Joey Logano, Aric Almirola Win Duel Races at Daytona

The starting lineup for the 65th Daytona 500 on Sunday is set. The two 60-lap Duel races tonight determined the starting positions, and which two drivers failed to make the race. The first race was quite tame, with all of the drama taking place in the second Duel.

Logano won the first Duel race with the help of his teammate Ryan Blaney. It was Blaney that pushed teammate Austin Cindric to the win in the Daytona 500 last year. This is the third career Duel win for Logano, the reigning series champion. Christopher Bell came up just inches short in his Toyota, finishing in 2nd. Blaney, Chris Buescher, and Michael McDowell completed the top five in the first race.

Zane Smith raced his way into the Daytona 500 field with an 8th place finish, ahead of the other two open cars of Jimmie Johnson (already locked in) and Chandler Smith. It is the end of the road for Chandler in the third Kaulig Racing entry. He fell behind after speeding on pit lane during his stop.

Aric Almirola won the second Duel race, which is the second of his career and fourth for Stewart Haas Racing. The final lap nearly saw a bunch of cars get destroyed after Kyle Larson got David Gilliland sideways in the middle of the turn. Cindric, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Corey LaJoie completed the top five.

Kyle Busch was leading the race with 20 laps to go when Daniel Suarez spun him on the backstretch, sending him hard into the outside wall. It was a brutal blow for Busch and the Richard Childress Racing team, who felt they had a car capable of winning on Sunday. This will be Kyle's 18th attempt at winning the Great American Race.

Despite not being able to qualify yesterday, and mechanical issues at the start of the Duel, Conor Daly was able to claim the last starting spot in the 40-car field. Austin Hill and Travis Pastrana were caught up in the crash and unable to finish the race. Daly will be the 62nd driver in history to race in both the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500.

With qualifying and Duel races complete, teams and drivers will finally be able to practice for the Daytona 500. Friday practice begins at 5:30 PM ET with final practice scheduled for 10:30 on Saturday morning. That will be the last on-track activity for the Cup drivers until the 65th running of the Great American Race at 2:30 on Sunday.