Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins Budweiser Duel 1
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. went from last to the win on Thursday in the first of two 150-mile qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway. And now he expects a whole lot more.
Earnhardt Jr., who dived low to hold off the field and save his No. 88 Chevrolet in the final corner, beat pole-winning Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon by .166 seconds and will start on the second row on Sunday.
Earnhardt Jr. led 21 laps in his first win with new crew chief Greg Ives, second only to Matt Kenseth's 32. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver dominated much of the early race but was shuffled back to 17th at the finish.
In winning what Gordon called a "dog fight" in terms of aggression and intensity, Earnhardt Jr. had a foreboding observation for the rest of the field.
"This is better than the car we had in 2004," he said of the No. 8 Chevrolet he used to win his first Daytona 500 for Dale Earnhardt Inc.
The top 15 finishers in each 60-lap, 150-mile race advance to the Daytona 500 on Sunday and are gridded in spots 3-through-32 by finishing position.
Earnhardt Jr. entered with no time trials speed and from the rear of the 25-car field as his tenth-best time was disallowed when NASCAR found the left front of his car too low in post-qualifying inspection on Sunday.
Casey Mears prompted the first caution on Lap 16 when his No. 13 Chevrolet began smoking because of an oil pan hole.
A.J. Allmendinger, a 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup qualifier, was contesting the crucial 15th-place transfer spot when a Lap 26 incident with he, Aric Almirola and Johnny Sauter brought out the second caution.
Trevor Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500-winner elicited the third caution with nine laps left when he slammed the wall after tapping Kyle Larson, surrendering the 15th spot. Allmendinger and Bayne remained in contention to qualify for the Daytona 500 on 2014 owner points.
PHOTOS: 2015 Budweiser Duel at Daytona
Michael Annett raced his way into the Daytona 500 with a 14th-place finish, but Johnny Marks and Ron Hornaday Jr. were officially eliminated from contention for 500 spots. J.J. Yeley, Michael McDowell, Landon Cassill and Cole Whitt also qualified for the big show with their finishes.
Cassill's single-car Hillman Racing could have earned a 500 spot with owner points but he seized it himself.
"For some reason, this week was harder on me pressure-wise than even last year when we didn't have any points or anything," said Cassill, who finished 12th in the 500 last year. "I think it's a little bit of the psyche of last year we came here and we had not points, we had no pedigree and nothing to lose. It was very clear what we had to accomplish and this year we had points, we had something to defend something than it is to go out and get something you don't own. And that can mess with your head."
Nationwide Series driver Ty Dillon's 16th-place finish allowed him to make the 500 on his qualifying speed.
"This just means so much to me," he said.
Defending series champion Kevin Harvick (first in owner points), Joey Logano (fourth), Brad Keselowski (fifth), Kenseth (seventh) and Jamie McMurray (speed) entered the race already assured spots in the Daytona 500 and were racing for seeding. Gordon was already guaranteed to start on the pole after posting the top time in qualifying on Sunday.
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DUEL 1 RESULTS
1. (25) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 60 laps, 128 rating, 0 points.
2. (1) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 60, 113.8, 0.
3. (10) Joey Logano, Ford, 60, 94.6, 0.
4. (15) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 60, 83.9, 0.
5. (20) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 60, 67.8, 0.
6. (14) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 60, 73, 0.
7. (3) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 60, 99.2, 0.
8. (5) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 60, 86, 0.
9. (23) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 60, 70.2, 0.
10. (22) Cole Whitt, Ford, 60, 65.9, 0.
11. (12) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 60, 84.9, 0.
12. (19) Michael McDowell, Ford, 60, 68.2, 0.
13. (11) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, 60, 46.9, 0.
14. (17) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 60, 51.8, 0.
15. (18) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 60, 49.8, 0.
16. (4) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 60, 53.8, 0.
17. (2) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 60, 108.7, 0.
18. (21) Justin Marks, Toyota, 60, 39.6, 0.
19. (9) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 60, 74.5, 0.
20. (8) Aric Almirola, Ford, 60, 47.9, 0.
21. (24) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, 60, 27.3, 0.
22. (7) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 60, 61.8, 0.
23. (13) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, accident, 27, 72.7, 0.
24. (6) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, accident, 27, 33.4, 0.
25. (16) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, engine, 17, 40, 0.
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Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 144.462 mph.
Time of Race: 1 hour, 2 minutes, 18 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.165 seconds.
Caution Flags: 3 for 13 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: M.Kenseth 1-17; T.Bayne 18; J.Gordon 19-21; J.McMurray 22; J.Gordon 23-24; M.Kenseth 25-34; D.Earnhardt Jr. 35-37; M.Kenseth 38-42; D.Earnhardt Jr. 43-60.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): M.Kenseth, 3 times for 32 laps; D.Earnhardt Jr., 2 times for 21 laps; J.Gordon, 2 times for 5 laps; J.McMurray, 1 time for 1 lap; T.Bayne, 1 time for 1 lap.
PHOTOS: History of the Daytona 500