Daytona Speedweeks continued Thursday night with Joey Logano and Aric Almirola winning the Bluegreen Vacations Duels.
Daytona Speedweeks 2023 started on Wednesday night with single-car qualifying for the Daytona 500. Alex Bowman earned the pole and his Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson joined him on the front row. On Thursday, the remainder of the field for the Great American Race was determined by the Bluegreen Vacations Duels.
Joey Logano easily emerged victorious in Duel 1 before Aric Almirola made a last-lap pass on Todd Gilliland to win Duel 2. Although the races do not count for much outside of qualifying, it did give some insight into what cars to look out for on Sunday.
1. Ford flexes their muscle
As has become commonplace at the Daytona 500, the Ford camp appears to be the manufacturer to beat. They have won four of the last eight Daytona 500s, including the last two in 2021 (Michael McDowell) and 2022 (Austin Cindric). They have routinely had most of their cars in the front and this continued in both Duels on Thursday.
Joey Logano led 29 of the 60 laps in Duel 1 and held off a late charge from runner-up Christopher Bell to earn the win. Seven of the drivers to finish in the top ten also drove for Ford, including Ryan Blaney (3rd), Chris Buescher (4th), and McDowell (5th).
They were not as dominant in Duel 2, but Aric Almirola was still able to earn the victory for the Blue Ovals. Austin Cindric (2nd), Brad Keselowski (4th), and Todd Gilliland (7th) each showed speed as well. The manufacturer group was dominant at the Duels and they will likely once again be the teams to beat on Sunday.
2. Can Chevy finally return to Daytona glory?
With legendary drivers like Dale Earnhardt Sr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson each recording memorable wins in the Daytona 500, it may be shocking to learn that Chevy has fallen on hard times in NASCAR’s biggest race.
They have not won since Austin Dillon’s victory in 2018. They have also only recorded a total of four victories since 2010. Aside from Dillon, the other wins were by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014, Jimmie Johnson in 2013, and Jamie McMurray in 2010.
Could 2023 be the year Chevy finally returns to victory lane? It might be after Thursday night. Despite a lackluster Duel 1, the Bowties showed significant speed in Duel 2. Kyle Busch dominated before getting spun by Daniel Suarez (who was also fast) while leading. Chase Elliott (3rd) and Corey LaJoie (5th) were near the front all night long as well.
Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson will also start on the front row for Chevy. They will need to spend these next few days trying to catch up to Ford, but they have the potential to return to their previous glory this Sunday.
3. Kyle Busch wrecked by Daniel Suarez
Busch and Suarez appeared to be headed to great finishes in Duel 2 with under 20 laps to go. The pair moved their way through the field and took control of the race. Busch looked to start his stint with Richard Childress Racing on a good note, while Suarez wanted to legitimatize the contract extension Trackhouse Racing gave him on Thursday. Unfortunately, disaster soon struck for the duo.
Suarez was aggressively pushing Busch for laps on end. Despite it only being a qualifying race, Suarez was not relenting. Busch held on for as long as he could, but it eventually became too much. Suarez got loose and hit Busch’s bumper unevenly, sending the #8 into the wall. Busch spun out and his car was junked.
Busch kept things mostly positive in his post-race interview but noted how his now-wrecked car was capable of winning the Daytona 500. The #8 team has a lot of work to do these next few days to get a new car ready for Sunday.
Suarez’s car survived the carnage. However, pit road issues cost him a solid finish.
4. Pastrana, Johnson amongst those to earn a spot in the Great American Race
The 2023 Daytona 500 will feature the return of some notable motorsports champions to NASCAR. During qualifying on Wednesday, the two fastest Open cars would clinch a spot in the Great American Race. These spots were secured by Motocross champion Travis Pastrana and seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson.
This will be Pastrana’s first career Daytona 500, a bucket list achievement for the legend. He is driving the #67 for 23XI Racing. Pastrana briefly drove parts of three seasons in the Xfinity Series from 2011 to 2013 and has made a series of spot starts in the Truck Series, most recently in 2020. Pastrana’s NASCAR career has not been very notable, but hopefully, he can leave his mark on Sunday.
For Johnson, Sunday’s race will be his first in NASCAR since 2020, when he retired from the sport to begin racing IndyCar. The two-time Daytona 500 winner is making his debut in the #84 for Legacy Motor Club, the team that he now co-owns. With it being his first race in the NextGen car, expectations are low for Johnson. However, the legend can never be truly counted out.
At the Duels on Thursday, Zane Smith earned a spot in Duel 1 and Conor Daly got the final spot in the big race during Duel 2. Each is making their Daytona 500 debuts, with Smith driving the #36 for Front Row Motorsports and Daly driving the #50 for The Money Team Racing.
Unfortunately, Chandler Smith and Austin Hill were the two drivers that failed to qualify for Sunday’s race based on the results from the Duels.
5. Bowman, Suarez, and Chastain earn contract extensions
It happened off the track, but the biggest news to come out of Speedweeks so far is contract extensions to three top drivers in the Cup Series. Alex Bowman announced an extension with Hendrick Motorsports on Wednesday, before winning the pole for the Daytona 500 later that night. The contract, which included a continued partnership with Ally, will keep Bowman behind the wheel of the #48 until 2026.
Also on Wednesday, Trackhouse Racing announced they were extending Daniel Suarez. They then followed by extending Ross Chastain on Thursday. Both contracts were said to be multi-year agreements, but official terms were not released for either deal.
Each of these announcements is huge for the future of NASCAR for numerous reasons. 2023 was viewed as a make-or-break year for Suarez and Bowman. If they did not take a step up in performance, there was lots of speculation on if either of them would return to their respective rides in 2024. Now, they enter the new season with security with their teams.
After a runner-up finish in points last season, there were some that felt Chastain could potentially move to a bigger team after this season. However, he will now continue to grow his position in the sport as Trackhouse continues to establish itself as an elite team.
Another major consequence of these moves is it dries up the free agent class for next offseason. All three drivers’ contracts were set to expire after 2023. For teams interested in signing any of these three or for other drivers hoping to steal their rides, they will now have to look elsewhere.
