On Wednesday night 42 drivers took to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway to set the front row for the Daytona 500. Reigning Cup Series champion Kyle Larson put his number five Hendrick Motrosports car on the pole with team mate Alex Bowman starting alongside on the front row. This is Bowman’s fifth time at starting on the front row for the 500; setting a new record at Daytona and tying an all time record.
Open drivers, drivers who do not have a charter, Noah Gragson and Jacques Villeneuve secured a spot in the 500 after making their qualifying runs.
Tonight the drivers will be divided into two groups for the Bluegreen Vacation Duel races. Two of the open drivers will be sent home after the duel races when the field is set.
Drivers who finished in the odd number positions after qualifying will race in Duel number one with the drivers who finished qualifying in the even positions will race in Duel number two. The drivers who advance from Duel number one will start the 500 from the inside lane; while the drivers who advance from Duel number two will start the 500 from the outside lane.
The drivers will run 60 laps for a total of 150 miles. With a fuel load of around 40 laps, the drivers will have to make their first live pit stops.
Oh…and for the first time, this is a points race!
The starting lineup for the Bluegreen Vacation Duel number 1:
Kyle Larson
William Byron
Chase Elliott
Ross Chastain
Daniel Suarez
Daniel Hemric
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Brad Keselowski
Chase Briscoe
Austin Cindric
Erik Jones
Kurt Busch
Justin Haley
Cole Custer
Todd Gilliland
Noah Gragson
Landon Cassill
Kaz Grala
BJ McLeod
JJ Yeley
Kaz Grala is moved to the back of the field after the team made some unapproved adjustments to the car.
With a notebook full of unknowns, the green flag flies and Kyle Larson gets the race started from the outside lane. Larson gets out in front to lead the race.
Drivers are getting three wide right away. Noah Gragson has fallen back in the field. Knowing that he will be in the 500, he is staying back and hopefully out of harms way.
Kyle Larson leads lap number one.
Lap three, the top five are Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Briscoe.
Lap four, Kyle Larson continues to lead the race with team mate William Byron and Ross Chastain battling for second; Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap five, drivers are two by two throughout the field.
Lap six, the drivers are packed closely together. The top five drivers have gotten single file.
Lap seven, Kyle Larson has the lead with Williak Byron in second; Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Lap eight, the drivers have all gotten single file.
Lap nine, the top three drivers are all Hendricks Motorsports drivers with Kyle Larson leading the way; followed by William Byron and Chase Elliott.
Lap 13, Kyle Larson has led every lap so far; William Byron, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Kurt Busch in eighth place is the only Toyota in race number one.
Lap 15, currently single file, Kyle Larson leads the way with fellow Hendricks drivers William Byron and Chase Elliott behind him; Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Lap 18, the top 10 drivers are separated by just over a second; the top five by only half a second.
Lap 19, Kyle Larson continues to lead the race; William Byron, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Lap 20, Noah Gragson has gone a lap down. Gragson secured a spot in the 500 after qualifying and is working to protect his car. The team only brought one car and have no backup should anything happen.
Lap 25, Kaz Grala has lost the draft and is running laps of about 51 seconds.
Lap 26, Kyle Larson continues to lead the race with William Byron in second; Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Kurt Busch has a few drivers with him in the top lane, working his way to the front.
Lap 28, the drivers are in their pit window and can make it to the end of the race.
Lap 29, the top 16 drivers are separated by about four seconds, the remainder of the field are at least 15 seconds and more behind the leader.
Lap 30, halfway, Kyle Larson continues leading the field with team mates William Byron and Chase Elliott behind; Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
For the first time since the early laps, the head of the pack begins to change. Lap 32, JJ Yeley and BJ McLeod go a lap down. Kyle Larson continues to lead the race with Chase Elliott in second; Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, and Kurt Busch round out the top of the field.
Lap 33, leaders are approaching Kaz Grala.
Lap 34, Kyle Larson puts Kaz Grala a lap down; there are 17 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 34, leaders, and Chevrolets, come down pit road for a green flag pit stop. Ryan Blaney is the new leader.
Lap 35, the Fords come down pit road for their pit stops.
Kaz Grala was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a pass through penalty.
Lap 36, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Brad Keselowski in second; Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five. Kyle Larson has fallen to ninth place.
Lap 40, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Brad Keselowski in second; Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Seventeen laps to go, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Brad Keselowski on his bumper; Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five. Kyle Larson has moved up to eighth with 16 cars on the lead lap.
No matter where he finishes the race, unless he wrecks the car and has to go to a backup, Kyle Larson knows that he will be the pole sitter and bring the field to green on Sunday in the 500.
With 14 laps to go, the gap between the fifth place driver Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott in sixth is over five seconds.
The “unapproved adjustment” on Kaz Grala’s car was replacing the digital dash on the car. The change may or may not have contributed to Grala’s speeding penalty.
Ten to go, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Brad Keselowski on his bumper pushing; Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 52, the top four drivers have broken away from the rest of the field.
Lap 53, Ryan Blaney continues to lead the race with Brad Keselowski in second; Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and Chase Elliott round out the top five. Kyle Larson is in seventh.
Five to go, Ryan Blaney has the lead with Brad Keselowski in second; Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and Chase Elliott round out the top five. There ae 16 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 56, Brad Keselowski pulls out with Chase Briscoe behind him and passes Ryan Blaney to take the lead.
Three to go, drivers are beginning to make their moves…Brad Keselowski leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, and Chase Elliott round out the top five. There are 15 cars on the lead lap.
Brad Keselowski takes the white flag.
Ryan Blaney drops to fourth as Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe move up.
Brad Keselowski wins the race…and his very first duel win.
Kaz Grala edges out JJ Yeley to make it into the 500!
The unofficial results of the Bluegreen Vacations Duel race number one:
Brad Keselowski
Austin Cindric
Ryan Blaney
Chase Briscoe
Chase Elliott
Erik Jones
Kyle Larson
Tyler Reddick
Kurt Busch
Ross Chastain
Daniel Suarez
William Byron
Justin Haley
Landon Cassill
Todd Gilliland
Cole Custer
Daniel Hemric
Kaz Grala
JJ Yeley
BJ McLeod
Noah Gragson
The starting lineup for the Bluegreen Vacation Duel number 2:
Alex Bowman
Aric Almirola
Martin Truex Jr
Denny Hamlin
Harrison Burton
Joey Logano
Christopher Bell
Bubba Wallace
Kyle Busch
Austin Dillon
Michael McDowell
Ty Dillon
Kevin Harvick
Chris Buescher
Corey LaJoie
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Cody Ware
Jacques Villeneuve
Greg Biffle
David Ragan
Timmy HIll
This time around there are five Toyota’s.
Jacques Villeneuve’s car is stuck on pit road. The team pushes the car to his pit stop after it fails to start. The hood is up on the car.
Alex Bowman brings the field down for the green flag start of Duel number two from the inside lane and jumps out in front for the lead.
Drivers are side by side through the field and already battling for position.
Alex Bowman leads lap one.
Lap two, the top five are Alex Bowman, Aric Almirola, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, and Harrison Burton.
The team did get Jacques Villeneuve’s car moving and he is on the track. There is a throttle cable issue with the car. The team told him to go as best he could. He has secured his spot in the 500.
Lap four, Alex Bowman has the lead with Martin Truex Jr in second; Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Harrison Burton round out the top five.
Lapa five, Alex Bowman leads the race with Joey Logano in second; Martin Truex Jr, Harrison Burton, and Austin Dillon round out the top five.
Lap six, Joey Logano and Alex Bowman battle for the lead.
After starting on the front row, Aric Almirola has fallen to the back of the field and is in danger of losing the draft.
Lap eight, the drivers are still running side by side and have not gotten single file.
Lap nine, Alex Bowman and Joey Logano continue to battle back and forth for the lead; Harrison Burton, Martin Truex Jr, and Austin Dillon round out the top five. The top 17 cars are separated by less than one second.
The first duel as caution free. Frequently when one race is caution free the other race is caution filled.
Lap 16 , Austin Dillon has taken the lead of the race with brother Ty in second; Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.
After being out of a Cup Series car for five years, Greg Biffle has moved into tenth place. He is one of the drivers who has to race his way into the 500.
Lap 19, with 19 cars on the lead lap, Chris Buescher and Ricky Stenhouse Jr battle for the lead.
The drivers continue to run side by side through the field.
Lap 20, the top five are Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Kevin Harvick, Michael McDowell, and Joey Logano.
Drivers have finally gotten single file.
Lap 22, Chris Buescher leads the race with Ricky Stenhouse Jr in second; Kevin Harvick, Michael McDowell, and Joey Logano round out the top five. In only his second Cup Series start. Rookie Harrison Burton is in sixth place.
Lap 25, Chris Buescher continues to lead the race with Ricky Stenhouse Jr in second; Kevin Harvick, Michael McDowell, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Lap 26, the Toyota drivers are the first to come down pit road. Denny Hamlin spins out coming on to pit road and makes an off road excursion. Drivers take two tires. Hamlin has lost the pack on pit road and takes four tires.
Lap 30, halfway, after losing the lead, Alex Bowman has dropped to 16th place. He has secured a front row start for the 500 after qualifying on Wednesday night.
Lap 30, there are 14 cars on the lead lap. Bubba Wallace is the last car on the lead lap in 13th.
Lap 32, the Fords plus Ricky Stenhouse Jr come down pit road for service. The Chevrolets also come down pit road. The Dillon brothers make contact on pit road. Greg Biffle had an extended stay on pit road.
Lap 34, Joey Logano leads the race with Chris Buescher in second; Michael McDowell, Harrison Burton, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.
Lap 38, the top four breakaway – Joey Logano leads the race with Chris Buescher in second; Michael McDowell, Harrison Burton, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr round out the top five. There are 15 cars on the lead lap.
Twenty to go, Jacques Villeneuve has taken his car to the garage.
Lap 41, Joey Logano leads the race with Chris Buescher in second; Michael McDowell, Harrison Burton, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Fifteen to go, Joey Logano has the lead with Chris Buescher in second; Michael McDowell, Harrison Burton, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Groups of drivers are spread out all around the track.
Ten to go, Joey Logano continues to lead the race with Chris Buescher on his bumper; Michael McDowell, Harrison Burton, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Eight to go, there are 13 cars on the lead lap. Leader approach slower traffic.
Five to go, with just 10 cars on the lead lap, Joey Logano leads the race. Austin Dillon brings his car down pit road for tires.
The top five are Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Harrison Burton, and Kyle Busch.
Joey Logano takes the white flag.
Drivers wreck on the final lap giving Chris Buescher the win. Joey Logano spins out and ends up in the grass. Greg Biffle makes the 500 but Timmy Hill joins JJ Yeley as the two open drivers out of the race.
Chris Buescher was below the double yellow line which is not allowed, but NASCAR determined that Buescher was trying to avoid the wreck and has allowed the move.
With Buescher’s win, RFK Racing sweeps the duels.
The unofficial results of the Bluegreen Vacatons Duel number 2:
Chris Buescher
Michael McDowell
Harrison Burton
Kyle Busch
Christopher Bell
Martin Truex Jr
Bubba Wallace
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Joey Logano
Kevin Harvick
Corey LaJoie
Ty Dillon
Greg Biffle
Alex Bowman
Denny Hamlin
Cody Ware
David Ragan
Austin Dillon
Aric Almirola
Timmy Hill
Jacques Villeneuve