![Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander RV Duels At DAYTONA #2](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jwd3OJACx2CKY2jtzPkjdUER024=/0x0:4928x3280/1200x800/filters:focal(2012x534:2800x1322)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63056883/1124979904.jpg.0.jpg)
The field for the 2019 Daytona 500 is set after the Gander RV Duels took place to determine places 3-40 on the grid on Thursday. Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano were victorious in Duel 1 and Duel 2, respectively.
The first two spots on the grid are held by Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman, who had the fastest times in the first qualifying session.
They also took part in the Duels, with Byron, the pole-sitter, finishing in 16th and Bowman, the reigning pole-sitter from last year’s race, finishing in 13th. Byron only needed to get through the Duel without damaging his car, as he would lose pole position if he had to go to a backup car.
Byron had a near-incident around Lap 30 while he he was hanging around in fourth place, and that was all the action he wanted for the day, quickly dropping back to nearer the back of the pack with nothing to race for beyond more practice time on the track.
Harvick won the first of the Duels, ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in second and Paul Menard one thousandth of a second behind him. All of the top three finishers were driving Fords, while the Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. navigated unfriendly territory to secure fourth ahead of the Chevrolet of Chris Buescher. Byron wound up finishing in 16th after dropping back.
The race saw Kyle Busch spun out as a result of contact from Jimmie Johnson. Busch was able to avoid damage, but had to pit for fresh tires. Parker Kligerman was the notable who raced his way into the Daytona 500 edging out Ryan Truex and Tyler Reddick.
In the second race, Bowman didn’t spend much time up front, in the same position as Byron — he just needed to make it through. He dropped himself down to 16th before half of the 60 laps had elapsed. The second Duel ended with Logano on top, moving from fourth to first on the very final lap of the race, taking the top spot from Clint Bowyer. He was assisted by his teammate, Ryan Blaney, in the surprise late move.
The Duels are a 60-lap, 150-mile race around Daytona International Speedway to determine the full starting grid for the Daytona 500. The inside row is set by the first Duel, and the outside is set by the second. So the winner of the first Duel starts third and the winner of Duel 2 starts fourth.
The first Duel is made up of odd-numbered finishing positions from qualifying, in order, while the second is made up of the even-numbered positions.
The Daytona 500 is set for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX. Full results from both duels can be found below.
Duel 1 Results
Finish | Driver | Team |
---|---|---|
Finish | Driver | Team |
1 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing |
2 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing |
3 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing |
4 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing |
5 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing |
6 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports |
7 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing |
8 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports |
9 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing |
10 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing |
11 | Daniel Suarez | Stewart-Haas Racing |
12 | Parker Kligerman | Gaunt Brothers Racing |
13 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing |
14 | Ryan Truex | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
15 | Landon Cassill | Starcom Racing |
16 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports |
17 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing |
18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing |
19 | Matt Tifft | Front Row Motorsports |
20 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske |
21 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing |
Duel 2 Results
Finish | Driver | Team |
---|---|---|
Finish | Driver | Team |
1 | Joey Logano | Team Penske |
2 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing |
3 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing |
4 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing |
5 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing |
6 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske |
7 | Jamie McMurray | Spire Motorsports |
8 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports |
9 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing |
10 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing |
11 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports |
12 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing |
13 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports |
14 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing |
15 | Brendan Gaughan | Beard Motorsports |
16 | Corey LaJoie | GO FAS Racing |
17 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing |
18 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports |
19 | Ross Chastain | Premium Motorsports |
20 | Joey Gase | Motorsports Business Management |
21 | BJ McLeod | Petty Ware Racing |