Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch both proved Thursday night that they will have a hand in the outcome of Sunday’s Daytona 500, as the two drivers scored wins in their respective Can Am Duel qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway.
The two races set the field for the Daytona 500, and decided which uncharted teams would be going home without a starting spot in the 40 car field.
In the first Duel, it was pretty much all Dale, all the time.
Earnhardt, Jr. drove to the lead on lap three, and would dominate most of the rest of the way to score his second straight Duel victory.
“That was crazy,” Earnhardt, Jr. said. “You know, had to just go where they were going. Everybody knows how important getting the lead is at this race. I knew how important it was to keep it so I had to do everything I could, get pretty aggressive at blocking and getting in front of them and trying to not allow them to get up on the quarter panel. They had a great car. I know that’s evident. But this car is something special.”
Daytona 500 pole sitter Chase Elliott led the opening three laps before Earnhardt, Jr. took over the top spot. Over the next 40 laps, the Team Penske duo of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano moved up to the second and third spot. As the race went on, Keselowski would look for a chance to pass the two time Daytona 500 champion several times, only to come up short each time.
When the field hit pit road for pit stops with about 20 laps to go, Earnhardt, Jr.’s team made the call for fuel only, while Logano took on tires. Meanwhile, Sprint Unlimited winner Denny Hamlin beat everyone else off pit road, and was looking to hold off the field.
The only caution of the race came out on lap 43 when Cole Whitt spun while trying to pass Michael McDowell for the transfer spot. Whitt’s night was over.
On the restart, Hamlin received a huge shove from Kevin Harvick to surge back out to the lead, while Earnhardt, Jr. found himself fighting for position for the first time all night.
Five laps later, Earnhardt, Jr. powered around Harvick for second. With five laps left to run, Earnhardt, Jr. made the final pass for the lead around Hamlin.
Meanwhile, Logano, on fresher tires, drove his way to second with help from rookie Ryan Blaney. The duo tried to mount a charge on the leader, but came up short as Earnhardt, Jr. took the win. Logano would settle for second, with Blaney in third.
For Blaney, racing without a guaranteed chartered starting spot and coming back from a lap down, the finish assures the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford will start near the front on Sunday.
“Kind of nice to know we raced our way in,” Blaney said. “We had a really fast racecar. We had a couple problems early in the race which got us a lap down. Luckily we got a caution at the right point that got us on the lead lap so we could go racing for it.”
For Earnhardt, Jr. the win was a special one. It came on the 15th anniversary of the death of his father, seven-time Sprint Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, Sr.
“It’s real special,” he said. “I was thinking about that. 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.”
“I was daydreaming a little bit. 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.”
Harvick finished in fourth, with Hamlin in fifth.
Elliott, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Chris Buescher and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. rounded out the top ten. McDowell finished in 14th, but secured the unchartered starting spot for the Daytona 500 on his qualifying time.
“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.”
The second race was fairly tame – until the final two laps.
With two laps to go, second place runner Casey Mears suddenly slowed, his No. 13 Chevy out of fuel. That jumbled up the lead pack, and put Jamie McMurray and Jimmie Johnson in position to fight leader Kyle Busch for the win.
On the final lap, Busch moved to block a run by McMurray. McMurray moved wide, blocking a move on the outside by Johnson.
That’s when all hell broke loose.
Johnson’s No. 48 broke loose and spun, making contact with Kurt Busch. That contact sent Johnson’s car back up the track, gathering up Martin Truex, Jr., outside pole sitter Matt Kenseth, A.J. Allmendinger and Danica Patrick.
But up front, it was Kyle Busch scoring the win under caution.
“I didn’t win this race to qualify myself for the fourth starting position, but with our teammate having trouble there at the end of the race, they’ll have to go to a backup car, it looks,” Busch said. “We’ll get a chance to start on the front row. That’s pretty cool.”
It had been a pretty tame race from that point, with the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates of Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards leading the chase. Kenseth gave up the top spot to Busch in order to clean some debris off the grill of the No. 20 Toyota.
Things got a little more interesting after a round of green flag pit stops, as Johnson moved to third.
With six to go, Johnson and Mears tried to split the second place car of Kenseth, but the ensuing scramble saw Mears take the spot while Johnson fell back into the pack. With four to go, Kenseth and Johnson raced their way back up into contention. With two to go, Mears gas tank ran dry, setting up the last lap drama.
McMurray finished second, with Kurt Busch in third, Edwards in fourth and Ty Dillon in fifth.
I don’t know if McMurray was dragging brake to get another break on me, Jimmie was to his side,” Busch said. “They started crashing in my mirror. At that point I knew it was over.”
Matt DiBenedetto was fast enough in qualifying to be locked into the 500, but solidified that with a 9th place finish for his unchartered BK Racing team.
“We’re still a small team, so we still run on a smaller budget obviously than some of the bigger teams,” he said. “But I feel like we are going to take it to the next level. I feel like we have a good chance to perform a lot better this year. Like you said, it was neat to come here and be more competitive.
With DiBenedetto’s finish, Robert Richardson, Jr., also in an unchartered car for BK Racing, will make the field for Sunday’s Daytona 500 on his qualifying time.
“I’m very, very honored to be a part of BK Racing, having another opportunity to run here at the Daytona 500,” Richardson, Jr. said. “I’ve been in it once before, but this one is very, very special to me.”
Meanwhile, Johnson, Kenseth and Truex, Jr. will have to go to back up cars and will have to go to the back of the field for Sunday’s Daytona 500. It’s especially costly for Kenseth, who was to start on the outside of the front row.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL
Can-Am Duel At Daytona – February 18, 2016
Race One
1. (2) Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevrolet, 60
2. (7) Joey Logano, Ford, 60
3. (4) * Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 60
4. (22) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 60
5. (6) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 60
6. (1) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 60
7. (8) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 60
8. (11) Greg Biffle, Ford, 60
9. (15) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 60
10. (3) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 60
11. (5) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 60
12. (17) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 60
13. (10) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 60
14. (13) * Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 60
15. (14) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 60
16. (20) David Ragan, Toyota, 60
17. (21) * Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 60
18. (18) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 60
19. (16) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 60
20. (12) Brian Scott #, Ford, Accident, 59
21. (9) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, Accident, 58
22. (19) * Cole Whitt, Toyota, Accident, 47
Average Speed of Race Winner: 172.911 mph.
Time of Race: 00 Hrs, 52 Mins, 03 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.183 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 1 for 4 laps.
Lead Changes: 4 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Elliott # 1-2; D. Earnhardt Jr. 3-39; K. Kahne 40-41; D. Hamlin 42-54; D. Earnhardt Jr. 55-60.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): D. Earnhardt Jr. 2 times for 43 laps; D. Hamlin 1 time for 13 laps; C. Elliott # 1 time for 2 laps; K. Kahne 1 time for 2 laps.
Race Two
1. (2) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 60
2. (10) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 60
3. (5) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 60
4. (4) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 60
5. (8) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 60
6. (11) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 60
7. (14) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 60
8. (22) Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 60
9. (12) * Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 60
10. (16) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 60
11. (17) Landon Cassill, Ford, 60
12. (19) * David Gilliland, Ford, 60
13. (3) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 59
14. (21) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 59
15. (15) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 59
16. (1) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 59
17. (6) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 59
18. (18) * Robert Richardson Jr., Toyota, 59
19. (9) Aric Almirola, Ford, 59
20. (13) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 59
21. (20) * Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 56
22. (7) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, Engine, 31
Average Speed of Race Winner: 191.898 mph.
Time of Race: 0 Hrs, 46 Mins, 54 Secs. Margin of Victory: Caution.
Caution Flags: 1 for 1 laps.
Lead Changes: 3 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: M. Kenseth 1-23; Kyle Busch 24-37; A. Almirola 38-39; Kyle Busch 40-60.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Busch 2 times for 35 laps; M. Kenseth 1 time for 23 laps; A. Almirola 1 time for 2 laps.
