Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin both made strong statements at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday night.
If you want to win Sunday’s Daytona 500, you’ll have to contend with them.
Elliott scored the win in the first Can-Am Duel qualifying race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, while Hamlin took the win in the second race.
The races serve to set the field for Sunday’s running of the Great American Race, and gives a glimpse into what could play out in the 500.
For Elliott, it meant his first ever win in a Cup Series car, and it backs up last Sunday’s pole run for the Dawsonville, Georgia racer.
Elliott said afterwards that he feels like he and his team have a shot at a Daytona 500 victory.
“I mean, if I didn’t feel that way, like I always say, I’d stay home,” he said. “I feel like we have a shot on Sunday. I feel like we had a shot before we got down here. Tonight’s result hasn’t changed my opinion on that. I’m looking forward to it obviously. You love to get that qualifying spot on Sunday, but we really earned it tonight, to start on the front row, which is even better.
“Just a great way to start the season. Cool for our team. We’re excited for Sunday and getting the season going.”
After falling back early in the race, Elliott would move back towards the front of the pack as the 60-lap race reached the lap 25 competition caution.
Elliott would restart the race from fourth, and would move to third as the pack came back up to speed.
On lap 37, he would use a strong outside move to move to second, and then used a side draft to move past leader Brad Keselowski to take the top spot.
From there, Elliott would hold off all challengers to score the win.
Jamie McMurray finished in second, with Kevin Harvick in third, Brad Keselowski in fourth and Matt Kenseth in fifth.
Meanwhile, the fight to race into the Daytona 500 for a pair of unchartered teams came down to contact between Corey LaJoie and Reed Sorenson.
With 12 laps to go, Sorenson’s car spun coming out of the tri-oval after contact from behind from LaJoie, who appeared to have a run, but nowhere to go.
Sorenson first tagged the Chevy of Paul Menard before making hard contact with the inside wall. The Peachtree City, Georgia driver’s was uninjured, but night was over.
The bad luck for Sorenson was a turn of good fortune for LaJoie, as he was locked into Sunday’s race.
“Every kid in a race car dreams of racing in a Daytona 500 and I get to do that on Sunday,” LaJoie said. “I really do feel bad about Reed (Sorenson). I just tried to fill a hole and it was getting down to it and I probably did have position on him but man when I’m trying to get into the Daytona 500 if my mom was in that spot I’d probably wreck her too. I’m racing on Sunday.”
In the second race, Hamlin, the defending Daytona 500 winner, powered past leader Dale Earnhardt, Jr. coming to the white flag, and went on to hold off Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch to the checkered flag.
“We definitely had a strong car, but so much of that race was single file and so it was really tough to show what we could do in the pack once we got two and three wide, but it looked like our car could make some really good moves and got a great push from the 3 (Austin Dillon) there at the end,” said Hamlin. “It looked like our cars worked really, really well together there so we’ll keep that in mind when I need somebody to draft with in the 500.”
Hamlin had to come back from a pit road penalty during the lap 25 competition caution to move back into contention for the victory.
While making his pit stop, Hamlin passed through too many pit boxes on pit road. He would have to start at the back of the field.
Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who will start Sunday’s Daytona 500 from the outside of the front row, moved to the lead on lap five, and would stay there through most of the 60-lap race.
Hamlin had raced his way back to second with eight laps to go, and began working to close on Earnhardt, Jr. With two laps to go, Hamlin made a move on the outside of the two-time Daytona 500 winner on the backstretch, with Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch in tow.
On the final lap, Hamlin was able to get away while Busch and Clint Bowyer tried to work into position to mount a charge.
Hamlin took the checkered flag first, followed by Bowyer and Busch.
A.J. Allmendinger and Austin Dillon rounded out the top five.
Earnhardt, Jr. finished in sixth, and said he didn’t know what he could have done differently against Hamlin.
“Once I heard the No. 3 (Austin Dillon) was clear on the outside, I knew they was going to have a big run. Denny (Hamlin) is so smart and he knows what he’s doing out there. He’s one of the better plate racers out there. Any which way I would have went, he was going to go the other way and probably get by me.”
Meanwhile, the unchartered teams’ fight to race in the Daytona 500 was decided by a last lap pass, as D.J. Kennington slipped past Elliott Sadler, who was locked into the 500 on his qualifying time, coming to the finish line to lock himself into Sunday’s race.
“It’s a huge moment for us,” said Kennington. “Marty Gaunt, Gaunt Brothers Racing, Toyota, everybody that has helped us get here today, I don’t even know how to explain it. I feel like I won the Daytona 500. The 7 (Sadler) car there, it was locked in on time. I thought he was going to be a little more cautious than that. But we had to race him right to the line and I wouldn’t want it any other way. That was awesome.”
While Earnhardt, Jr. stormed away with the lead early on, it was a sophomore driver that had a lot of people’s attention.
Ryan Blaney, driving the legendary Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford, made bold moves, seeming to be able to pull out on his own and plant his car wherever he wanted to as he moved through the top five.
Time and again, Blaney would mount a charge on Earnhardt, Jr., only to see his run taken away by a defensive move by the leader.
Blaney appeared to have a car to contend with, but his run came to a premature end when contact between David Ragan and Jimmie Johnson sent Johnson’s Chevy into Blaney’s Ford with 17 laps left to go. The contact left Blaney with a cut tire, sending him to the pits for repairs.
Blaney said he felt the night was going good until the contact.
“It just stinks to kind of be in that spot at the wrong time there, but I thought everyone did a good job of getting our car fast,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to fix it. We’ll have to come from the back in the 500, but I think we have the speed to get up there.”
Three laps later, Johnson tagged the wall with a cut tire from the contact, bringing out the caution.
Johnson would finish in 13th, while Blaney came home in 20th.
For the first time since 1971, the races has more on the line than a trophy or a good starting spot in the Daytona 500, as both qualifying races paid out championship points.
Reed Sorenson and Timmy Hill failed to make Sunday’s starting field.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL
Can-Am Duel at Daytona – February 23, 2017
Race One
1. (1) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 60.
2. (12) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 60.
3. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 60.
4. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 60.
5. (5) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 60.
6. (10) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 60.
7. (3) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 60.
8. (13) Aric Almirola, Ford, 60.
9. (9) Joey Logano, Ford, 60.
10. (18) Cole Whitt, Ford, 60.
11. (8) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 60.
12. (6) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 60.
13. (7) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 60.
14. (15) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 60.
15. (14) Landon Cassill, Ford, 60.
16. (16) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 60.
17. (20) Joey Gase(i), Toyota, 60.
18. (21) * Corey LaJoie, Toyota, 60.
19. (17) * Brendan Gaughan(i), Chevrolet, 60.
20. (11) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 59.
21. (19) * Reed Sorenson, Toyota, Accident, 48.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 160.095 mph.
Time of Race: 0 Hrs, 56 Mins, 13 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.156 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 2 for 7 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Elliott 1; B. Keselowski 2-11; Kyle Busch 12; B. Keselowski 13-24; Kyle Busch 25-30; B. Keselowski 31-36; C. Elliott 37-60.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): B. Keselowski 3 times for 28 laps; C. Elliott 2 times for 25 laps; Kyle Busch 2 times for 7 laps.
Race Two
1. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 60.
2. (2) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 60.
3. (11) Kurt Busch, Ford, 60.
4. (14) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 60.
5. (13) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 60.
6. (1) Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevrolet, 60.
7. (12) Danica Patrick, Ford, 60.
8. (5) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 60.
9. (8) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 60.
10. (6) Ty Dillon #, Chevrolet, 60.
11. (16) David Ragan, Ford, 60.
12. (15) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 60.
13. (7) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 60.
14. (4) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 60.
15. (19) * D.J. Kennington, Toyota, 60.
16. (18) * Elliott Sadler(i), Chevrolet, 60.
17. (17) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 60.
18. (20) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 60.
19. (10) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 59.
20. (9) Ryan Blaney, Ford, Accident, 55.
21. (21) * Timmy Hill(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 29.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 156.977 mph.
Time of Race: 0 Hrs, 57 Mins, 20 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.214 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 2 for 8 laps.
Lead Changes: 5 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Earnhardt Jr. 1-2; D. Hamlin 3-4; D. Earnhardt Jr. 5-27; R. Blaney 28-30; D. Earnhardt Jr. 31-58; D. Hamlin 59-60.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): D. Earnhardt Jr. 3 times for 53 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 4 laps; R. Blaney 1 time for 3 laps.
