The field is set for Sunday’s Daytona 500, with a full field of 40 cars. Two drivers failed to finish high enough in Thursday’s Duels to make the big race, but both 23-year-old Kaz Grala and 52- year-old Greg Biffle raced their way in.
Hendrick Chevys dominated Wednesday night’s qualifying, taking four of the top five spots including both front row positions. Alex Bowman set a record with his fifth consecutive front row start in the big race, running second to polesitter and 2021 Cup champion Kyle Larson. But only those two were locked into their positions, with the rest of the 500 field set on Thursday night.
The two 60-lap Duels ran clean for 119 laps until Duel 2 leader Joey Logano tried a last-lap block on Chris Buescher. Logano ended up in the outside wall and Buescher went on to take the win, the second of the evening for Roush-Fenway-Keselowski Racing. Yes, Brad Keselowski in his new role of driver/co-owner at JFK Racing outlasted the field in Duel 1, leading a Duels sweep for his new team.
The Chevrolet contingent was strong in Duel 1, with a pack of Camaros leading until pit stops. Then the Fords stole a march with two-tire stops and gapped the Chevys to race among themselves for the win.
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The second Duel saw a more mixed bag at the front for the first part of the race, with Alex Bowman’s Camaro leading a gaggle of Toyotas and Fords. Again, pit stops separated the field and it was a primarily Ford battle at the front with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. the lone Chevy in the mix. The results indicate a hard-fought Daytona 500 with the eventual winner anybody’s guess.
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NASCAR’s aim with the Next Gen car was to provide closer racing, and so far, parity between the big teams and the little guys is much closer than before. Qualifying was incredibly close with mere hundredths or thousandths of a second separating competitors’ times. I particularly appreciated FOX’s “ghost car” graphics, showing exactly where each qualifier was in relation to the current fastest driver. It dramatically illustrated just how close the qualifying times were.
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All three of NASCAR’s touring divisions are racing this weekend with the Camping World Truck qualifying and race Friday. The Xfinity series qualifies at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and will race at 2 p.m., with both airing on Fox Sports 1. And Sunday FOX will broadcast the Daytona 500 at 11:30 a.m. with a lead-in NASCAR Raceday on FOX at 10 a.m.
Last week I touted F1 and IndyCar champion Jacques Villeneuve as a dark horse bet, but after his car issues in Thursday’s Duel 2, his odds have probably shot up to astronomical proportions. Check your local sports book for details.
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In other NASCAR news, Ty Gibbs will race a full Xfinity season in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota. If I were cynical, I might speculate that it’s because his last name is Gibbs, but the youngster proved last year that he has the talent to win, at least in a dominant car. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Cup in 2023, depending on how he does this season.
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Finally, Formula 1 has announced that Michael Masi has been relieved of F1 race director duties, to be assigned to another position in the FIA. Given his botched decisions in last year’s Abu Dhabi season finale, I’m hoping for a janitorial position. And sprint qualifying races will be run at Imola, Red Bull Ring, and Interlagos with points being increased to eight for the win, seven for second, and on down to one point for eighth.
