Wallace Dominates Late To Win Daytona Duel No. 1

Bubba Wallace (center) won the first Duel qualifying race Thursday ahead of the Daytona 500. (Lesley Ann Miller/Toyota Racing photo)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a frenzied and attrition-filled first Duel at Daytona Thursday night, Bubba Wallace dominated and narrowly fended off William Byron for his first-ever Daytona 500 qualifying race victory.

Wallace led five times for 21 of the 60 laps in the No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE, but it took a late charge coming to the white flag for him to get clear of Ty Dillon and score the win.

After working to the head of the pack for good, Wallace edged out Byron by .082 seconds at the finish line to not only earn a second-row starting spot for Sunday’s Great American Race, but put 10 points into his regular season tally as well.

It marks the second straight year for 23XI Racing – co-owned by NASCAR Cup Series star Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan – to win a Duel qualifier after Wallace’s teammate Tyler Reddick won the first Duel race in 2024.

After shushing the doubters when he climbed from his race car in the tri-oval, Wallace had a simple ask for the Daytona Int’l Speedway staff in victory lane.

“Can I get a Rolex (watch) for this one, please?” Wallace quipped, alluding to the traditional Rolex Cosmograph Daytonas that are awarded to the winners of the track’s most prestigious events.

Though he didn’t lead at all during the first half of the 150-mile sprint, Wallace took the lead for the first time on lap 31, three laps after the third restart of the race.

Wallace took the top spot from Byron at that point, then led all but nine laps the rest of the way, largely with drafting help from Reddick behind him.

“Man, what a night. I hope that was a good race,” said Wallace to a raucous crowd in the grandstands. “Thanks to Tyler. That was awesome to see two team cars work together that well and we learned a lot for Sunday. He did a great job pushing me. Our McDonald’s Toyota Camry was really fast.

“It’s two different balances from being in the pack to being out front, so we Have some work to do there, but I’ve wanted one of these Duel wins for so long! All my buddies got one. Tyler got one last year, and I was pissed off, but I’ve got one now! I’m good.”

A wild opening third of the first Duel featured two crashes in the first 15 circuits. Zane Smith’s Front Row Motorsports Ford cut a tire and pounded the outside wall on lap three, before a multi-car incident on lap 14 changed the entire complexion of the race as a whole.

Chandler Smith, who was one of the open, non-chartered drivers needing to race his way into the Daytona 500, had driven his way up to third place and was in position to lock into Sunday’s field when he tried to slice down in front of Justin Haley in turn two.

Smith wasn’t clear and came across Haley’s nose, getting hooked back up the banking and pounding the outside SAFER Barrier nose first with his No. 66 Ford. As he came off the wall, the rear of his car smacked Ty Gibbs’ Toyota, tipping Gibbs into Haley and then hooking Haley into the outside wall also.

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, driving the Project 91 entry for Trackhouse Racing, was collected in the aftermath of the melee and eliminated as well.

That left Justin Allgaier and J.J. Yeley needing to race their way into the Daytona 500, with Allgaier going on to finish ninth and make the Great American Race for the third time.

Behind Wallace and Byron, Dillon hung on for third despite a mis-timed block down the backstretch that nearly ended with him in the wall after contact from behind by his teammate, A.J. Allmendinger.

Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Reddick closed the top five, followed by Allmendinger, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Allgaier, and Kyle Busch.

Daytona 500 pole winner Chase Briscoe retired from the first Duel after 26 laps, with reports circulating that his No. 19 Toyota was damaged by debris just before the halfway point.

It’s unclear what repairs may be needed and if Briscoe will have to fall to the rear Sunday before the green flag.

Of note, Castroneves will line up for Sunday’s Daytona 500 as a 41st starter by virtue of NASCAR’s new ‘Open Exemption Provisional’. However, his entry will not receive points or prize money for competing.

Team Penske’s Austin Cindric later topped the second Duel for his first Daytona 500 qualifying race win.

The next on-track activity for NASCAR Cup Series teams at Daytona Int’l Speedway is second Daytona 500 practice on Friday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. ET, with live coverage on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.