The field for the 2024 Daytona 500 is now set as Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell raced to Victory Lane in the Duels at Daytona Thursday night. Qualifying for the Great American Race creates some interesting drama due to its different format. Between time trials and the duels, 40 drivers now know where they’ll start in Sunday’s season opener while a few others experience the heartbreak of missing the race.
Duels at Daytona: Reddick Wins Race 1
The Duels at Daytona help set the field with the drivers in race one making up the inside line Sunday while the drivers in race two make up the outside line. Tyler Reddick proved his 2023 playoff run was no fluke. The 23XL driver passed Kyle Larson on the final lap of the first duel to secure the victory. Reddick will line up behind Joey Logano who won the pole Wednesday night with the fastest time trial.
Three drivers without charters were trying to make the field in each duel. Former seven-time NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson finished the highest of these three drivers in 12th place. That locked Johnson into Sunday’s race. Anthony Alfredo had the faster time trial meaning he will start 39th in the Daytona 500. J.J. Yeley drew the short end of the stick, missing the race.
Duel at Daytona Race 1 Top 5
- Tyler Reddick
- Chase Elliott
- Alex Bowman
- Carson Hocevar
- Erik Jones
Duels at Daytona: Bell Wins Race 2
Toyota continued its banner night during race two of the duels. Three-time Daytona 500 Champion Denny Hamlin took the white flag in the lead. However, his teammate, Christopher Bell, used the draft from the Penske Fords to move past Hamlin and win the race and guarantee he will start behind Michael McDowell who shared the front row with Joey Logano. Much like Reddick in race one, Bell only led one lap of his duel.
The race between the three non-charter teams in this duel was more exciting. Kaz Grala and B.J. McLeod split Bubba Wallace as the pair were fighting for the one guaranteed spot in the Daytona 500. In the end, Grala finished two positions ahead of McLeod to make the race. McLeod will not race Sunday as the third non-charter driver, David Ragan, had a faster time trial and will start 40th in the Great American Race.
Duel at Daytona Race 2 Top 5
- Christopher Bell
- Austin Cindric
- Denny Hamlin
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Harrison Burton
Daytona 500 Preview
The 2024 NASCAR season officially gets underway Sunday with the 66th running of the Daytona 500. Daytona is an odd race that’s very hard to predict. Series champions like Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney have never won Daytona. Future Hall of Famers like Denny Hamlin have won the race three times. And drivers that don’t have a lot of wins to their credit like Austin Dillon, Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse have all found ways to win the 500.
Coverage begins at 2:30 Eastern on Fox.
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