On Wednesday night the Cup Series set the front row with Kyle Busch on the pole for the first time in the 500 and Chase Briscoe alongside on the front row.

No matter what happens in the Duel races, Busch and Briscoe are guaranteed their starting spots…unless they get into a crash and have to move to a backup car or make unapproved adjustments to the cars.

The Duel races are 60 laps around the 2.5 mile high banked tri-oval for 150 miles of racing.

The results of Duel number one will set the lineup for the inside lane; while Duel number two will set the lineup for the outside lane.

Eight “open” drivers are vying for four spots.  After qualifying Corey Heim and Justin Allgaier have secured a spot in the Daytona 500.  After the Duel races, the final two spots will be filled – one from each Duel race.  Four drivers will be going home.

This year NASCAR has banned the drivers from putting their hands outside of the car.  Noah Gragson had his time disqualified because he forgot the new rule and put his hand out on his qualifying run.

The top 10 drivers from each Duel race will earn points – 10 for the winner down to one for tenth place.

The lineup for Duel number one:
Kyle Busch
Ryan Preece
Corey Heim
Alex Bowman
Chris Buescher
Joey Logano
Austin Dillon
Corey LaJoie
John Hunter Nemechek
Brad Keselowski
Ryan Blaney
William Byron
Cole Custer
Cody Ware
Jimmie Johnson
Bubba Wallace
AJ Allmendinger
Ross Chastain
Shane van Gisbergen
Daniel Suarez
Chandler Smith
Casey Mears
Noah Gragson

Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag start of the Duel with Ryan Preece alongside.  Kyle Busch gets in front from the outside lane.

The drivers will have to make a pit stop during the race.

Ryan Preece comes up on the inside to take the lead.

Lap two, Kyle Busch and Ryan Preece battle back and forth for the lead.

Lap four, Ryan Preece moves up on the outside with the lead.  Corey Heim  moves up on the inside to take the lead before Austin Dillon pulls up on the inside for the lead.

John Hunter Nemechek takes the lead on the inside lane.

Lap six, the top five are John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, and Corey Heim.

Pole sitter Kyle Busch has dropped back to 10th place, looking to stay out of trouble and keep his car in tact.

Lap eight, the RFK Racing cars have gotten themselves all in single file.

Lap 10, Ryan Preece leads the race with Chris Buescher in second; Corey LaJoie, Brad Keselowski, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.

Lap 13, the Fords have taken control with Ryan Preece leading the way; Chris Buescher, Corey LaJoie, Brad Keselowski, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.

Lap 16, pole sitter Kyle Busch has dropped to 14th.

Lap 19, Ryan Preece leads the race with Chris Buescher in second; Corey LaJoie, Brad Keselowski, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.

Lap 24, as pit stops approach, Ryan Preece leads the race with Chris Buescher in second; Corey LaJoie, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

The drivers are now in their fuel window to make it to the end of the race, but teams have reported that they will wait as long as possible before making a pit stop.

Halfway, lap 30, Ryan Preece continues to lead the race with Chris Buescher in second; Corey LaJoie, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 33, Ryan Preece has led 26 laps so far.

Chandler Smith has moved up 14 spots since the race start but he is one of the “go or go home” drivers.

Lap 37, Kyle Busch has passed Brad Keselowski for fourth with Ryan Preece still in the lead.

Laps 36 and 37 have run their fastest laps of the race so far.

Drivers have gotten three wide back in the field.

The crews prefer to pit with their fellow manufacturers but sometimes the drivers have ideas of their own.

Lap 40, the top five drivers have broken away – Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Corey LaJoie, Brad Keselowski, and John Hunter Nemechek.

The Clash leader Ryan Preece continues to lead the race – 35 of 41 laps.

Lap 44, the first call to pit comes over the radio.

Lap 45, the Fords are the first to make a pit stop.  Casey Mears is moving too fast and gets into Noah Gragson to bring out the caution flag.  Mears gets into the grass and stuck in the mud but Gragson drives through pit road and stays on the lead lap.

Ryan Preece had a good stop but burned more fuel and needed an extra four seconds for fuel.

Cole Custer is the new leader.

Lap 47, the remaining drivers come down pit road for service.  Cole Custer wins the race off of pit road.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 50 with Chris Buescher alongside.

Lap 50, Corey LaJoie and Chandler Smith are side by side fighting for the one spot available to get into the 500.

The top five are Chris Buescher, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chandler Smith and Corey LaJoie.

Lap 52, the field just clocked the fastest speeds of the race.

Lap 54, Joey Logano leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second, Chandler Smith, Chris Buescher, and Austin Dillon round out the top five.  Kyle Busch has dropped through the field to 20th place.

Austin Dillon takes the lead briefly but is in a battle with Joey Logano for the lead.

Five laps to go, Chandler Smith and Corey LaJoie continue their battle for the lone transfer spot.

The caution flag comes out on lap 56 for a crash involving Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, William Byron, and Chandler Smith.  Buescher is stopped in the grass.  Bubba gets hit by Austin Dillon to send him spinning.  The car stays on the ground.

Wallace had just taken the lead when Dillon hit him after being pushed from behind too hard.

The race goes into overtime.

Bubba Wallace and Chandler Smith were charged with crew members coming over the wall too soon. They will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Chris Buescher has been checked and released from the infield care center.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag overtime shootout to the finish with Brad Keselowski alongside.  Joey Logano takes the lead but Brad Keselowski comes up on the inside to take the lead.

Joey Logano moves up to battle with Brad Keselowski for the lead.

Joey Logano takes the white flag.

Big crash brings out the caution flag.  AJ Allmendinger, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez, and Casey Mears were all involved in the crash.

Joey Logano wins the race for his fourth Duel win.

The unofficial results of Duel 1:
Joey Logano
Ryan Blaney
Austin Dillon
John Hunter Nemechek
Brad Keselowski
Shane van Gisbergen
Casey Mears
Daniel Suarez
Ryan Preece
Alex Bowman
Noah Gragson
Cole Custer
Bubba Wallace
Corey Heim
Jimmie Johnson
Chandler Smith
Cody Ware
Kyle Busch
Corey LaJoie
AJ Allmendinger
Ross Chastain
William Byron
Chris Buescher

The 47 year old Casey Mears is the open driver transferring into the Daytona 500.  Corey LaJoie and Chandler Smith are out of the race.  Mears is the oldest driver in the race.

All of the drivers involved in the last lap crash have been checked and released from the infield care center.

The lineup for Duel number two:
Chase Briscoe
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott
Ty Gibbs
Christopher Bell
Justin Allgaier
Austin Cindric
Zane Smith
Michael McDowell
Connor Zilisch
Erik Jones
Josh Berry
Carson Hocevar
Riley Herbst
Todd Gilliland
Anthony Alfredo
Ty Dillon
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Tyler Reddick
BJ McLeod
JJ. Yeley

Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag start of Duel two from the outside lane with Denny Hamlin alongside.  Briscoe gets out in front for the lead and drops to the inside lane.

Lap two, the top five are Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell.  Justin Allgaier drops back in the field…to avoid trouble.

Lap four, drivers are getting three wide in the field.

Lap six, Chase Briscoe holds on to the lead with Denny Hamlin in second; Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson ,and Christopher Bell continue to round out the top five.

Lap 12, Chase Briscoe has led every lap so far with Denny Hamlin in second; Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Erik Jones round out the top five.

Lap 17, Chase Briscoe continues to lead the race with Denny Hamlin in second; Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Erik Jones round out the top five.

A few of the teams are talking about making an early pit stop and then make a run for the lead.

Lap 26, Chase Briscoe continues to lead the race -every lap so far – with Denny Hamlin in second; Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Ty Dillon round out the top five.

Lap 30, halfway, Chase Briscoe continues to lead the race with Chase Elliott in second; Denny Hamlin, Ty Dillon, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Drivers are getting three wide as they start moving for a better position.

Lap 34, Chase Briscoe holds on to the lead but the field has begun to make some moves with Chase Elliott in second; Ty Dillon, Rickey Stenhouse Jr, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap 39, Chase Briscoe leads the race but Ty Dillon has moved up beside Briscoe to battle for the lead.

Lap 41, Ty Dillon takes the lead with Ricky Stenhouse Jr in second; Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Michael McDowell passes Chase Briscoe for third.

Lap 43, Anthony Alfredo passes Ricky Stenhouse JR for third.  Alfredo is a “go or go home” driver.

Lap 44, Connor Zilisch passes Ricky Stenhouse Jr for fourth.

Anthony Alfredo takes second from Ty Dillon with Michael McDowell in the lead.

Lap 46, drivers begin to make their green flag pit stops.  Chase Briscoe had a slow stop after needing more fuel.

Lap 47, Connor Zilisch takes the lead as pit stops continue.

Riley Herbst takes the lead as Connor Zilisch pits solo.

Teams are far more disjointed for pit stops than in Duel one.

Lap 49, Justin Allgaier takes the lead.

Lap 50, the top five are Justin Allgaier, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott.

Justin Allgaier makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Tyler Reddick.

Lap 51, Carson Hocevar takes the lead with Chase Elliott in second; Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Lap 53, Chase Elliott passes Carson Hocevar for the lead; Michael McDowell, Denny Hamlin, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

Drivers are three wide in a battle for position.

Lap 55, Kyle Larson passes Michael McDowell for third.

After pitting by himself, Connor Zilisch has moved back to the top 10 in sixth place.

Just three laps remain in the race with Chase Elliott in the lead and Carson Hocevar on his bumper; Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr round out the top five.

Chase Elliott takes the white flag.

Chase Elliott wins Duel number two for his third Duel win.

Anthony “Fast Pasta” Alfredo is the open driver to transfer to the Daytona 500.  JJ Yeley and BJ McLeod do not make the race.

The unofficial results of Duel 2:
Chase Elliott
Carson Hocevar
Kyle Larson
Michael McDowell
Christopher Bell
Josh Berry
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Todd Gilliland
Ty Gibbs
Denny Hamlin
Erik Jones
Tyler Reddick
Riley Herbst
Zane Smith
Connor Zilisch
Ty Dillon
Austin Cindric
Anthony Alfredo
BJ McLeod
Chase Briscoe
Justin Allgaier
JJ Yeley

The unofficial starting lineup for the Daytona 500:
Kyle Busch
Chase Briscoe
Joey Logano
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
Carson Hocevar
Austin Dillon
Kyle Larson
John Hunter Nemechek
Michael McDowell
Brad Keselowski
Christopher Bell
Shane van Gisbergen
Josh Berry
Casey Mears
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Daniel Suarez
Todd Gilliland
Ryan Preece
Ty Gibbs
Alex Bowman
Denny Hamlin
Noah Gragson
Erik Jones
Cole Custer
Tyler Reddick
Bubba Wallace
Riley Herbst
Corey Heim
Zane Smith
Jimmie Johnson
Connor Zilisch
Cody Ware
Ty Dillon
Kyle Busch
Austin Cindric
AJ Allmendinger
Anthony Alfredo
Ross Chastain
Chase Briscoe
William Byron

Justin Allgaier
Chris Buescher