2025 Duel at Daytona Rundown

This past Thursday, February 13, 2025, the Daytona International Speedway played host to their traditional Qualifying races for Sunday’s Daytona 500. With Chase Briscoe snagging Toyota’s first 500 pole and Austin Cindric grabbing the outside pole, the monkey was off their backs going into the evening, while everyone else had to fight for real estate to secure their starting spots. Two open cars, piloted by past NASCAR Cup Series Champions, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. both locked themselves into the field, as they had to be fast to make the Great American Race. This event was loaded with excitement and had fans on the edge of their seats, despite Duel #2 being marred by controversy.

Entering the night, there were seven drivers who had to race their way in. In the first Duel, Chandler Smith and J.J. Yeley, who respectively drove for Garage 66 and NY Racing, had to beat JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Helio Castroneves, unless Martin Truex Jr. finished ahead of them.

Duel #1 was off to an interesting start, as right after Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe battled for the lead, Zane Smith’s #38 Speedy Cash Ford slammed the Turn 1 wall after cutting a tire on Lap 3, leading to a last-place finish. The Green Flag came back out on Lap 8, allowing Chandler Smith to surge to the front, knowing this was his last chance to grab a Daytona 500 starting spot.

Trouble ensued on Lap 14 when the Chandler Smith came down to block a run from Justin Haley for 3rd place, collecting Helio Castroneves and Ty Gibbs in the midst of the accident. This meant Castroneves would also be out of the race and would have to use the open exception provisional, allowing him the 41st spot for the main event, while Smith and Garage 66 went home, since this was their only chance to get into Sunday’s 500.

The race resumed on Lap 20, and for the rest of the race, there were no major incidents. A lot of drivers showed strong speed and made gutsy moves to win the first Duel and get into the Daytona 500. When the White Flag waved, Bubba Wallace held the lead against Ty Dillon, with Dillon attmepting to block the pack on the Backstretch. This was not enough for Dillon, as Wallace pulled away to win Duel #1.

Justin Allgaier raced his JR Motorsports #40 Chevrolet to a ninth-place finish, which qualified the team into their first Daytona 500, since he beat the other open cars. Media members flooded Pit Road after Duel #1 to capture car owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s reaction to making the race as a first-time Cup Owner.

This was not the end of the night, as another 60-lap race had to determine the outside row for the Daytona 500 and the fate of the remaining Open Cars was to be determined. In this race, the legendary Jimmie Johnson was locked into the 500 from his qualifying time, while Live Fast Motorsports Owner/Driver, B.J. McLeod, NASCAR Xfinity Series regular, Anthony Alfredo and racing podcast host, Corey LaJoie had to race their ways in during this Duel.

Austin Cindric lead the field to green and had a fast Ford throughout the night. His biggest challengers were three-time Daytona 500 winner, Denny Hamlin, his Team Penske teammate, Joey Logano and the always-fast, Kyle Larson. Jimmie Johnson even charged to the front, helping his teammate, Erik Jones, but Johnson burned a lot of fuel and had to pit early, making him lose the draft.

Duel #2’s first major incident was an accident on the Backstretch on Lap 48, due to a stack up by Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman and Brad Keselowski, all wrecking their cars out of this event. The Green Flag came back out with seven-to-go and Chris Buescher had the advantage. Prior to the caution, Corey LaJoie was up in the top-5 and he kept up with the lead pack throughout the rest of the race, as Buescher lost the lead to Cindric.

Coming to the finish, Erik Jones surged ahead of Austin Cindric, beating him to the line, but in the midst of the finish, a crash ensued behind them, prompting NASCAR to controversially throw out a yellow. Jones went to the Frontstretch to celebrate, but was told mid-celebration that Cindric was declared the winner at the time of caution, leaving Jones amongst other fans confused.

Regardless of the controversy, the Daytona Duels were filled with entertaining and competitive racing with a great feel-good story going out of the night. While J.J Yeley, Chandler Smith, B.J. McLeod and Anthony Alfredo missed this year’s Daytona 500, the rest of the field will consist of 41 of the world’s best drivers hungry for victory in the Great American Race. You can catch the biggest race of the season tomorrow at 1:30 PM EST on FOX.