Daytona Beach, Fla. ? Jimmie Johnson fired the first shot Saturday in what is expected to be one of the best Rookie of the Year races in years, winning the pole position for his first Daytona 500.

Johnson, fastest throughout winter testing on Daytona International Speedway’s 21*2-mile oval, proved it was no fluke, driving his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet around the high-banked track at 185.831 mph 2 mph faster than his quickest lap in testing.

That was good enough to relegate last year’s top rookie, Kevin Harvick, to the outside of the front row for the Feb. 17 NASCAR Winston Cup season-opener. Harvick, driving a Chevrolet from Richard Childress Racing, came up just short of the pole with a 185.770.

Fifty-three drivers made it onto the track in the first of two rounds of time trials, but only the two 26-year-olds, neither of whom has driven in NASCAR’s biggest event, locked in starting spots for the 500-mile race.

Johnson joins former Childress driver Mike Skinner (1997) and Loy Allen Jr. (1994) as the only rookies in NASCAR’s modern era to win Daytona poles.

Harvick was the replacement for seven-time series champion Dale Earnhardt, who died in a crash on the last lap of last year’s Daytona 500. He didn’t run his first Winston Cup event until the following week at Rockingham, N.C., but ran away with the rookie title as well as winning the Busch Series championship that he had intended to concentrate on before the death of NASCAR’s biggest star pushed him into the spotlight.

Positions three through 30 in the 43-car field will be determined Thursday by the results of the Twin 125-mile qualifying races. The next six spots will go to the remaining fastest cars from the two days of time trials and the rest of the lineup will be filled by provisional starters based on last year’s car-owner points.

Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.

Lap length: 2.5-mile tri-oval

x-qualified

1. (48) x-Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 185.831 mph.

2. (29) x-Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 185.770.

3. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 185.491.

4. (92) Robert Pressley, Dodge, 185.273.

5. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 184.426.

6. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 184.362.

7. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 184.264.

8. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 184.188.

9. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 184.173.

10. (30) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 183.989.

11. (33) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 183.839.

12. (18) Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 183.775.

13. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 183.711.

14. (25) Jerry Nadeau, Chevrolet, 183.700.

15. (28) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 183.658.

16. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 183.651.

17. (55) Bobby Hamilton, Chevrolet, 183.632.

18. (1) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 183.561.

19. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 183.542.

20. (20) Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 183.415.

21. (11) Brett Bodine, Ford, 183.382.

22. (71) Dave Marcis, Chevrolet, 183.258.

23. (36) Ken Schrader, Pontiac, 183.232.

24. (43) John Andretti, Dodge, 183.154.

25. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 183.150.

26. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 183.132.

27. (26) Joe Nemechek, Ford, 182.864.

28. (7) Casey Atwood, Dodge, 182.771.

29. (09) Geoffrey Bodine, Ford, 182.734.

30. (49) Shawna Robinson, Dodge, 182.663.

31. (23) Hut Stricklin, Dodge, 182.511.

32. (2) Rusty Wallace, Ford, 182.304.

33. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 182.286.

34. (66) Todd Bodine, Ford, 182.205.

35. (12) Ryan Newman, Ford, 182.120.

36. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 182.113.

37. (10) Johnny Benson Jr., Pontiac, 182.101.

38. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 182.061.

39. (21) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 181.840.

40. (14) Stacy Compton, Pontiac, 181.741.

41. (90) Rick Mast, Ford, 181.602.

42. (44) Buckshot Jones, Dodge, 181.488.

43. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 181.474.

44. (41) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 181.156.

45. (32) Ricky Craven, Ford, 181.036.

46. (59) Bobby Gerhart, Pontiac, 180.487.

47. (4) Mike Skinner, Chevrolet, 180.169.

48. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 179.968.

49. (02) Hermie Sadler, Chevrolet, 178.586.

50. (85) Carl Long, Dodge, 176.419.

51. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, did not start.

52. (80) Kirk Shelmerdine, Ford, did not start.

53. (84) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, did not start.