Chase Elliott and Joey Logano emerged as the winners of the two Daytona Duel races leading up to the Daytona 500. Logano claimed victory in the first Duel, while Elliott took the checkered flag in the second. Casey Mears secured a spot in the Daytona 500 on the last lap after Corey LaJoie and Chandler Smith were both overtaken late in the race.
Out of the 45 drivers attempting to race, 39 were already guaranteed entry through charters (36 drivers), qualifying speeds on Wednesday night (Justin Allgaier and Corey Heim), or NASCAR provisional starting spots for well-known drivers like Jimmie Johnson. That left Mears, LaJoie, and Smith battling for the final two available places. Smith’s hopes ended with a crash five laps from the finish. Mears, meanwhile, triggered the race’s first caution by spinning into Noah Gragson during green-flag pit stops.
LaJoie had a huge advantage on the final lap, but after being nudged by Daniel Suarez and squeezed next to teammate Brad Keselowski, LaJoie lost control and crashed inside Turns 3 and 4. Mears surged forward from the rear of the pack, even colliding momentarily with Suarez, but crossed the finish line well ahead of Smith, who finished second in that duel. At the time of his crash, LaJoie was the second car on the inside line.
The second Duel race was much calmer. Elliott will start fourth in the Daytona 500 with Logano lining up third. Anthony Alfredo initially qualified for Sunday’s race ahead of BJ McLeod and JJ Yeley in Duel No. 2, but Alfredo was disqualified after his car failed post-race technical inspection, giving McLeod the final spot.
Below is the complete starting lineup for the Daytona 500. Odd-numbered starting positions were determined by the first Duel, while the even spots came from the second:
1. Kyle Busch
2. Chase Briscoe
3. Joey Logano
4. Chase Elliott
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Carson Hocevar
7. Austin Dillon
8. Kyle Larson
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Michael McDowell
11. John Hunter Nemechek
12. Christopher Bell
13. Shane van Gisbergen
14. Josh Berry
15. Daniel Suarez
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17. Casey Mears
18. Todd Gilliland
19. Ryan Preece
20. Ty Gibbs
21. Alex Bowman
22. Denny Hamlin
23. Cole Custer
24. Erik Jones
25. Noah Gragson
26. Tyler Reddick
27. Bubba Wallace
28. Riley Herbst
29. Corey Heim
30. Zane Smith
31. Jimmie Johnson
32. Connor Zilisch
33. Cody Ware
34. Ty Dillon
35. AJ Allmendinger
36. Austin Cindric
37. Ross Chastain
38. BJ McLeod
39. William Byron
40. Justin Allgaier
41. Chris Buescher
Fan Take: The drama of the Duel races, especially the last-lap battles for the final Daytona 500 spots, illustrates the high stakes and intense competition that define NASCAR. For fans, these races add an exciting prelude to the main event and demonstrate how every position truly matters, promising a thrilling season opener.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
