DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Joey Logano and Aric Almirola won their respective Bluegreen Vacation Duel qualifying races on Thursday night, prevailing in two dramatic finishes as the rest of the 40-car field for the Daytona 500 field was set. The night began with a photo finish in Duel 1, and then ended with a dramatic turn of events followed by another wild finish to Duel 2.
After pit strategy determined the running order in Duel 1, Logano was able to defend against a jailbreak on the final lap, withstanding a move to the outside by Christopher Bell and beating him back to the start/finish line in a photo finish. The defending NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2015 Daytona 500 champion will start third on Sunday.
Last year, Logano cost himself an opportunity to win his Duel when a poorly-timed block on Chris Buescher sent him into the wall and out of the race. This time around, Logano remained disciplined and held his line, allowing him to receive a push from Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney to the checkered flag.
"I was hoping they started racing back there, which they did, which ended up kind of working out for me," Logano told Fox Sports. "And then when the 20 got to me, I saw Blaney was behind me. I said, 'That's my buddy. I've got to stick with him.' I knew the 20 would make the run to the outside, and I probably wasn't going to be able to defend that, and just waited for the 12 to push me through there.
"Good Penske effort there to get a Duels win. Much better than what happened last year, so glad to have a nice start here for the season."
The outcome of the battle between the Open non-chartered cars to make the Daytona 500 went fairly straightforward in Duel 1, as a pit road penalty cost NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Chandler Smith a chance to qualify. Zane Smith, the defending champion of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, finished eighth to qualify for his first Daytona 500.
"Just so proud of everyone ... I don't know what life is," Smith told Fox Sports. "I had Jimmie Johnson parked behind me. I watched him all my life growing up and still is my idol. Just unbelievable being in The Great American Race."
Duel 1 results
- #22 - Joey Logano
- #20 - Christopher Bell
- #12 - Ryan Blaney
- #17 - Chris Buescher
- #34 - Michael McDowell
Later on, Duel 2 was turned on its head when Kyle Busch was spun out of the lead on the backstretch, triggering a seven-car crash that collected Austin Hill, who was in position to easily qualify for Sunday's Great American Race. The crash caused terminal damage to Hill's car, and he was unable to fall back on his qualifying time after fellow Open car Travis Pastrana was also involved.
Conor Daly, who had been running a lap down and off the pace with mechanical gremlins, was the last man standing and successfully made the Daytona 500 in improbable fashion. Daly, an IndyCar veteran attempting the 500 for the first time, said on pit road afterward that he had been so down on his car's chances of qualifying that he had booked a flight to Los Angeles for before the race on Sunday.
Now -- despite not being able to make a qualifying attempt on Wednesday due to a broken oil line and an extremely ill-handling car -- he becomes the latest star of the Indianapolis 500 to cross over and race in the Daytona 500.
"Well, we were inherently unlucky for the last 36 hours, but we got lucky. I wish I could have said that I drove it in on pure pace, but it was just crazy," Daly told Fox Sports. "When we went out there, the car was bouncing around. I had no idea what was going on. I thought the drivetrain was broken, and (crew chief Tony Eury Jr.) just made it better every time.
"We got lucky with the yellows to try to get some experience, but it is pretty crazy. This race, I've watched it for so many years and so much crazy stuff can happen, and thankfully we were on the right side of the craziness. It's pretty amazing."
Duel 2 would end in wild fashion, as Aric Almirola was able to scoot away from a sideways Todd Gilliland and then outlast defending Daytona 500 champion Austin Cindric to take the checkered flag.
The victory marked Almirola's second Duel win in the last three years, and also a very personally satisfying one: Almirola had originally planned to retire at the end of the 2022 season, but reneged on that plan to return for another season as the driver of Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 10.
"I know Sunday is the big one. We're going to keep focused on that one. The job is not finished," Almirola told Fox Sports. "Just really proud. So thankful. I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be retired. This is awesome."
Duel 2 results
- #10 - Aric Almirola
- #2 - Austin Cindric
- #9 - Chase Elliott
- #6 - Brad Keselowski
- #7 - Corey LaJoie
