Gallagher, Peters strong in first 2016 Truck practices

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Staff Report

Spencer Gallagher led Thursday’s final practice ahead of Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Gallagher, running just six laps in the late afternoon session, paced the field with a best speed of 188.135 mph. He was followed closely by Timothy Peters at 188.029 mph. Peters topped the opening session at 189.028 mph for the best speed of the day.

Defending race winner Tyler Reddick was third on the charts at 187.946 mph, followed by ThorSport Racing teammates Rico Abreu (185.778 mph) and Matt Crafton (185.647 mph).

Tune in Friday night for the NextEra Energy Resources 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1).

MORE: Full Practice 1 results

Veteran driver Timothy Peters topped the opening NASCAR Camping World Truck Series action of the 2016 season, pacing the first of two practices Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.

Peters logged a best speed of 189.028 mph in his 23 laps around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Ben Rhodes and teammate Ben Kennedy were right on his tail, with speeds of 188.687 mph and 188.644 mph, respectively. Grant Enfinger (making his first NCWTS appearance since 2012) was next on the charts at 188.399 mph, followed by Johnny Sauter at 188.383 mph to round out the top five.

A handful of minutes into the session, Scott Lagasse ran over a piece of debris on his first lap, sending his No. 14 Chevrolet into the outside wall, taking heavy damage and halting the field.

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Staff Report

RELATED: Full practice results

Making a single-car run around Daytona International Speedway, Jimmie Johnson topped the leaderboard in Thursday’s final practice ahead of tonight’s Can-Am Duel races (7 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET, FS1). Johnson whirled his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at a rapid 193.054 mph around the 2.5-mile speedway.

“Definitely some good gains for the Lowe’s Chevrolet there,” Johnson told FS1 after his strong run.

The 55-minute practice was dominated by single-car runs, with the exception of new Richard Petty Motorsports teammates Aric Almirola and Brian Scott. Scott and Almirola came in second and third, respectively, on the leaderboard, posting identical speeds (189.897 mph) and times (47.394-second lap).

Ty Dillon ranked fourth on the speed charts in his No. 95 Chevrolet (189.837 mph), while Ryan Newman wheeled his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at 189.697 mph to round out the top five.

Kyle Larson — who was sixth-fastest (189.362 mph) — debuted a new No. 42 Chevrolet on track today, as his original ride was heavily damaged in a wreck during yesterday’s practice.

With the Duels tonight, only seven cars went on-track for the day’s final practice.

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Staff Report

The field for the Daytona 500 was set Thursday night following the Can-Am Duel races, as was running the order.

The front row of Chase Elliott and Matt Kenseth was determined after qualifying last Sunday, and the 39th and 40th positions of Michael McDowell and Robert Richardson Jr. was due to those two being Open teams that clinched via qualifying speeds.

Spots 3-38 were settled under the lights, with the finishing order of Duel 1 claiming the inside row (1-3-5, etc.) and the finishing order of Duel 2 claiming the outside row (2-4-6, etc.).

Daytona 500 lineup

Pos.	Car	Driver	Team
1.	24	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports
2.	20	Matt Kenseth	Joe Gibbs Racing
3.	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports
4.	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
5.	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske
6.	1	Jamie McMurray	Chip Ganassi Racing
7.	21	Ryan Blaney	Wood Brothers Racing
8.	41	Kurt Busch	Stewart-Haas Racing
9.	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing
10.	19	Carl Edwards	Joe Gibbs Racing
11.	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing
12.	95	Ty Dillon	Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing
13.	5	Kasey Kahne	Hendrick Motorsports
14.	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing
15.	16	Greg Biffle	Roush Fenway Racing
16.	10	Danica Patrick	Stewart-Haas Racing
17.	34	Chris Buescher	Front Row Motorsports
18.	14	Brian Vickers	Stewart-Haas Racing
19.	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Roush Fenway Racing
20.	93	Matt DiBenedetto	BK Racing
21.	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing
22.	46	Michael Annett	HScott Motorsports
23.	6	Trevor Bayne	Roush Fenway Racing
24.	38	Landon Cassill	Front Row Motorsports
25.	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske
26.	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
27.	7	Regan Smith	Tommy Baldwin Racing
28.	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing
29.	23	David Ragan	BK Racing
30.	47	AJ Allmendinger	JTG Daugherty Racing
31.	15	Clint Bowyer	HScott Motorsports
32.	13	Casey Mears	Germain Racing
33.	32	Bobby Labonte	Go Green Racing
34.	43	Aric Almirola	Richard Petty Motorsports
35.	44	Brian Scott	Richard Petty Motorsports
36.	83	Michael Waltrip	BK Racing
37.	27	Paul Menard	Richard Childress Racing
38.	31	Ryan Newman	Richard Childress Racing
39.	59	Michael McDowell	Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing
40.	26	Robert Richardson Jr.	BK Racing

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Staff Report

The two-round, single-car qualifying that took place Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway set the front row for the Daytona 500 (Feb. 21, 1 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Chase Elliott (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) earned the pole and Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) will join him on the front row after posting the second fastest qualifying speed.

The two will start from the pole in their respective Can-Am Duel races on Thursday night (first duel is 7 p.m. ET, FS1; second duel is approximately 9 p.m. ET, FS1).

The Can-Am Duels will set the remaining starting spots and the field for the 58th running of the “Great American Race.”

WHO IS IN THE FIELD?

The Charter system has locked in 36 of the 40 spots. That means the four remaining spots in the field will go to Open, non-Charter teams. There are eight Open teams attempting to qualify for the Daytona 500. | READ MORE: Which 36 teams have Charters?

Two of the four spots for Open teams were locked up in single-car qualifying based on which Open teams were the fastest: Ryan Blaney (No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford) and Matt DiBenedetto (No. 93 BK Racing Toyota). These two drivers are guaranteed spots in the Daytona 500 field.

HOW CAN AN ‘OPEN’ TEAM STILL GET IN?

That leaves two spots up for grabs among the six remaining Open teams yet to lock themselves into the field.

The top finisher among the Open teams in each Duel will earn a spot in the Daytona 500. Should that be Blaney (in Duel 1) and/or DiBenedetto (in Duel 2), then the guaranteed spot based on qualifying speeds would move to the next fastest Open team in qualifying. Michael McDowell (No. 59 Leavine Family Racing Ford) and Robert Richardson Jr. (No. 26 BK Racing Toyota) have the next fastest speeds.

The other Open teams in the mix to make the field are: Cole Whitt (No. 98 Premium Motorsports Toyota), David Gilliland (No. 35 Front Row Motorsports Ford), Josh Wise (No. 30 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet) and Reed Sorenson (No. 40 Hillman Racing Chevrolet). These four must qualify via the Can-Am Duels.

HOW IS THE 40-CAR LINEUP SET?

For the Daytona 500, Elliott and Kenseth will be on the front row. Starting spots 3 through 38 will be determined by the results of the Duels. Drivers in the first Duel race will line up on the inside row for the Daytona 500 (odd-number starting position), based on the order in which they finish the Duel race. Drivers in the second Duel race will line up on the outside row for the the Daytona 500 (even-number starting positions), based on the order in which they finish the Duel race. For example, the winner of the first Duel (if not Elliott), will line up third; the winner of the second Duel (if not Kenseth) will line up fourth and so on.

The top Open team finisher in each Duel will make the 500 field. Should the top Open finisher in a Duel have also posted one of the top two speeds in qualifying among Open teams (Blaney or DiBenedetto), the Duel result is accepted and the next fastest Open car in qualifying would make the field. The final two starting spots in the field, spots 39 and 40, will go to the two Open teams that made the field based on qualifying speed.

WHAT IF THE DUELS ARE RAINED OUT?

If both Duels are canceled due to weather, officials will use qualifying results to determine the four Open teams that would advance. In this case that would be Blaney, DiBenedetto, McDowell and Richardson.

Should only the second Can-Am Duel be canceled due to weather, the highest finishing Open team from the first Duel would earn a starting berth, with the remaining three positions determined based on qualifying results.

In the event of a rain out, the full field will be set according to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book.

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Zack Albert

PHOTOS: Dale, Junior and every 500 winner | Closest finishes

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — After a day of outpouring on social media remembering the legendary Dale Earnhardt on the 15th anniversary of his passing, his son provided the perfect capper.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s victory in the opening Can-Am Duel at Daytona International Speedway assured the Hendrick Motorsports driver a starting spot up front in Sunday’s 58th annual Daytona 500, a race he’s won twice. But it also conjured up plenty of fond memories of racing at the track where Earnhardt lost his life in a crash on Feb. 18, 2001.

“It’s real special. I was thinking about that,” he said. “I try not to make too big a deal. I’ve told all you guys in interviews we’ve done how much I like people to remember Dad, talk about Dad. It really warms my heart to see the stuff on social media and so forth. That’s probably my best way to gauge the reaction to a day like this. You see a lot of people mention him, even the Braves and all that stuff. It’s pretty cool.”

Earnhardt led twice for 43 of the 60 laps, snaring his fifth victory in Daytona 500 qualifying races at the historic 2.5-mile track. It was another show of muscle by the No. 88 Chevrolet nicknamed “Amelia,” the entry that came home first in last year’s main event.

While the competition goals were clear-cut for the Hendrick Motorsports driver, Earnhardt Jr. said that he had some admittedly selfish motivations in the 500 preliminary.

“I was daydreaming a little bit,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’m guilty of daydreaming a little bit about winning this race tonight because of the day. That was special to me. Glad nothing bad happened, that we didn’t tear our car up, because that would have been embarrassing on a day like this.”

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Zack Albert

MORE: Full starting lineup for 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As his car idled on pit road before the pace laps, Michael McDowell keyed his radio for a quick prayer before the first of Thursday’s two Can-Am Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500.

His Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing team’s reply: “Amen, brother. Let’s do this thing tonight.”

McDowell’s prayers were answered Thursday night with a 14th-place finish, good enough to clinch a starting berth in Sunday’s 58th annual Great American Race (1 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM). McDowell joined eventual third-place finisher Ryan Blaney among the open, non-chartered teams to qualify for the 40-car field in the first 150-miler.

In the second race, teammates Matt DiBenedetto and Robert Richardson Jr. claimed the remaining Daytona 500 starting spots, placing all four BK Racing Toyotas into the feature race.

The result of the first Duel places two cars from the newly merged stable of Circle Sport and Leavine Family in the 500 field. Ty Dillon will start the Daytona 500 in the team’s chartered No. 95 Chevrolet.

“You all know what it means to be in the 500,” McDowell said. “I’ve been on the other side, too, where I’ve been loading up, too, and going home on a Thursday night. I definitely appreciate it when we make the races. …

“To really start out the year well, it’s very important. This is such a huge race. It was nerve‑wracking. It wasn’t an easy one by any means. Pretty much how it goes, you have a plan, you make a plan, then it all changes when you get out there. Tonight was no different than that.”

Josh Wise, Cole Whitt, David Gilliland and Reed Sorenson failed to qualify for the Daytona 500.

McDowell’s run into the field was not an easy one. Blaney was assured a starting berth based on his qualifying speed in Sunday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying, but was still eligible to claim one of the at-large transfer spots as the highest finisher among the four open teams.

When Blaney made an unscheduled pit stop with a loose wheel and a vibration near the midway point, the race for an at-large spot was wide open. McDowell and Whitt diced side by side for several laps through the middle portions of the 60-lapper.

Once the field made the only exchange of green-flag pit stops, McDowell emerged as the leading open driver, but by himself without any aerodynamic help. Whitt, with minimal aero help in a three-car draft, closed quickly on McDowell, who watched his mirror and disrupted his advances. Whitt spun, damaging his Premium Motorsports No. 98 entry as it scraped along the Turn 1 apron.

Whitt wound up in last place as the qualifying race’s earliest retiree, parked 11 laps from the finish. Earlier in Speedweeks, the Premium team announced it had leased its Charter, which would have clinched a berth in the 500, to the HScott Motorsports No. 46 team and driver Michael Annett.

“If we passed him we’re in the Daytona 500. If I fell behind him, we were probably going to ride behind him for the rest of the race,” said Whitt. “It’s just too hard to pass with the single amount of cars we had, and his car was a lot better than ours. Just tried to do what I could and it didn’t work out.”

Thursday night’s second 150-mile Duel was far less eventful around the transfer position. DiBenedetto was assured a starting berth on the basis of his speed in Sunday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying, but snagged the at-large spot with a ninth-place run in the second Duel.

That left the final spot based on qualifying time to Richardson, who two weeks ago was working the hay pastures at his ranch in Pilot Point, Texas, just north of Texas Motor Speedway when the phone call for the No. 26 ride materialized.

“Very blessed, very honored to be here,” said Richardson, who finished 18th as the first driver one lap down in Duel 2. “This’ll be my second opportunity to run the Daytona 500, but this one’s a lot more special.”

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — By his own admission, Daytona’s Speedweeks last year was a struggle for then-rookie Daniel Suarez. His role in a multicar crash during qualifying and another pileup during the season-opening race did not win points with his new NASCAR XFINITY Series brethren.

One year later, it’s a much more buoyant and respected Suarez in the Daytona International Speedway garage. The Mexican-born driver has a year of experience and improvement on his resume as he kicks off his second full XFINITY season in Saturday’s PowerShares QQQ 300 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I feel like right now, we are a different driver and a different race team,” Suarez said Tuesday at NASCAR Media Day, chalking up his 2015 missteps here to inexperience. “We know where we need to be. Our confidence level is different as well, so I really feel really good. I really feel like right now from one year to right now we have made a lot of ground, so really looking forward to trying to make something different on this superspeedway.”

RELATED: Paint schemes for Daytona

After such a shaky start last February, Suarez hatched a successful Sunoco Rookie of the Year campaign, finishing fifth in the drivers’ standings. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver turned in top-five efforts at short tracks, 1-mile layouts and intermediate-sized circuits, but none in the three superspeedway events (two at Daytona, one at Talladega).

Though he did cash in with his first Coors Light Pole Award when the series returned to Daytona in July, Suarez still said he had plenty to learn on the sport’s biggest ovals.

“I really was thinking during the offseason about how to be successful at this race track, how to be good at it,” Suarez said. “I just really think that last year, 2015 we were learning about so many race tracks and learning about everything, but in superspeedways I just feel like I was stuck a little bit, so I did a lot of homework to try to learn more about superspeedways, how to work on superspeedways, how to be a little bit better and I’m really looking forward to trying to be more successful on superspeedways than what I did last year.”

Suarez, 24, plans to concentrate on vying for the XFINITY championship, but will again split time in the Camping World Truck Series with plans for a 13-race schedule — the same number that he ran last year in an effort to gain valuable time behind the wheel. But there’s also been preliminary talk, he admits, about a potential move up the ladder to the Sprint Cup Series in the future as part of JGR’s rich crop of development drivers.

“Yeah, we have had that conversation a little bit here, a little bit there,” Suarez says, “but at the end of the day, I’m one of those drivers that thinks if we do our job with what we are doing right now the future is going to take care of itself. Yeah, we’ve had a little bit of those conversations — nothing for sure, really — but I really think the most important deal right now for us is the NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.”

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The tale of Martin Truex Jr.’s Daytona Speedweeks trip still has a few chapters to be written. But however his season-opening race turns out, Truex has already told his most important story.

Truex’s byline graced The Players Tribune on Monday, documenting girlfriend Sherry Pollex’s fight with ovarian cancer and how it impacted their relationship. The 35-year-old driver’s heartfelt first-person account — titled “The Fight of Our Lives” — comes just weeks after Pollex completed a 17-month course of chemotherapy treatment.

With that stage of the fight behind them, Truex said the next logical step was to raise awareness to help others wage their own battle against cancer.

“She’s going to kind of be a spokesperson for the disease and she wants to help other people and spread the word about it and try to get more funding for research and all those type of things,” Truex said Tuesday at NASCAR Media Day, “So it was kind of a good time to get our story out there, explain how it went and kind of get the ball rolling on what we’re going to try and do as far as the awareness side and the research side about trying to help other women and other people with this disease.”

Truex established his foundation in 2007 to help combat children’s issues, specifically pediatric cancer. When Pollex was diagnosed with the disease in 2014, the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation expanded its reach to help women affected by ovarian cancer as well. The foundation’s annual Catwalk for a Cause helped raise more than $250,000 in contributions last year.

Truex’s article this week was an extension of the foundation’s goals, but it also helped to tell their story — both from her perspective and his.

“On my side of it, it’s about kind of teaching husbands and sons and just whoever from the man’s point of view on how to deal with it,” Truex said, “So we’ve kind of retooled our foundation a bit to focus on not only childhood cancer, which we’ve always done — pediatric cancer — but also now we’re going to put a lot of effort and emphasis in ovarian cancer, so all those things kind of go together and that timing was part of it.

“The rest was just — that was our story. That’s the story how it went for me and that’s how I wanted to get it out there.”

Truex joins the ranks of fellow NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch and Danica Patrick as contributors to The Players Tribune, which features content penned from a professional athlete’s point of view. Just 24 hours after his article’s publication, Truex said the reception has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I think that it hit home with a lot of people because a lot of people have unfortunately dealt with similar battles,” Truex said. “It just kind of shows what we’ve been through.”

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The gleaming structure that now flanks the frontstretch at Daytona International Speedway has re-established rightful prominence to one of NASCAR’s most historic tracks. But the price tag on prestige also includes another measure of improvement — the always-moving target in the realm of safety.

The Daytona Rising project opened in earnest for February’s annual Speedweeks with high-rise seating, “injector” entrances and sprawling concourses. But after a pair of harrowing crashes in its two races last season, it also made sure to make enhancements to the other side of the catchfence — the track itself. And there’s still more to be done.

“Daytona has its own challenges, but there’s a fix for everything,” said Ryan Newman, one of the sport’s most outspoken drivers when it comes to safety. “It’s just a matter of spending time, money and effort to do it right.”

Kyle Busch‘s severe crash here in the NASCAR XFINITY Series opener last February was the fulcrum to many of the changes. Busch’s car skidded off the short chute toward Turn 1, slid across the grass and made hard, nose-first contact with a wall unprotected by the impact-absorbing SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier system. The impact forced Busch out for 11 races with multiple leg injuries.

When NASCAR returned in July, teams were greeted with additional SAFER barriers and more than 200,000 square feet of new asphalt to replace the grass in certain places around the 2.5-mile track, including the site of Busch’s crash. Though multiple areas were addressed, Austin Dillon‘s violent wreck into the frontstretch catch fencing again raised safety’s specter.

The topic of grass came into renewed focus during last weekend’s Sprint Unlimited preliminary. Jimmie Johnson‘s No. 48 Chevrolet spun off the racing surface on the backstretch, sustaining severe front-end damage when the car’s nose dug into the earth at high speed. Three days later at NASCAR Media Day, Johnson sounded the bell again for more pavement: “My opinion, grass belongs on golf courses. We need asphalt around here to slow the cars down, control the cars.”

Daytona track president Joie Chitwood III said his facility has acted quickly to make further strides with additional SAFER and paving, but that the movement was spread among all 12 of International Speedway Corporation’s host tracks. In Daytona’s case, Chitwood noted there’s a more delicate fine line in doing what’s right for the various series — four-wheeled and two — that visit.

“Daytona is operated about 250 days a year, so we do have other forms of racing out here,” Chitwood said, “and so we have to make sure that we provide everyone a good racing opportunity, whether it’s sports cars, whether it’s motorcycles — yes, there’s other things. Right now, that balancing act of the right kind of safety — whether it’s grass, SAFER barrier and how it fits with everything we do — so we just have to balance all those things.”

Newman also suggested a retaining wall on the outside of pit road be added to every track that hosts NASCAR’s premier series. Of the 23 tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule, eight do not have a wall separating the pit lane from the infield grass.

Chitwood said providing extra protection on pit road would be ideal, but that the introduction of an exterior pit wall creates an extra element of danger with an abutment at pit entry. Tracks that do have the additional barrier protect them with large, impact-absorbing barrels filled with water or sand.

“There’s a lot of challenges with that, and we’ve seen a lot of other tracks need to put an attenuator at the end of pit wall. If you do that, you create a hard point out there,” Chitwood said. “I think there’s a lot of conversation about that, and that’s where you get a lot of safety engineers and people like that that can assist with that. There’s some tracks with a wall that separates the track from pit lane. There’s a lot without, so I think that’s a good debate for a lot of knowledgeable people about safety right now. I think he has a valid point, but I think there’s both sides to that.”

Though safety enhancements remain an evolving focus, Chitwood’s attention for now — with the Daytona 500 just days away — remains on buttoning down the final 2 percent of work to be done. After overseeing the motorsports stadium’s groundbreaking as a $400 million concept in July 2013 to its reality at 98 percent completion today, Chitwood has many reasons to savor the occasion.

“I think we’re having a tough time not focusing on the 2 percent because we’ve lived it for two and a half years,” he said. “Trying to tell our team — and I’m probably our worst offender — to enjoy the moment. We’re doing something special and unique and no one’s ever done this before.”

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Reid Spencer

MORE: Full starting lineup for 500
RELATED: Can-Am Duel 1 results | Can-Am Duel 2 results

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Retaking the lead with five laps left in the first of Thursday night’s Can-Am Duel 150-mile qualifying races, Dale Earnhardt Jr. cruised to a dominating victory and grabbed the third staring spot for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

In the second Duel, reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch took the checkered flag under caution after a wild last-lap wreck took out the cars of Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, AJ Allmendinger and Danica Patrick and damaged the No. 41 Chevrolet of Kurt Busch.

Kenseth will go to a backup car and start from the rear in the Daytona 500, surrendering the second starting spot he earned during last Sunday’s time trials.

“I guess it was quiet and calm there for a long time, and the last lap just went kind of crazy,” Busch said. “Great car. These guys at Joe Gibbs Racing did a phenomenal job this winter building some new pieces for us to come down here with and have some fun.

“Looking forward to starting the Daytona 500 in the fourth spot, but I think I will actually get the outside front row now that Kenseth got caught up in that mess and tore up his car.”

Driving a chassis nicknamed “Amelia” for famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart, Earnhardt won his Duel for the second straight year and for the fifth time overall. The two-time Daytona 500 winner drove Amelia in all four restrictor-plate races and the Duel last year, winning two points races as well as the Daytona qualifier.

Earnhardt held off 2015 Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano and rookie Ryan Blaney, who drove their Fords to second and third, respectively. Kevin Harvick finished fourth, followed by Denny Hamlin and Daytona 500 pole winner Chase Elliott.

With Blaney finishing highest in the first Duel among the four “open” drivers who had to race into the field, Michael McDowell earned a spot in the Daytona 500 based on his qualifying speed from last Thursday, the third fastest among the “open” drivers. Blaney was already locked into the field as the fastest qualifier among the “open” drivers.

“You all know what it means to be in the 500,” McDowell said. I’ve been on the other side, too, where I’ve been loading up, too, and going home on a Thursday night. I definitely appreciate it when we make the races.

“It’s definitely a big thing for our team, Circle Sport and Leavine Family Racing. We’re going to have two cars in the Daytona 500, especially for a small team. To really start out the year well, it’s very important. This is such a huge race.”

Earnhardt got the lead on Lap 55 of 60, diving to the inside and pulling up beside Hamlin, who was leading at the time. Earnhardt stayed out front for the final five laps, bringing his total for the race to 43.

“Denny is such a great plate racer,” Earnhardt said. “There are a lot of guys that are really good at it these days. I knew he was going to be real tough to get around. When he got the lead (during a sequence of green-flag pit stops), I didn’t know if we were going to be able to get around him. He’s got a great car and he’s real smart.

“For whatever reason, I was able to get to his quarter-panel, (and) he saw we had a pretty good run. I don’t know, I didn’t think I was going to clear him. We got away from him so he couldn’t side draft us, I guess. I was really surprised as anybody that we got by him. He’ll be tough on Sunday.”

With Brian Scott spinning off Turn 4 and slamming into the inside wall on the final lap, Earnhardt crossed the finish line .183 seconds ahead of Logano, who also finished second to Hamlin in last Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited exhibition race.

The first Duel sets the inside lane for the Daytona 500. Hence, Earnhardt, Logano, Blaney, Harvick and Hamlin will line up third, fifth, seventh, ninth and 11th behind Elliott on Sunday.

Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards and Ty Dillon finished second through fifth in the second Duel and will line up behind Kyle Busch in the outside lane on Sunday, provided none of those drivers has to go to a backup car, and provided Elliott chooses the inside lane for the start of the race (the pole winner has lane choice).

With Matt DiBenedetto finishing highest among the “open” drivers in the second Duel, Robert Richardson Jr. earned the last starting spot in the Daytona 500 on speed, given that DiBenedetto already was locked into the field as the second fastest “open” qualifier during time trials.

With Richardson and DiBenedetto in the race, BK Racing has all four of its cars in the field. The cars of David Ragan and Michael Waltrip are chartered and therefore guaranteed starting spots.

“Two weeks ago I was at home working on my ranch, got a phone call from Lane Segerstrom from (sponsor) StalkIt, saying he was trying to put a deal together trying to run the Daytona 500,” Richardson said. “This was two weeks ago. A lot of guys start preparing for this race as soon as the season ends from last year.

“I’m very, very honored to be a part of BK Racing, having another opportunity to run here at the Daytona 500. I’ve been in it once before, but this one is very, very special to me. My wife and I welcomed our brand new baby boy who was born in early December. Every bit of the earnings we get from this race are going to go into a college fund for him.”

Failing to qualify for the Daytona 500 were Cole Whitt, Josh Wise, David Gilliland and Reed Sorenson.