MOTOR RACING : DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING : Up Front: The Next Generation

Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett, who once played together in the Daytona International Speedway infield while their famous fathers raced on the track, swept the front-row positions Saturday in the opening round of qualifying for the Feb. 14 Daytona 500.

Petty, the hottest driver during the second half of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup season and the fastest in winter testing, took his eighth pole and first at Daytona International Speedway with a lap of 189.426 m.p.h. in a Pontiac Grand Prix.

Petty, the 32-year-old son of seven-time Daytona 500 winner Richard Petty, who retired as a driver after the 1992 season at the age of 55, said, “I don’t think genes or generations have anything to do with it; it’s all team.

“I’m running good and Dale’s running good because we’re with good teams. Qualifying at Daytona, it’s a no-brainer. It’s all crew. They do all the work at the shop, getting a little more horsepower on the dyno, finding the right pieces and making the car the best it can be. . . . All you’ve got to do is get in and drive it.”

Jarrett, 36, whose father Ned is a TV commentator and a former two-time Winston Cup champion, earned the outside spot with a lap of 189.274 m.p.h. in a Chevrolet Lumina owned by Washington Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs.

“In the ‘60s, Kyle and I were together then, but it was over here in the infield,” Jarrett said. “We’d have a good time running around, getting on the swings and such while our fathers were out there beatin’ on each other.”

Richard Petty, a seven-time Winston Cup champion, won his only Daytona 500 pole in 1966. The elder Jarrett never won a pole or a race at Daytona.

Bill Elliott, a three-time pole-winner, was third at 189.024 in the fastest of the Ford Thunderbirds.

More time trials Monday and Tuesday will set the lineups for Thursday’s twin 125-mile qualifying races to set positions three through 30 in the race field.

The next 10 spots will be filled by the fastest of the remaining drivers from the time trials, with up to three provisional qualifiers completing the lineup.