On Thursday night, the drivers of the NASCAR Cup Series raced to help their Daytona 500 starting positions and earn points for the 2021 season. Add in the fact that eight drivers were fighting just to qualify for the Great American Race and the Bluegreen Vacations Duels had plenty of intensity. Who helped their cases? Who hurt their starting spots? Which drivers made the race and which drivers are headed home early?
This article has a full recap and breakdown of Thursday night’s weather-prolonged running of the Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway.
NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel Overview
The Bluegreen Vacations Duel are two races held back-to-back. The first race consists of the drivers who have odd-numbered starting spots based on individual time trial qualifying results. The second race is run by the drivers who have even-numbered starting spots. All spots except for the front row (determined solely based on the time trial qualifying) are up for grabs. The Daytona 500 is the only NASCAR Cup Series race that sets its starting grid in this manner.
Daytona 500 Qualifying Implications
To help understand the implications of the Bluegreen Vacations Duel on the Daytona 500 grid, consider this hypothetical example. A driver qualifies 20th in individual time trial qualifying. Therefore, he would run in the second Duel race and start 10th. If he finishes fifth in the duel, they would have the chance to move all the way up to the 10th position on the Daytona 500 starting grid as well. A fifth-place finishing position would also bag six points for the driver in the overall NASCAR Cup Series season points standings.
Note that drivers can improve their starting position for the 500 over every driver in their duel race minus the pole sitter. Only the top two drivers from the individual time trial qualifying have their starting positions secured prior to the Bluegreen Vacations Duel races.
Refer to our Daytona 500 overview for the official starting grid, race information, stats and more!
NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 Recap and Results
In the first duel race, there were no cautions. The clean race was very close all the way through to the end. Aric Almirola would keep Joey Logano behind him down the stretch to pick up the win and lock in the third position on the Daytona 500 starting grid.
The open cars attempting to qualify for Sunday’s race had a close finish of their own in the first duel. Ryan Preece edged out Ty Dillon by half a car length at the line. With Preece also having qualified for Sunday based on his having one of the two fastest open car times in individual qualifying, Austin Cindric was the primary beneficiary of this finish. Cindric had the next-fastest time trial among the open cars in Duel 1. This allowed him to claim the remaining Daytona 500 starting spot.
NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 Recap and Results
Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 was a whole different breed of race. After having to wait over two hours for rain, the race finally got underway shortly after 11 p.m. EST. There were two cautions that would drastically change the outlook of the Daytona 500.
The first yellow came when Chase Briscoe went around and collected Kaz Grala and a couple of other cars. The second caution flew late in the race when Brad Keselowski and Garrett Smithley collided. The wreck would collect Noah Gragson and William Byron, effectively ending Gragson’s hope of qualifying for the Daytona 500. While Byron had already secured his starting spot on the front row as the runner-up in time trial qualifying, he felt the wrath of the Bluegreen Vacations Duel all the same. Thanks to heavy damage from the wreck, he will be forced to race in a backup car on Sunday.
The second duel went to overtime, in which Martin Truex Jr. pulled to the lead on the inside. Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick managed to get a big run on the outside and Dillon used it to drive to the win over runner-up Bubba Wallace. David Ragan was the top open car finisher in this duel. This ensured Kaz Grala a spot in Sunay’s Daytona 500 field as the next-fastest car in qualifying.
NASCAR Duel Winners and Losers
The finishing results in both Bluegreen Vacations Duel races shook up the starting grid for the Daytona 500. The big loser in Duel 1 was Ricky Stenhouse. He was set to start fifth based on time trial results but will now start 21st. Ryan Newman was a winner, improving his starting position from 23rd to seventh.
For Duel 2, Corey LaJoie helped his Daytona 500 case, turning the 34th starting position into now starting 16th. Ross Chastain was going to start 24th, but he will now start 34th in The Great American Race.
All of the chatter and smack talk from Thursday night will come to a stop on Sunday. When the 40 drivers take the green flag in the 63rd Daytona 500, there is only one thing on their minds and that is getting the checkered flag.
