Justin Lofton got to celebrate, take his share of pictures after winning the pole Friday for today's Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 ARCA RE/MAX race, but it was the outside pole sitter who stole some of his thunder.
Lofton, wheeling the No. 6 Toyota of Eddie Sharp Racing, turned a lap of 182.120 mph to earn the top starting spot for today's 4 p.m. green flag, but it was the local girl who got the lion's share of the attention in the post-qualifying press conference.

"It's awesome," Daytona Beach resident Alli Owens said. "Hopefully we'll be able to put on a good show for the first couple of laps here at Daytona."

Owens, wheeling the No. 19 Toyota of Eddie D'Hondt Motorsports, turned the 2.5-mile tri-oval at 181.510 mph, earning the outside pole in today's 43-car field.

The 20-year old went to nearby Atlantic High and after finishing 41st at both restrictor-plate tracks last season the solid run with a new team was something of a surprise. Owens is the first female in two years to sit on the front row here -- Erin Crocker won the pole two years ago -- and the first local on the front row since California native and Daytona Beach resident Mike Skinner won the pole in 1996.

"If I definitely came out and did win Daytona, oh boy, that would be awesome," Owens said. "Being a Daytona Beach native, I think it would do a lot for this community. I would open a lot of eyes and more or less be an inspiration to a lot of people. For my career, it would be huge."

Owens, who started racing at nearby New Smyrna Speedway, made 12 ARCA starts for former team owner Mario Gosselin last season, and her best finishes were 15th-place runs at Rockingham, Kentucky and Chicagoland.
This year she's in a new ride with D'Hondt, one that was seventh-quickest in practice Thursday before the team opted for an engine change prior to qualifying.

"I got kind of nervous last night when we decided we had a little bit of an engine problem and had to change engines late in the night," Owens said. "Early this morning we got it done."
Today, Owens will start alongside a driver who won last season at Michigan and is driving some of ARCA's best equipment. And there won't be any room to breathe as Joey Logano and defending race-winner Michael Annett will roll off behind her.

"It's pretty much just a roll of the dice," Lofton said. "Just to be up front is your least chance of anything happening to you during a big crash."

buddy.shacklette@news-jrnl.com