2 (originally 17th, but moved up after two post-Q3 disqualifications) and did not advance to Q3. 2016: Starting with the 2015 GEICO 500 at Talladega, one-lap single car qualifying was used on plate tracks. After the round was completed, the top 12 cars advance to Q2, where the drivers take one more timed lap. The two drivers with the fastest laps in Q2 start first and second, respectively, in the Daytona 500. Statistics Multiple Daytona 500 pole winners 4 pole positions Buddy Baker (1969, 1973, 1979, 1980) Cale Yarborough (1968, 1970, 1978, 1984) Bill Elliott (1985, 1986, 1987, 2001) 3 pole positions Fireball Roberts (1961, 1962, 1963) Ken Schrader (1988, 1989, 1990) Dale