Category: Race Central

Under a pit stop with 20 to go, Kyle Busch would take fuel only and have a solid pit stop to come off pit road in the lead. He would lead the rest of the way to win his first Budweiser Duel in four years. It also marks the second fastest Duel in NASCAR History with Busch completing the race with an average speed of 193.966 mph.

“It’s hard to pass the leader,” Busch said. “When you get out front, you can run pretty good. You just need to get out there and lead. There wasn’t enough lane-by-lane racing here, but you use the tools that you have once you figured it out and win.”

With 30 to go, Busch was running third in line and pulled out to try and make a move, however ended up falling back a couple positions.

“I tried to make a move,” he said. “I thought if I slide drafted off of the 31 (Jeff Burton) I could get back there. I knew I didn’t have much to lose since there were only two cars behind me. Coming on pit road, conserving the tires. That’s what won us the race there. dave made a great call getting no tires.”

Kasey Kahne tried to make a move on the last lap from the third position, however came up short finishing second.

“Maybe should have made my move a lap earlier cause that’s when I felt Austin pushing the most,” Kahne said. “I wanted to do it with two to go and see where we’d end up – but that’s a good run for the Farmers Insurance Chevrolet.”

Kahne says that if he could win his first Daytona 500 on Sunday, it would be amazing.

“We’ve gained a lot since the Sprint race on Saturday night to where we are at now and I feel if we gain a little more, we can be in the hunt,” he added.

Richard Childress’ grandson Austin Dillon finished third and will make his first Daytona 500 start on Sunday.

“That’s awesome,” Dillon said. “Got a little nervous before that. Just stayed in it the whole team, stayed right there with Kasey Kahne all race. Wanted to get a Chevrolet in the 500 but couldn’t get by Kyle there.”

Clint Bowyer finished fourth while Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five as he begins his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I feel like I’ve tried to do all the right things,” Kenseth said. “I saw the 5 (Kahne) coming, but I knew the outside was quicker so tried to stay out there with him and hoped the 15 (Bowyer) would get there at the last moment. But then the 15 made the move to the inside at the last minute. I should’ve made the move on the 18 (Busch) before the 5 could make the move on me. Guess I have to make my moves better.”

Mark Martin finished sixth, followed by Paul Menard, Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray and David Regan.

Marcos Ambrose finished 11th with Jeff Gordon 12th. Gordon locked himself into the second starting spot for the Daytona 500 in qualifying last Sunday.  Gordon led the first half of the Budweiser Duel, however suffered a pit road speeding penalty under the green flag stops. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Bobby Labonte also sufferd pit road speeding penalties.

Aric Almirola finished 13th, followed by Stenhouse Jr., Dave Blaney and Josh Wise.

“It’s awesome,” Wise said after qualifying for his first Daytona 500. “It’s a huge amount of stress lifted off our shoulders. We knew if we stayed out of trouble and ran our race we’d get the transfer there.”

Ryan Newman would suffer problems coming on to pit road as he would spin the car out, barely touching the outside wall, as the field came down pit road. He would blow out a tire, however made it back to pit road without further damage. There was no caution for the spin.

As a result of the Budweiser Duels, Mike Bliss and Brian Keselowski failed to make the Daytona 500.

Kyle Busch would put himself in position after the final pit stop and take the victory in the second Budweiser Duel at Daytona International Speedway.

Duel Race No. 2 pole sitter Jeff Gordon elected to start on the outside.

Green flag

Lap 1 Newman and Gordon side-by-side for the lead through turns one and two as the whole field is two-by-two

Lap 2 Newman gets put in the sucker hole as Gordon pulls ahead while Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch are side-by-side for second.

Lap 5 Gordon and Kyle Busch single-file while Stenhouse Jr. and Kahne side-by-side for third

Lap 12 Gordon Kahne Dillon Burton Busch Ambrose Kenseth Martin Menard McMurray as the field has gone single file

Lap 13 Mike Bliss needs to come to pit road due to his window net being down.

Lap 23 close call as Kenseth tries to block the run that Menard has on the bottom

Lap 25 top eight are single-file as Bowyer and Menard are side-by-side for ninth

30 to go Kyle Busch pulled down out of fourth, nobody went with him, he falls back through the pack to seventh.

29 to go Gordon Kahne Dillon Burton Ambrose Kenseth, Busch

27 to go Gordon Kahne Dillon Burton Ambrose Kenseth Busch Martin Menard lead a single file train ahead of the field

23 to go Travis Kvapil has lost the draft

22 to go Blaney, Wise and Yeley pit.

21 to go Bowyer passed Menard for ninth. Gordon Kahne McMurray and half of the field pit. Kenseth to the lead. Gordon too fast entering pit road. He will have to serve a penalty.

20 to go The other half of the field pit – Kenseth, Busch, Ambrose and more. Stenhouse and Labonte too fast exiting pit road.

19 to go Stenhouse and Gordon down pit road serving his penalty. Newman makes it back to pit road.

18 to go Busch leads Bowyer Kenseth Kahne Menard Martin Burton Dillon McMurray Regan

13 to go Busch leads Bowyer Kahne Menard Martin Burton Kenseth Dillon McMurray Regan

11 to go Menard kicks Kahne out of line, passing him for third. Kahne back to sixth.

10 to go Busch Bowyer Menard Martin Kenseth Kahne Dillon is the lead draft single-file

9 to go Kenseth gives Bowyer a shove, Bowyer goes for the run under Busch

8 to go Bowyer doesn’t clear so falls back to fifth.

7 to go Busch leads Kenseth Kahne Dillon Bowyer Martin are the lead pack. Kvapil goes a lap down, running 17^th

6 to go Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Josh Wise go a lap down, currently running 15^th and 16^th.

FL turn one, Kasey Kahne and Dillon make a run underneath Kenseth, Busch down to block. Busch Kahne Dillon and Bowyer down the backstraight with Kenseth fifth.

Kyle Busch wins the Gatorade Duel. Kahne. Dillon, Bowyer, Kenseth, Martin, Menard, Burton, McMurray, Regan, Ambrose, Gordon, Almirola, Stenhouse Jr., Blaney, Wise.

When the field came up on Brian Keselowski to put him a lap down on lap 38, Kevin Harvick used it to his advantage as he made the pass on Greg Biffle to take the lead. Harvick would then hold the lead through pit stops and on the final restart with three to go to take the victory in the first Budweiser Duel at Daytona International Speedway.

It marks the second straight win for Harvick after winning the Sprint Unlimited on Saturday night.

“I think the way it worked out is that you were free and I was definately free on the bottom,” Harvick said. “That’s why I think the top was the way to go. You had to be careful when you made moves or you’d be put to the back pretty quick.”

A pre-race superstition has also built for Harvick as he has put son Keelan in the seat before the start of both races.

“We’re just having a good time,” Harvick said. “Having Delana and Keelan here is relaxing. Keeps me balanced.”

Greg Biffle would finish second, just like in the Sprint Unlimited, as teams work at continuing to learn how the new Gen 6 car will handle in the draft.

“It seemed like the top lane was fast, and then four of us made the bottom work,” Biffle said. “I don’t know if anybody knows yet.”

Juan Pablo Montoya would come through the field late in the race to finish third, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Regan Smith. Tony Stewart finished fifth, followed by Brad Keselowski, Casey Mears and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Joey Logano finished 11th, followed by Bobby Labonte, David Gilliland, Joe Nemechek, Michael Waltrip and Scott Speed.

“I think we have a really good car,” Speed said. “We were really good in the race, blew the pit stop and then in the back had nobody to work with.”

“The choice was obviously made by a bunch of us to run around in circles and just make laps,” Waltrip said.

Martin Truex Jr. crossed the line in ninth, however was blackflagged the last lap due to no side window.

There’d be one caution during the event with eight to go when Denny Hamlin would get loose, getting into Carl Edwards. Trevor Bayne and Regan Smith were also collected in the wreck.

“We were coming up on the pack and the 99 (Edwards) and 13 (Casey Mears) were trying to keep us back there,” Hamlin said. “He came up a bit, I came down and right when I came down to his right rear, I got sideways and was in trouble. Our car was handling good so goes to show you what happen depending what position you put yourself in aero wise.”

We had a really good car,” Bayne said. “You saw Carl get sideways there and get into us. It’s unfortunate. Look at before – we qualified third and then crashed the car so maybe we’ll do that again.”

“I was driving along minding my own business and thought I’d go up there and get a draft and Denny just got sideways behind me,” Edwards said. “This is the fourth car we’ve wrecked while we were down there. Got to thank my guys for wrecking so hard.”

Daytona 500 pole sitter Danica Patrick ran a pretty conservative race, finishing 17th.

“I learned some,” she said. “I feel like what I really need to do is go down to Harvick’s bus and figure out what he is doing cause he has it going on. the top was the way to go. I was easy on the gas at the beginning , to try and not get freight trained. “

Kevin Harvick would take the lead on lap 38 and hold serve through the pit stops to win the first Gatorade Duel. It gives Harvick his second win in a row after winning the Sprint Unlimited last Saturday night.

Lap 1 Danica leads…….Bayne to the front with a push from Hamlin. Bayne to the lead with Patrick and Hamlin side-by-side for second

Lap 3 Bayne leads Hamlin and Mears ahead of Patrick and Truex

Lap 4 Hamlin dropped down to the bottom in front of Patrick, side by side with Bayne for the lead.

Lap 5 Bayne leads with Mears in toe while Hamlin and Truex are side-by-side for third

Lap 6 Bayne Mears Truex Keselowski Logano Biffle Waltrip single file on the outside.

Lap 15 the top 19 run single file

Lap 23 Top 10 are now only single file as the field is two-by-two behind them.

Lap 24 Top 13 are single file

Lap 34 top four single-file while Logano and Harvick are side-by-side for fifth

Lap 38 leaders came up on the lap car of Brian Keselowski – able to make it through. Harvick to the lead as pit stops begin. Nemechek and  Reuitmann pit. Harvick Bayne Mears Truex Biffle lead the field.

22 to go Bobby Labonte pits

21 to go David Gilliland pits. Harvick Bayne Mears Truex Biffle Johnson single-file ahead of the field

20 to go Keselowski Logano Speed Smith and Montoya pit.

19 to go Rest of the field pits, including the top six.

18 to go Harvick leads Biffle Truex Johnson and Mears. Brian Keseloski pits

L43 — Kevin Harvick leads, then 16 56 48 13 99 78 14 26 11 21 88 22 51 47 2 42 10 83 87 95 38 / 52.

10 to go Harvick leads Biffle as top four are single-file. Gilliland goes a lap down.

9 to go Harvick leads Biffle Truex Johnson single-file ahead of the field. Mears leads the second pack ahead of Waltrip and Edwards.

Caution 8 to go Hamlin, Regan Smith Edwards and Bayne wreck. Hamlin got sideways and came down into Edwards, triggering the wreck.

Restart lap 57 of 60…..Biffle and Harvick side by side for the lead. Harvick gets the upperhand on the outside with Johnson and Biffle side by side for second

2 to go Harvick and Biffle pulling away from the field as it’s three wide behind them

Harvick wins the Budweiser Duel ahead of Greg Biffle. Montoya. Johnson. Kurt Busch. Truex. Stewart. Keselowski. Mears. Earnhardt Jr. Michael Waltrip edges Scott Speed for the last spot to qualify for the 500.

Truex got the black flag on the last lap due to no side window so he does not finish top 10. The drivers that race their way in through the Duel are now 29 16 42 48 78 14 2 13 88 22 47 38 87 26 95. Daytona 500 Pole sitter Danica Patrick finished 17th.

“That’s one for the Lame Ducks. We’ll see how many we can get.”

When the season started, there were some concerned that Kevin Harvick would not have a good season after announcing that he would leave Richard Childress Racing at season’s end to make the move over to Stewart-Hass Racing. Those jokes were put aside as Harvick led the final 12 laps on his way to winning the Sprint Unlimited. It marks his third victory in the Daytona non-points race while marking the eighth win in the event for car owner Richard Childress.

“I was really kind of nervous about the 20 and the 14,” Harvick said. “I thought they had cars stronger than ours. I want to thank Sprint and the race fans. This is for everybody in the stands and sitting at home. Good way to start off speedweeks.”

Harvick also added that when it comes to his team at the track, they don’t think about the lame duck scenario.

“I think it is one of those deals that for us, it’s all about winning races,” he said. “The politics and everything is what it is, but when we get to the race track, it’s all about winning the race. For those guys, that’s all they think about.”

Greg Biffle would finish second after trying to pull a move on Harvick on the last lap down the backstretch to try and win the event.

“The 3M Ford Fusion really was strong all night,” he said. “It seemed like some cars were better than we were and we will work on our stuff for the 500. I had a run on him at the top there and he closed the door. Kevin did what he had to do to win that race. I didn’t think there was room to stick it in there. I thought we would end up wrecked. I looked in the mirror but didn’t have any help. I was against his bumper but couldn’t do anything. I am happy to come home second. I have been so close so many times here at Daytona. It would feel nice to win one.”

Joey Logano would take third in his first start with Penske Racing after initiating the moves on the last lap of the race by diving out of the single-file line in the tri-oval coming to the white flag.

“It is hard to make a move with these cars and the runs aren’t big enough,” Logano said. “The old car had a really big run and these cars don’t have a huge run. You are trying to get everyone to form up and tighten up and everyone is trying to do the same thing. I just checked up a little on the front stretch and made my move from seventh and I knew it wasn’t enough to get to the front but I knew the 20 was fast and he would push me along. We made the best of it.”

Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth would finish fourth and fifth after leading a chunk of the race each.

For Stewart, it wasn’t a clean race as he would trigger a wreck on lap 15 after trying to make a move on Kenseth for the lead.

“I got a big run on the 20 (Kenseth), and went on the bottom, and the spotter didn’t clear me so I went before I knew,” Stewart said. “I was trying to make a move for the lead, and was probably a little anxious. I was feeling good about moving up, a little too racey.”

Stewart would save the car, however the field would accordian behind him and contact between Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson would trigger a pile-up, collecting Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch. It marks the second wreck of the weekend for both Martin and Kurt Busch after they wrecked during the first Sprint Unlimited practice session.

“I haven’t seen the replay yet but I saw a car sideways and I thought we were all going to fine and then the cars up higher on the track tangled for some reason and that’s when the wreck really happened,” Martin said. “I was headed through, squeezed Martin (Truex Jr.) down and looked like I was going to make it through. Gosh, we didn’t get that far did we?”

“It wasn’t bad,” Kyle Busch said. “We really and’t gotten going yet. Just really unfortunate as we. Just don’t know what happened. Some car got sideways and then the 11 and 48 got together and we got sandwiched into the fence. Just feel bad for these M&M guys for all their hard work getting crashed out. Not enough pieces to make it go around again. I think it’s hurt on every corner.”

“That was way too short,” Gordon said. “Half the battle and goal was to learn something for next week’s Duel and 500. The cars, as far back as I was, become a handful. I was handling good, just need more speed so I’ll work on it. I saw some guy got sideways on the inside, and it dominoed all the way back to the outside lane.”

“I saw sparks in front of me and what started that and knew it wasn’t going to end well and sure enough, I was collected,” Johnson said. “Didn’t get many laps. The 14 and I were working on the outside. Got some ideas for the 500 set-up. “

“Whatever happened with Stewart – whether he got loose or got hit. Wished we could’ve ran a little bit more, but that’s what happened,” Hamlin said.

Daytona Speedweeks will continue tomorrow with Daytona 500 qualifying.

Sprint Unlimited Unofficial Results 

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Greg Biffle
3. Joey Logano
4. Tony Stewart
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Aric Almirola
7. Kasey Kahne
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
9. Martin Truex Jr.
10. Juan Pablo Montoya
11. Marcos Ambrose
12. Carl Edwards
13. Kurt Busch
14. Jimmie Johnson
15. Denny Hamlin
16. Kyle Busch
17. Jeff Gordon
18. Mark Martin
19. Terry Labonte