DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Final-lap passes and fiery crashes, Thursday’s BlueGreen Vacation Duel at Daytona races had a little bit of everything.
And a night after Toyota seemed to lag behind Chevrolet and Ford in terms of speed, a pair of Camrys went to Victory Lane.
Tyler Reddick emerged victorious in Duel 1 and Christopher Bell passed teammate Denny Hamlin on the last lap of Duel 2 to claim the win on Thursday night. Reddick and Bell claim spots 3 and 4, respectively, in the starting lineup for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
The results of the first Duel set the odd-numbered positions with Duel 2 taking care of the even-numbered spots. That is, behind the front row of Joey Logano and Michael McDowell, both of whom locked in via Wednesday’s qualifying.
The first Duel featured plenty of last-lap drama both at the front of the field and toward the back.
Tyler Reddick executed a last-lap pass on Kyle Larson and beat Chase Elliott to the line to claim the win. And that wasn’t even the most consequential change of position on the final circuit.
Back in the pack, Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time Cup Series champion and two-time 500 winner, found a way to get around JJ Yeley heading into Turn 3 and his 12th-place finish was just good enough to punch a ticket into Sunday’s field. Yeley settled for 16th.
‘I just have such a better appreciation for what many have gone through to race in,’ Johnson said. ‘I was so fortunate for so many years to not have to worry about getting in on speed for a variety of different reasons.
‘To go through that just now and have it come down the last 100 yards of the Duel, that wasn’t in my playbook.
‘I’ve never been through anything like this.’
Speaking of guys who went through the ringer trying to get in, Kaz Grala could relate. He and B.J. McLeod, along with David Ragan, who could fall back on Wednesday’s qualifying time if need be, found themselves near the back of the pack at the end of Duel 2 with Grala prevailing with a 12th-place finish.
‘A lot more intense than i wanted it to be coming down to the end,’ Grala said. ‘Glad we were able to come out on the right end. It was pretty tough to beat those guys tonight.’
The second race was marred by a violent, multi-car crash with 13 laps to go, leaving Ryan Blaney’s Ford Mustang in flames and also ending the night for Josh Berry, Riley Herbst, Kyle Busch and Noah Gragson. That grouped the cars together for a final sprint to the end.
Denny Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, assumed the lead and brought the field to the white flag, but teammate Bell got a run coming out of Turn 2 and maneuvered around on the backstretch, holding the field off to the line.
‘It feels good. These plate races man, I don’t know what to think of them,’ Bell said. ‘I always say these races are 100 percent luck and I know that’s not true. I feel like we’ve been struggling to get to the end of it and I’ve been a common denominator in a lot of these wrecks. It feels good to get to the end today.’
Starting grid for Daytona 500
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kaz Grala, No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Core LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
David Ragan, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Ricky Stenhouse, No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Riley Herbst, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Daytona Duels results
Race 1
(Jimmie Johnson qualified for Daytona 500, JJ Yeley eliminated)
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Joe Gibbs Toyota
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Erik Jones, No. 43 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
JJ Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet
Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Race 2
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
Kaz Grala, No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
B.J. McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Racing Chevrolet
David Ragan, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Riley Herbst, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
