On Wednesday night 42 Cup Series drivers made qualifying runs to set the front row with Hendrick Motor Sports drivers Kyle Larson and for a record setting sixth time in a row Alex Bowman.

On Thursday night, the drivers will race in two races with the Greenblue Vacations Duel Races to set the field.  During qualifying seven time champion Jimmie Johnson and open wheel and two wheel champion Travis Pastrana have locked in a spot in the Daytona 500 on Sunday; but two of the six open drivers will be eliminated at the end of the night.

The starting lineup for Duel number one:
Alex Bowman
William Byron
Joey Logano
Ryan Blaney
Harrison Burton
Bubba Wallace
Chris Buescher
Ross Chastain
Kevin Harvick
Ty Gibbs
Christopher Bell
Jimmie Johnson
Michael McDowell
Erik Jones
Zane Smith
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Dillon
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Cody Ware
Ty Dillon
Chandler Smith

Grand Marshal Ray Lopez gave an energetic command to start the engines that should fire up everyone to get out on the track.

The drivers will run 150 miles – 60 laps – to set the lineup for the inside row of the starting grid for the 500.

Alex Bowman brings the field down for the green flag start of the Duel number one from the outside lane but it is William Byron who gets out in front. 

Lap two, Ryan Blaney comes from fourth to take the lead with Ross Chastain in second; Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, and William Byron round out the top five.

Alex Bowman has dropped to the back of the field to preserve his car and hold on to the pole.

Lap four, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Ross Chastain in second.  Bubba Wallace takes over the lead with Ryan Blaney in second before Blaney retakes the elad with Melon man on the outside.

Lap five, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Bubba Wallace in second; Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

There is a great deal of movement at the front of the field with drivers switching positions multiple times each lap.

Lap six, Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney battle for the lead; going back and forth.

Not happy with the way his car is set up, Alex Bowman has dropped to last place to preserve his car.

Lap nine, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Bubba Wallace in second; William Byron, Joey Logano, and Harrison Burtonround out the top five.

Lap 12, Ryan Blaney continues to lead the race with Bubba Wallace in second; William Byron, Joey Logano, and Harrison Burton round out the top five.

Second place driver Bubba Wallace said that his car is better than they have had before and continues to “feel out” the car.

Lap 17, Ryan Blaney leads with Bubba Wallace in second; William Bryon, Joey Logano, and Harrison Burton round out the top five as the drivers have gotten single file.

With a 60 laps race, the drivers cannot make the whole race on a single load of fuel and will have to make a pit stop during the race.

Lap 21, Ryan Blaney continues to lead the race with Bubba Wallace in second; William Byron, Joey Logano, and Harrison Burton continue to make the top five.

Lap 23, the Chevrolet drivers (nine of them) come down pit road to make their pit stops.

Chandler Smith and Ricky Stenhouse Jr were both caught speeding on pit road and will have to make a pass through penalty.

Lap 25 Ryan Blaney leads the pack with Bubba Wallace holding on to second place;Joey Logano, Harrison Burton, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 28, Ryan Blaney continues to dominate the lead of the race with Bubba Wallace in second; Joey Logano, Harrison Burton, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Running a lap of less than 47 seconds, the leaders are closing in on the drivers who have already pitted.

Lap 30, the leaders have caught up to the Chevys.  The remainder of the field comes down pit road for service. 

Zane Smith lost the draft coming off of pit road.

Ty Gibbs was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a pass through penalty.

Joey Logano is the new leader.

Lap 32, the top five are Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, and Christopher Bell.  Chandler Smith and Ricky Stenhouse Jr are one lap down.

The two groups are still several seconds apart from each other but the closer the second pack gets to the leaders; the quicker they will catch up.  Currently they are separated by over nine seconds with 21 laps remaining to the end of the race.

Lap 40, Alex Bowman is just now making his pit stop.

Lap 42, Joey Logano holds on to the lead with Kevin Harvick in second; Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Ty Gibbs, Cody Ware, and Alex Bowman have also gone a lap down.  AJ Allmendinger in 16th place is the last car on the lead lap.

Just 13 laps remain in the first Duel.  The gap between the two groups remains about nine seconds.

Just 10 laps to go and Joey Logano holds on to the lead with Kevin Harvick right behind him; Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.  The second pack has closed the gap a bit and are now about seven seconds behind the lead pack.

Jimmie Johnson has already locked a spot in the 500 based on his qualifying time; in ninth place, Zane Smith is looking to secure his spot with a top 10 finish.

Five to go, Joey Logano leads the single file pack but with the second pack unable to catch up to the field, the drivers will begin making moves toward the front.

Ty Dillon came in for a tire change and one of his tires fell off but remained on pit road.  Under the new rules, there will be no suspensions of crew members.

Two to go, drivers are spreading out to make their moves.

Joey Logano takes the white flag.

Joey Logano is trying to block both lanes.

Joey Logano edges out Christopher Bell to win his third Duel.

Zane Smith has raced his way into the 500 but Chandler Smith has been eliminated.  Chandler says that he has learned a lot in his first attempt in a Cup Series car.

Results of Duel number one:
Joey Logano
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Chris Buescher
Michael McDowell
Kevin Harvick
Bubba Wallace
Zane Smith
Harrison Burton
William Byron
Ross Chastain
Erik Jones
Austin Dillon
Jimmie Johnson
AJ Allmendinger
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Alex Bowman
Chandler Smith
Ty Gibbs
Cody Ware
Ty Dillon


The lineup for Duel number 2:
Kyle Larson
Aric Almirola
Chase Briscoe
Austin Cindric
Kyle Busch
Daniel Suarez
Chase Elliott
Ryan Preece
Brad Keselowski
Tyler Reddick
Martin Truex Jr
Travis Pastrana
Denny Hamlin
Noah Gragson
Justin Haley
Austin Hill
Todd Gilliland
BJ McLeod
Riley Herbst
Corey LaJoie
Conor Daly

Tradition says that one Duel is calm with the other “wild and crazy”.  Duel number one had no cautions and no major issues; will tradition continue or will the second  Duel follow the first as a calm affair?

The finishing order for Duel number two will set the outside row for Sunday’s 500.

 Grand Marshal for Duel number two Dusty Tonkin get a little help to get the drivers started with a rousing command.

BJ McLeod has to move to the back of the field after the crew made a steering change.

After not being able to qualify the car due to an electrical issue, and then a radio issue; Conor Daly’s number 50 car is bouncing and Daly reports he can’t get any acceleration.  Daly must race his way in if he wants to make it to the 500 on Sunday.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of Duel number two from the inside lane and gets a push from Chase Briscoe and Kyle Busch to get out in front for the lead.

The top five are Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, Chase Brisvoe, Austin Cindric, and Kyle Busch.

Lap three, Aric Almirola comes up from the outside lane to take the lead.

Lap three, Aric Almirola is in the lead but Kyle Larson is coming up on the inside.

Lap four Austin Cindric is on Aric Almirola’s lead to keep him out in front.

The field is getting spread out on the track.

Aric Almirola leads the race but Chase Briscoe pushes Kyle Larson to the lead.

Lap six, the battle for the lead between Kyle Larson and Aric Almirola continues as they swap the lead back and forth.

The first caution flag of the race comes out on lap seven after the side window from one of the cars comes flying out.  The window came from Justin Haley’s car.

Aric Almirola is the leader of the race when the caution flag comes out.

Most of the field comes down pit road for service.  Chase Briscoe reports an extremely loose car.  Many of the drivers are taking fuel only.  Tyler Reddick had trouble getting going again.  Justin Haley is listed as the leader after staying out on the track but will have to pit to replace the window.

BJ McLeod stalls out coming out of his pit stall.

The choose rule is now allowed at the superspeedways.

Aric Almirola brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap eleven from the inside lane with Kyle Larson on the outside and jumps out in front with a little help with a push from Austin Cindric.

Kyle Larson takes the lead after a push from Kyle Busch.

Lap 12, the top five are Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola, and Ryan Preece.

BJ McLeod gets the car moving again and is currently half a lap down.

Lap 13, it’s a battle of the Kyle’s with Larson and Busch swapping places back and forth.

Tony Stewart noted that the drivers steer the cars but it is the spotters who really call all of the shots.

Lap 15, the Kyle and Kyle show continues with Kyle Busch out in front and Daniel Suarez in second; Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

All three of the car manufacturers got adjustments to the nose of the car during the off season; Chevrolet was a bit worried about how well the cars would cool off and not overheat.  The Duel is a good test to learn how the new nose will work in race conditions.

Lap 22, the drivers have gotten single file with Kyle Busch leading the way; Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

Crew chief and FOX reporter Larry McReynolds reports that the teams are reporting that they cannot make it to the end of the race on fuel but there are a few drivers who are in fuel conservation mode and may try to make it.

Lap 27, Kyle Busch leads the way with Daniel Suarez in second; Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

A few drivers in the back of the field are getting side by side in a battle for position; and are also falling back.

Lap 30, halfway, the drivers have gotten single file again with Kyle Busch leading the way; Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.  Conor Daly and BJ McLeod are one lap down.

Lap 35, Denny Hamlin has pulled out of the pack and is bringing Brad Keselowski and Tyler Reddick along in an effort to move forward.

Twenty to go, Kyle Busch continues to lead the race with Daniel Suarez in second but Suarez is looking to make a move around Busch for the lead.

The caution flag comes out after Daniel Suarez pushes too hard and sends Kyle Busch into the wall.  Spinning through the field, several other drivers are also involved.  Austin Hill, Riley Herbst, Ryan Preece, Justin Haley, and Travis Pastrana were all involved; along with Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez.  Brad Keselowski barely squeezed through.

Drivers come down pit road for service.  Drivers were three wide coming off pit road.  Daniel Suarez missed his pit stall and had to back up to get back in his pit stall.

Austin Hill reports that his suspension is “badly hurt”.  Hill is one of the three open drivers who must race his way into the 500.

Travis Pastrana and Austin Hill are both out of the race.  Pastrana made the race on time but Austin Hill has been eliminated; putting Conor Daly even with his car issues will make the 500.

Before climbing out of his car, Kyle Busch told his crew that he had a Daytona 500 winning car prior to being wrecked.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with 14 laps remaining in the race from the outside lane and battleis with Aric Almirola for the lead.

Brad Keselowski makes it a three wide battle briefly before falling back in the field.

The top five are Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric, and Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 48, Aric Almirola and Kyle Larson battle back and forth for the lead.

With eleven laps to go, Aric Almirola takes the lead; Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, Brad Keselowski, and Todd Gilliland round out the top five.

Ten to go, Aric Almirola leads the race wth Kyle Larson in second; Austin Cindric, Brad Keselowski and Todd Gilliland round out the top five.

Now out of the race, Travis Pastrana said that he learned a lot; adding that he had a great time out there.  Tony Stewart noted that Pastrana is super good at learning; noting that he hopped in a dragster last year and raced after never having been in one before.

Five to go, Aric Almirola and Austin Cindric battle for the lead; swapping back and forth as the drivers are two by two through the field.

Getting a push form Todd Gilliland, Austin Cindric takes the lead; Corie LaJoie, Aric Almirola, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Three to go, Denny Hamlin tries to make it three wide…but it didn’t work.

Two to go, Todd Gilliland takes the lead.

Aric Almirola takes the lead and the white flag.

After announcing his retirement last year, Aric Almirola comes back to win Duel number two!  Almirola noted that he wasn’t even supposed to be there…he was supposed to be retired.

Noting that they have been incredibly unlucky over the past 36 hours, Conor Daly said that they were very lucky to get into the 500.

The results of Duel number two:
Aric Almirola
Austin Cindric
Chase Elliott
Brad Keselowski
Corey LaJoie
Kyle Larson
Todd Gilliland
Martin Truex Jr
Denny Hamlin
Ryan Preece
Noah Gragson
Daniel Suarez
Tyler Reddick
Justin Haley
Chase Briscoe
BJ McLeod
Conor Daly
Austin Hill
Kyle Busch
Riley Herbst
Travis Pastrana
Austin Cindric


The starting lineup for the Daytona 500:
Alex Bowman
Kyle Larson
Joey Logano
Aric Almirola
Christopher Bell
Austin Cindric
Ryan Blaney
Chase Elliott
Chris Buescher
Brad Keselowski
Michael McDowell
Corey LaJoie
Kevin Harvick
Todd Gilliland
Bubba Wallace
Martin Truex Jr
Zane Smith
Denny Hamlin
Harrison Burton
Ryan Preece
William Byron
Noah Gragson
Ross Chastain
Daniel Suarez
Erik Jones
Tyler Reddick
Austin Dillon
Justin Haley
AJ Allmendinger
Chase Briscoe
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
BJ McLeod
Ty Gibbs
Conor Daly
Cody Ware
Kyle Busch
Ty Dillon
Riley Herbst
Jimmie Johnson
Travis Pastrana