Ty Dillon among underdogs to race into Daytona 500

“It’s amazing. I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid and watched my grandfather’s teams win races,” said Dillon, who overcame a broken shifter late in the 60-lap event. “To be a part of so much history and to put my name in a Daytona 500 start, it means so much to me. This sport means so much to me. The history and what it is, it’s just hard to explain to people I have such a different side of racing than other drivers, being a part of it my whole life. This is the Great American Race and I’m just so happy.

“I wanted to be in this so bad and I’ve wanted to be a part of this for so long, it just meant a lot to me.”

Apart from the crop of obvious “made its,” Dillon — who will make just his third career Cup start Sunday — will be joined by a group featuring the likes of Landon Cassill, Cole Whitt, Michael McDowell, JJ Yeley and Michael Annett, who all advanced following the first race.

The underdogs that squeezed their way into the field in the second race of the evening included Ryan Blaney, Reed Sorenson, Mike Wallace, Justin Allgaier, David Gilliland and David Ragan, who recovered from a mid-race wreck to finish 14th.

Johnny Sauter’s strong time during group qualifying put him in the 43-car field as well.

WATCH: Sauter spins after contact with Allmendinger

Drivers that failed to make the Daytona 500 field were: Justin Marks and Ron Hornaday Jr. (Duel 1); Alex Bowman, Jeb Burton, Brian Scott and Josh Wise (Duel 2).


Annett was involved in a wreck involving Danica Patrick and Jeb Burton during a practice session on Wednesday and was forced to have switch to a backup for this race. The backup was actually the reserve of HScott Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier’s, which was re-skinned from the No. 51 to the No. 46.

“To go out there, knowing we had a Hendrick engine under the hood and a Hendrick chassis, we were more than confident,” said Annett, who finished 14th in the opening Duel. “This car handled just as good as our primary did and really didn’t have any doubts or worries about it. We knew it was going to handle good. Did everything I asked of it.

“Played it safe for about 55 laps, riding around in the back. I know it’s no fun, but we knew we had to get to the end and we knew the car was going to be strong enough to do everything we asked it to when we needed it to. Those last five laps were hectic, holding your breath for however long it takes to get around here so we’re in and now we can sleep and actually eat a meal and enjoy it and breathe a little bit better.”

Sorenson was in a somewhat similar situation, being the unfortunate focal point of the Daytona 500 qualifying mishap that Clint Bowyer was vocally upset over earlier in the week. The Team Xtreme Racing driver blocked Bowyer on Sunday during the group qualifying session, sparking a large wreck and even larger subsequent debate over qualifying procedures and the drastic measures lower-funded teams need to take in order to make the field.

RELATED: Bowyer sounds off on group qualifying

After a convincing seventh-place finish in the second Duel, there’s no debate: Sorenson will be starting 14th on Sunday.

“Monday morning we didn’t know if it was going to be possible to pull it off but we did, so I’m extremely happy,” Sorenson said. “It’s a big deal for a team like this to make the Daytona 500, so I’m proud of everybody at Xtreme and now we can have fun.

“We have nothing to lose in the race and we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”

MORE: