Elliott and Hamlin Win the two Can-Am Duel Qualifying Races for the Daytona 500

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin won the Can-Am Duel races tonight, both tough fought battles.  The two qualifying races, each 156 miles in length, determine the starting lineup for Sunday’s Daytona 500.  That is, except for the front row which is made up of the two fastest cars in traditional qualifying.

Elliott, who won the pole for last year’s 500 took over the lead after the Lap 25 competition caution and though competition was torrid at times, was never headed. 

Elliott, who fell short time and again during last year's rookie season to secure a win, wanted a trophy. He got it by earning the first of a pair of 150-mile qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway.

"I know this was just a Duel win, and doesn't mean a lot for the playoffs, but it still means something to me," said Elliott.

Indeed, this was technically just an exhibition race. But new rules for this season earned Elliott 10 points with the win. NASCAR's new format this year including a provision that awards points on a 10-to-1 declining scale to the top-10 finishers in Thursday night's races.

Jamie McMurray finished second as Chevrolet drivers went 1-2 at a track where Ford and Toyota are expected to dominate. Most people have picked Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski as the drivers to beat on Sunday, but neither got it done against Elliott.

"I think the Penske cars, if you have to make a list, that's the top of the list," McMurray said.

Kevin Harvick was third in a Ford and followed by Keselowski as Ford drivers still took six of the top 10 slots in the 21-car field.

Corey LaJoie earned one of the open positions in the Daytona 500, but it came with controversy. He ran into the back of Reed Sorenson, one of the drivers he was racing for the slot in the 500. It caused Sorenson to wreck.

"I know it looked like I meant to do it but I didn't," LaJoie said on his radio. "I was running the middle and he came down on me."

He said he would have preferred not to have wrecked Sorenson, but insisted it was unintentional and noted the race was his first time in a Cup car at a plate track. LaJoie had to politic through December to get this ride, but still asked Jimmie Johnson to put in a good word for him to help him get a chance to race in the Daytona 500.

The second duel found Dale Earnhardt at the front for most of the night.  After Denny Hamlin led the first two laps, Earnhardt took over and led most of the rest of the way.  Hamlin used a push from Austin Dillon and momentum on the outside lane to pass race leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the victory in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with two laps to go in Thursday's Can-Am Duel 2 at Daytona International Speedway.

"We definitely had a strong car but so much of that race was single file and so it was really tough to show what we could do in the pack once we got two- and three-wide, but it looked like our car could make some really good moves and got a great push from the 3 (Dillon) there at the end," Hamlin said. "It looked like our cars worked really, really well together there so we’ll keep that in mind when I need somebody to draft with in the 500."

Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch finished second and third, respectively, while AJ Allmendinger nabbed a fourth-place result in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet. Austin Dillon completed the top five in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevy.

 Earnhardt, who led Duel 2 to green to start the 60-lap event, led a race-high 53 laps around the superspeedway but finished sixth.

 The Can-Am Duel 2 race set the outside row for Sunday's Daytona 500, with Earnhardt Jr. retaining his outside pole position from Sunday's qualifying session. Duel 2 winner Hamlin will start fourth, runner up Clint Bowyer will roll off the grid sixth, etc.

 Just as Duel 1, the top-10 finishers received championship points: Race winner Hamlin earned 10 points, second-place Bowyer received nine, with 10th-place Ty Dillon being the last car to earn championship points (one point).

 Ryan Blaney (20th) was contending for the lead with 15 laps to go and running in the top three when his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford was clipped by Jimmie Johnson (13th), who got loose from David Ragan's (11th) No. 38 ride. Ragan and Blaney also had some contact. Blaney took a trip down pit road under green for repairs. One lap later, Johnson scraped the wall, triggered the caution and brought the No. 48 Chevrolet down pit road for five-minute repairs, per NASCAR's new damage rule.

 DJ Kennington was the highest-running Open car in 15th-place and thus earned a spot in Sunday's Daytona 500 . Elliott Sadler received a spot due to speed in Sunday's qualifying session. Timmy Hill earned a spot in the 500 field—making two drivers with homes other than the United States  in the field.  Kennington is from Canada and Daniel Suarez is from Monterrey, Mexico.

Results - Can-am Duel 1

Unofficial Race Results for the Can-Am Duel At Daytona 1
Race Length - 60 Laps - 150 Miles

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, Pts, Status, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts
1, 1, Chase Elliott, No. 24 NAPA Chevrolet, 60, 10, Running, 2, 25,
2, 12, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna McDonald's Chevrolet, 60, 9, Running, , ,
3, 4, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Jimmy John's Ford, 60, 8, Running, , ,
4, 2, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 60, 7, Running, 3, 28,
5, 5, Matt Kenseth, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 60, 6, Running, , ,
6, 10, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Ford, 60, 5, Running, , ,
7, 3, Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER BOATS Toyota, 60, 4, Running, , ,
8, 13, Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Foods Ford, 60, 3, Running, , ,
9, 9, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 60, 2, Running, , ,
10, 18, Cole Whitt, No. 72 Florida Lottery Ford, 60, 1, Running, , ,
11, 8, Daniel Suarez #, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota, 60, 0, Running, , ,
12, 6, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 60, 0, Running, 2, 7,
13, 7, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 60, 0, Running, , ,
14, 15, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 32 EJ Wade Construction Ford, 60, 0, Running, , ,
15, 14, Landon Cassill, No. 34 Love's Ford, 60, 0, Running, , ,
16, 16, Chris Buescher, No. 37 Cottonelle Mega Roll Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running, , ,
17, 20, Joey Gase(i), No. 23 Best Home Furnishings Toyota, 60, 0, Running, , ,
18, 21, * Corey LaJoie, No. 83 Dustless Blasting Toyota, 60, 0, Running, , ,
19, 17, * Brendan Gaughan(i), No. 75 Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running, , ,
20, 11, Paul Menard, No. 27 Menards/Peak Chevrolet, 59, 0, Running, , ,
21, 19, * Reed Sorenson, No. 55  Toyota, 48, 0, Accident, , ,
(i): Ineligible for driver points in this series, #: Rookie; *: non-franchise team

Time of Race: 0 Hrs, 56 Mins, 13 Secs. Average Speed: 160.095 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.156 Seconds
Race Comments: Chase Elliott won the Can-Am Duel #1 at Daytona International Speedway, his first victory in the qualifying event.
Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: #55 (unapproved transmission change).
Caution Flags: 2 for 7 laps: Laps: 27-30 (Competition [22]); 50-52 (#55, 27, 83 Incident Frontstretch [None]).
Lead Changes: 6 among 3 drivers: C. Elliott 1; B. Keselowski 2-11; Kyle Busch 12; B. Keselowski 13-24; Kyle Busch 25-30; B. Keselowski 31-36; C. Elliott 37-60.
 

Duel 2 Results:

Pos, St, Driver, Car, Laps, Led, Final Status
1, 3, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Fed Ex Toyota, 60, 4, Running
2, 2, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford, 60, 0, Running
3, 11, Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation Ford, 60, 0, Running
4, 14, AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
5, 13, Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
6, 1, Dale Earnhardt Jr, No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 60, 53, Running
7, 12, Danica Patrick, No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford, 60, 0, Running
8, 5, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
9, 8, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
10, 6, Ty Dillon, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
11, 16, David Ragan, No. 38 Camping World Ford, 60, 0, Running
12, 15, Michael McDowell, No. 95 K-Love Radio Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
13, 7, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
14, 4, Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
15, 19, D.J. Kennington, No. 96 Lordco/Castrol Toyota, 60, 0, Running
16, 18, Elliott Sadler, No. 7 Golden Corral Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
17, 17, Michael Waltrip, No. 15 Aaron's Toyota, 60, 0, Running
18, 20, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 33 Little Joe's Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
19, 10, Erik Jones, No. 77 5-Hour Energy Toyota, 59, 0, Running
20, 95, Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Motorcraft Ford, 53, 0, Running
21, 21, Timmy Hill, No. 51 Spoonful of Music Chevrolet, 29, 0, Running