Earnhardt, Jr. and Johnson Win Qualifying Races at Daytona; Field Set

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – When the dust cleared at Daytona, two familiar faces emerged as winners in the two Budweiser Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday.  Even though Matt Kenseth led the most laps, it was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in Victory Lane at the end of the first race.  Earnhardt got the lead by using the old slingshot move on Kenseth and never gave up the lead.  Earnhardt, with new sponsorship from Nationwide Insurance, crossed the finish line to secure his third place starting spot in the Daytona 500.  Earnhardt fought off pole-sitter and teammate Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, and Clint bowyer for the win.  Kenseth faded and was not a factor at the end.

A two-time winner of the Daytona 500, Earnhardt Jr. won a Daytona Duel race for the fourth time in his career. Earnhardt Jr. started the race from the back of the field after his car failed post-qualifying inspection on Sunday.

Casey Mears' engine expired on Lap 17 of the first Duel. Mears finished 25th in the first Duel and needed to rely on owner points to make the field for the Daytona 500.  Johnny Sauter went for a spin through the infield on Lap 27 and his No. 83 Toyota suffered heavy damage from that in the first Duel. AJ Allmendinger and Aric Almirola also suffered some damage in the incident. Almirola had the fastest time in all the rounds of group qualifying so he is locked into the Daytona 500 while Allmendinger got into the race based on his spot in the owner points last season. Sauter made the field based on his speed in group qualifying.

Trevor Bayne, who was celebrating his 24th birthday on Thursday and is a past Daytona 500 winner, got loose with some contact from Kyle Larson on Lap 52 and smacked the wall in Turn 2. Bayne's team has Carl Edwards' owner points from the No. 99 car and made the Daytona 500 field that way. 

The second Duel was mostly Jimmie Johnson.  At the front from the first lap, he battled Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Martin Truex, Jr., and Ryan Blaney.  It was obvious after the first few laps that Johnson was in a class by himself.

In Duel #2, David Ragan brought out the caution on Lap 20 as he spun in Turn 4. Ragan's 2014 owner points were transferred to new teammate Cole Whitt meaning Ragan needed to race his way into the Daytona 500 and with his 14th-place finish, he made the field. Josh Wise also had electrical issues in the race.

locking in spots for the Daytona 500 in the second Duel: Reed Sorenson, Ryan Blaney, Mike Wallace, Justin Allgaier, Danica Patrick, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, David Gilliland, David Ragan and Austin Dillon. These drivers finished sixth through 15th in the second Duel. With Johnson winning, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 16th to improve his starting spot slightly since he had already made it in on qualifying speed.

Patrick nearly missed the Daytona 500 after a late wreck with Denny Hamlin looked to leave her in jeopardy, but she rallied during a green-white-checkered finish from 18th to 10th to make the field for Sunday's race. Patrick and Hamlin had a discussion on pit road after the race.

Drivers that did not make the 43-car field for the Daytona 500 included Alex Bowman, Jeb Burton, Justin Marks, Ron Hornaday Jr., Brian Scott and Josh Wise.

 Finishing Order for Duel One:

Pos, Start, Driver, Car, Laps, Led, Status
1, 25, Dale Earnhardt Jr, No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 60, 21, Running
2, 1, Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, 60, 5, Running
3, 10, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 60, 0, Running
4, 15, Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
5, 20, Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, 60, 0, Running
6, 14, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
7, 3, Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
8, 5, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna/McDonald’s Chevrolet, 60, 1, Running
9, 23, Landon Cassill, No. 40 CarsForSale.com Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
10, 22, Cole Whitt, No. 35 Speed Stick Ford, 60, 0, Running
11, 12, Paul Menard, No. 27 Peak/Menard’s Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
12, 19, Michael McDowell, No. 95 Thrivent Financial Ford, 60, 0, Running
13, 11, J.J. Yeley, No. 23 MAXIM Fantasy App/Dr. Pepper Toyota, 60, 0, Running
14, 17, Michael Annett, No. 46 Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
15, 18, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
16, 4, Ty Dillon, No. 33 Cheerios/Kroger Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running
17, 2, Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, 60, 32, Running
18, 21, Justin Marks, No. 29 American Born Moonshine Toyota, 60, 0, Running
19, 9, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 60, 0, Running
20, 8, Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Ford, 60, 0, Running
21, 24, Ron Hornaday Jr, No. 30 Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff Chevrolet, 60, 0, Running

Finishing Order for Duel Two:

Pos, Driver, Car, Margin, Laps, Last Time, Best Time, Best Speed, On Lap
1, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, Leader, 64, 46.135, 45.355, 198.435, 31
2, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&Ms Crispy Toyota, 0.125, 64, 46.104, 45.168, 199.256, 30
3, Carl Edwards, No. 19 Arris Toyota, 0.008, 64, 46.096, 45.301, 198.671, 6
4, Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ortho Ford, 0.081, 64, 46.072, 45.336, 198.518, 30
5, Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet, 0.012, 64, 46.077, 45.316, 198.605, 6
6, Reed Sorenson, No. 44 Golden Corral Chevrolet, 0.078, 64, 46.014, 45.242, 198.930, 14
7, Ryan Blaney(i), No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Ford, 0.002, 64, 46.058, 45.319, 198.592, 6
8, Mike Wallace, No. 66 Crazy Vapors/X8 Energy Cum Toyota, 0.100, 64, 46.033, 45.159, 199.296, 6
9, Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Brandt Chevrolet, -0.001, 64, 46.092, 45.328, 198.553, 30
10, Danica Patrick, No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, 0.042, 64, 45.630, 45.164, 199.274, 6
11, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 0.042, 64, 46.015, 45.067, 199.703, 29
12, Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, 0.049, 64, 45.511, 45.308, 198.640, 30
13, David Gilliland, No. 38 Love’s Travel Stops Ford, 0.028, 64, 45.998, 45.064, 199.716, 14
14, David Ragan, No. 34 Kentucky Fried Chicken Ford, 0.052, 64, 45.831, 45.140, 199.380, 43
15, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Chevrolet, 0.014, 64, 45.968, 45.176, 199.221, 30
16, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 0.089, 64, 46.216, 45.326, 198.562, 30
17, Brian Scott(i), No. 62 Shore Lodge Chevrolet, 0.014, 64, 46.115, 45.238, 198.948, 30
18, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 0.266, 64, 46.616, 45.277, 198.776, 6
19, Michael Waltrip, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, 5.106, 64, 50.185, 45.035, 199.845, 14
20, Bobby Labonte, No. 32 C&J Energy Services Ford, -, 60, 3:17.284, 45.108, 199.521, 52
21, Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Twisted Tea Ford, -, 36, 47.099, 45.169, 199.252, 30
22, Jeb Burton #, No. 26 LiveDeal.com Download the App Toyota, -, 36, 47.102, 44.828, 200.767, 29
23, Alex Bowman, No. 7 Toy State/Nikko Chevrolet, -, 36, 47.413, 45.207, 199.084, 30
24, Josh Wise, No. 98 Phoenix Construction Ford, -, 1, -, -, -, -