Logano Wins Bluegreen Daytona 500 Qualifying Race One with some help from Almirola

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – Joey Logano rode the inside lane to win the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel one at Daytona International Speedway.  The Daytona 500 has a unique form of qualifying.  The field is split into two races, one led by the pole winner, and the other by the outside pole winner.  These races determine the starting lineup for the 500- mile race on Sunday.

Logano stayed near the front of the field after pit stop.  The Fords found themselves chasing the Toyotas and Chevrolets, but Logano got into the bottom lane and stayed there thanks to the Ford of Aric Almirola. Pole Winner Ricky Stenouse, Jr. wqas his main competition, but he faded near the end.  The Fords of Logano, Almirola, Ryan Newman, and Brad Kesekowski finished in positions 1-4.  Bubba Wallace in a Chevrolet finished fifth.

  The only serious incident in the race was a miscommunication with Ryan Blaney and his crew.  The plan was for all the blue ovals to pit at the same time.  Blaney didn’t know this and a critical move on the track took out Daniel Suarez, which ended his bid to make the race when the two cars got together.  Suarez, driving for a new team this year, ended up in the infield with damage to the front end.  Blaney continued and finished 14th despite the damage to his car.

 Results, Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1:
Pos, Driver, Car, Behind Leader, Behind Next, Laps, Laps Led, Last Lap , Last Speed
1) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, Leader, Leader, 60, 19, 45.090, 199.601
2) Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 0.172, 0.172, 60, 0, 45.199, 199.119
3) Ryan Newman, No. 6 Koch Industries Ford, 0.183, 0.011, 60, 5, 45.145, 199.358
4) Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 0.245, 0.062, 60, 0, 45.151, 199.331
5) Bubba Wallace, No. 43 United States Air Force Chevrolet, 0.330, 0.085, 60, 0, 45.113, 199.499
6) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker OffRoad Chevrolet, 0.381, 0.051, 60, 1, 45.223, 199.014
7) Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pros Shops Toyota, 0.386, 0.005, 60, 0, 45.091, 199.596
8) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet, 0.404, 0.018, 60, 28, 45.498, 197.811
9) Christopher Bell, No. 95 Procore Toyota, 0.446, 0.042, 60, 0, 45.065, 199.712
10) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 0.446, 0.000, 60, 1, 45.075, 199.667
11) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 0.485, 0.039, 60, 0, 45.416, 198.168
12) John Hunter Nemechek, No. 38 Citgard Ford, 0.539, 0.054, 60, 0, 45.016, 199.929
13) Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 0.638, 0.099, 60, 0, 45.461, 197.972
14) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Peak Ford, 0.690, 0.052, 60, 0, 45.368, 198.378
15) Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Rush/Mobil 1 Ford, 0.805, 0.115, 60, 7, 45.418, 198.159
16) Ryan Preece, No. 37 Cottonelle Chevrolet, 1.697, 0.892, 60, 0, 46.227, 194.691
17) Justin Haley, No. 16 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet, 8.846, 7.149, 60, 0, 47.200, 190.678
18) Reed Sorenson, No. 27, -1.000, -9.846, 59, 0, 47.368, 190.002
19) Quin Houff, No. 00 Jacob Construction Chevrolet , -2.000, -1.000, 58, 0, 48.222, 186.637
20) Chad Finchum, No. 49 Garrison Homes Toyota, -3.000, -1.000, 57, 0, 48.183, 186.788
21) Joey Gase, No. 51 EFX Corp. Chevrolet, -3.000, 0.000, 57, 0, 48.190, 186.761
22) Daniel Suarez, No. 96 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota, -32.000, -29.000, 28, 0, 45.798, 196.515 (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series