DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A Ford hasn't qualified on the front row for the Daytona 500 since Yates Racing teammates David Gilliland and Ricky Rudd scored a sweep in 2007.

After two long practices Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, Greg Biffle looks to have the best shot to end that drought. The Roush Fenway Racing veteran was quickest in both Saturday practices in his No. 16 Fusion.

In the opening two-hour practice, Biffle jumped to the top of the sheet at the end of the session, which ended at the same time Sunday's qualifying will begin, 1 p.m. ET. Biffle's 46.537-second, 193.395-mph lap edged Richard Petty Motorsports Ford driver Marcos Ambrose, who was at 193.349 mph. There were six Fords in the top 10.

In the second practice, which lasted an hour and 45 minutes, Biffle was out front with a 193.241-mph effort in warmer temperatures. Defending Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne, who was fourth in the opening session, was right behind Biffle in P2, at 193.154 mph.

"I feel really good," Biffle said. "It's a testament to how hard these guys have worked because here, the driver really doesn't do anything in qualifying. So it's Matt [Puccia, crew chief] and all these guys on the team who work at the track and the shop. They've worked really hard on these cars and the motors have been awesome.

"Doug [Yates, head of Roush Yates Engines] and the guys have this fuel injection really dialed in and figured out. They're really paying attention to detail and worked really hard on the dyno and I'm just lucky I get to drive it."

Sunday's session, which is scheduled to feature 49 cars attempting to qualify for the 54th annual Daytona 500, is the first in NASCAR history using electronic fuel injection.

Regardless, Biffle said he's not going to lose any sleep over two laps in which a driver has to mostly concentrate on not scrubbing off speed, but very little else.

"Maybe if we were at a Texas or a Phoenix or someplace like that [he might assume pole was his if he didn't mess up], but you just never know what can happen," Biffle said. "You've got to have good wind. You've got to get through tech really good. The car is cooled off. We go about ninth [Sunday], which will help us. All the stars have to line up like everything else."

Biffle won the pole for the 2004 Daytona 500 but strangely enough, his best start in his other eight attempts is 16th, so he knows what good practice speed means.

"Trust me, I've been down here a ton of times where you're 23rd or 18th or whatever," Biffle said, "so it's nice to be near the front or at the front."

In the four years since 2008, Chevrolet has dominated Speedweeks qualifying. Hendrick Motorsports has swept the front row the past two years with Dale Earnhardt Jr. the defending pole winner after qualifying second in 2010. Of the eight available front-row positions since 2008, only one, Michael Waltrip's second-place Toyota in 2008, is a non-Chevy.

Of the Ford group, besides Biffle, Ambrose was eighth in the second practice and Biffle's teammate, Carl Edwards, was 10th in the first practice and seventh in the second. In the opening session Roush Fenway's Matt Kenseth was eighth and Ambrose's new teammate, Aric Almirola, was ninth.

Richard Childress Racing's Paul Menard might be the best Chevrolet bet, as he was fifth in P1 and sixth in P2. Hendrick Motorsports leader Jeff Gordon was third in P1 and ninth in P2. Earnhardt was sixth in P1 before dropping to 12th in P2. Tony Stewart was fourth on the afternoon sheet.

There was a general lack of Toyotas and Dodges atop either time sheet. Mark Martin, who now drives for Waltrip, was the best Toyota in both sessions, 11th in P1 and fifth in P2. A.J. Allmendinger was the best Dodge but was only 18th in P1 before moving up to 10th in P2.

Biffle made a limited number of mock qualifying runs -- as most drivers did. Kenseth, Allmendinger, Joey Logano and David Ragan each made 19 laps -- the most run by anyone.

In the end, Biffle said he was taking nothing for granted.

"We're definitely one of [the ones to beat], but some other guys still have some speed left," Biffle said. "The thing that concerns me a little bit is that's about all we've got. That's our hubs, our gears, our oils [typical qualifying adjustments] -- that's about it, we really don't have many more tricks in the bag.

"I know more and more people have been showing up and just doing three or four runs and have a lot of their stuff already on the car, so if guys come out and pick up a couple tenths, they're gonna put some pressure on us because look at how tight it is. It's so close right now, but we're one of them. We're gonna be one of probably eight cars that has a stab at it."

A dark horse for qualifying is 2008 pole winner Jimmie Johnson. Johnson's weekend got off to a bad start when NASCAR officials ruled inappropriate work had been done on the car's "C posts" and they were confiscated.

In the end, Johnson's team had to have new pieces fabricated in North Carolina and flown to Daytona Beach. The car finally cleared inspection Saturday morning and Johnson made a single run in P1, which placed him 15th. Johnson turned five laps in P2 and was 15th in the sheet, a little more than a tenth of a second behind Biffle.

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