Duel Qualifiers Significant As Daytona 500 Grid-Setters

The Duel qualifying races at Daytona Int'l Speedway are a special and unique part of the annual Daytona 500 lineup procedure each year. (James Gilbert/Getty Images for NASCAR photo)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Before drivers battle for the Harley J. Earl Trophy in the 67th Daytona 500, they must first finalize their starting positions for the Great American Race in the annual Duels at Daytona.

The pair of 60-lap, 150-mile races at the 2.5-mile World Center of Racing are an integral part of Speedweeks presented by AdventHealth, serving to both set the Daytona 500 grid and lock in the final two spots for the Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing.

Drivers are evenly split into the Duels based on their qualifying times, with the pool of ‘open’ competitors having to race their way into the field also divided in half. The highest finishing non-chartered entry in each Duel is guaranteed a Daytona 500 starting spot.

Some fans and pundits have opined in recent years that the Duels have lost a bit of their luster – with 36 drivers being locked into the Daytona 500 via NASCAR’s charter system – but the intensity is still high when considering that the Duels do pay points on a 10-to-1 scale for the top-10 finishers in each race.

That means there are high stakes in the Duels – both for full-season competitors and for those trying to guarantee their place in the Great American Race.

Daytona 500 polesitter Chase Briscoe will lead the first Duel to green, while outside front-row starter Austin Cindric will be on the pole in the second Duel.

After that, the odd-position qualifiers fill in the starting grid for Duel No. 1 and the even-position qualifiers make up the grid for Duel No. 2. The nine open drivers are taken out of that mix and split five-and-four between the two Duels based on their qualifying times respective to one another.

Briscoe will be joined on the front row of the first Duel by RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece. Other notables in the field include Kyle Busch (seventh), Chase Elliott (eighth) and defending Daytona 500 champion William Byron (11th), as well as the 23XI Racing duo of Tyler Reddick (14th) and Bubba Wallace (15th).

Martin Truex Jr., reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, Chandler Smith, and J.J. Yeley are the open drivers in the first Duel race, with Truex already locked into Sunday’s Daytona 500 on speed.

Should Truex race his way in, Allgaier could then fall back on his qualifying time as the next-fastest non-chartered car.

Thursday’s second Duel sees Cindric on the pole alongside Team Penske teammate Joey Logano. In fact, all three Penske Fords are in Duel No. 2, with Ryan Blaney rolling off 10th.

Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin (third), the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Kyle Larson (fifth) and Alex Bowman (sixth), Brad Keselowski (eighth), and Cup Series rookie contender Shane van Gisbergen (15th) are other heavy hitters in the field for the nightcap.

Jimmie Johnson, Corey LaJoie, Anthony Alfredo, and B.J. McLeod are the four open drivers in the second Duel, with Johnson locked in on speed no matter what happens.

Should both Truex and Johnson race in as the highest finishing non-chartered drivers in their respective Duels, Allgaier and LaJoie would lock in on speed.

Smith, Yeley, Alfredo, and McLeod are the four drivers with no recourse aside from racing in through the Duels Thursday night.

Castroneves, however, is in a unique position. He has the chance to race into the Daytona 500 just as any other open car does. However, if he doesn’t, he’ll still be on the grid Sunday via NASCAR’s new ‘Open Exemption Provisional’ available to a world-class driver attempting to make a start in the Cup Series.

If Castroneves has to utilize the provisional, there will be 41 cars on the grid for this year’s Daytona 500, but the No. 91 Chevrolet would not earn points or prize money for its efforts Sunday afternoon.

The finishing positions from Duel No. 1 set the inside file for the Daytona 500 starting lineup, while the results from Duel No. 2 slot into the outside file of the grid for the Great American Race.

The last time a Duel winner went on to hoist the Harley J. Earl Trophy at the conclusion of the weekend remains 2012, when Matt Kenseth went on to win the 2012 Daytona 500 for Roush Fenway Racing (now RFK Racing) after winning his Thursday qualifier.

While the Daytona 500 qualifying procedure may be confusing to some, it’s a timeless process that remains different from anything else in NASCAR, and is part of why the sport’s most prestigious event is known as the Great American Race.

It’s because, at its core, making the Daytona 500 is very “great” indeed.

The first Duel at Daytona is slated for a 7 p.m. ET green flag Thursday night, with race coverage live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.