The NASCAR Cup Series season kicked off last weekend with the wild Busch Clash at Daytona International Speedway, and the cars will hit the track again on Thursday for two high-intensity races to determine the starting order for the 2020 Daytona 500. Here’s everything you need to know about the Duels this week.
When do the Duels start?
Duel No. 1 will begin at 7:00 pm. ET on Thursday, February 13th, on Fox Sports 1. Duel No. 2 will follow, with an estimated starting time of around 8:45 p.m. ET.
What are the Duels?
For the Daytona 500, the standard qualifying session (which occurred last weekend) only locks in the front row for Sunday’s race. The results of qualifying are then used to determine the starting order for two qualifying races, known in 2020 as the Bluegreen Vacation Duels.
Duel No. 1 will feature a field of 22 cars, and Duel No. 2 will have 21 cars. A total of three non-charter cars will not make the final field of 40, so drivers Daniel Suarez, Reed Sorenson, Chad Finchum, JJ Yeley and Timmy Hill will be fighting over two entries in the 500.
Each duel will be a 150-mile race, or 60 laps around the 2.5 Daytona International Speedway circuit.
The finishing order of Duel No. 1 will make up the inside line (odd positions) in the Daytona 500 lineup, so the winner of Duel No. 1 will start third, while the finishing order of Duel No. 2 will make up the outside line.
There will be no “stages” within either Duel, but each driver will have to make at least one pit stop, as the fuel window is under 60 laps.
Which drivers are on the Daytona 500 front row?
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the pole position with a qualifying time of 46.253 seconds. Alex Bowman will start second, after posting a time of 46.305 seconds. Both of these drivers will start on the pole in their respective duel, but as each driver is already locked into their position, it’s likely that they won’t be going all-out to win.
Duel No. 1 starting lineup
(Drivers marked with an asterisk are non-charter cars. The top non-charter car in each Duel is guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500)
1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47
2. Chase Elliott #9
3. Denny Hamlin #11
4. Aric Almirola #10
5. Christopher Bell #95
6. Joey Logano #22
7. Clint Bowyer #14
8. Ryan Newman #6
9. Ryan Preece #37
10. Chris Buescher #17
11. Martin Truex Jr. #19
12. Brad Keselowski #2
13. John Hunter Nemechek #38
14. Ryan Blaney #12
15. Austin Dillon #3
16. Justin Haley #16
17. Bubba Wallace #43
18. Reed Sorenson* #27
19. Daniel Suarez* #96
20. Quin Houff #00
21. Chad Finchum* #49
22. Joey Gase #51
Duel No. 2 starting lineup
1. Alex Bowman #88
2. Jimmie Johnson #48
3. Kyle Busch #18
4. William Byron #24
5. Erik Jones #20
6. Kevin Harvick #4
7. Cole Custer #41
8. Matt DiBenedetto #21
9. Tyler Reddick #8
10. Kyle Larson #42
11. Kurt Busch #1
12. Michael McDowell #34
13. David Ragan #36
14. Ross Chastain #14
15. Ty Dillon #13
16. Brendan Gaughan #62
17. Timmy Hill* #66
18. Corey LaJoie #32
19. JJ Yeley* #54
20. Brennan Poole #15
21. BJ McLeod #52
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