Daytona 500 Duels: How they line up for today’s qualifying races

The starting order for these races was set by Wednesday’s qualifying sessions. The front row for the Daytona 500 has already been locked in, with Alex Bowman starting from the pole ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson.

They will both take part in the Duel races, however, and will bring each of the 21-car fields to the green flag for the 60-lap, 150-mile races – but where they finish will be irrelevant to their 500 starting spots on the front row.

What are the Daytona 500 Duels?

Apart from the front row, the rest of the 40-car field will be set by Thursday night's races, meaning that two cars will go home if they don’t race their way in. Duel 1 is made up of odd-numbered qualifiers (first, third, fifth, etc), while Duel 2 consists of the even-numbered participants (second, fourth, sixth, etc).

By posting the top two speeds among the six open (aka: non-chartered) cars, Jimmie Johnson and Travis Pastrana both locked themselves into the field for Sunday’s 500. But Zane Smith, Austin Hill, Chandler Smith and IndyCar star Conor Daly will battle out the remaining two spots between them.

Chandler Smith was the slowest of the drivers that made a qualifying attempt after suffering electrical trouble on track. Daly did not even get to try, as an electrical issue while warming his car’s oil system caused a line to split apart and a replacement system could not be found in time.

What are the permutations for open cars to qualify?

Zane Smith will make the Daytona 500 starting grid if he’s the top open car in his Duel, or if Johnson or Pastrana are the top open cars in their Duels.

Hill is in if he’s the top open car in his Duel, or if Johnson or Zane Smith are the top open cars in their Duels and Pastrana is first in his Duel.

Chandler Smith and Daly must be the first open cars to finish in their Duels to qualify.

How can I watch the Daytona Duels on TV?

Both qualifying races are shown live on FOX Sports 1 on Thursday evening, starting at 7pm ET. Coverage of Duel 2 will begin at 8:45pm ET.

The green flag time for Duel 1 is 7:21pm ET.

Starting Lineup for Duel 1 at Daytona

Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team
1	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports
2	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports
3	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske
4	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske
5	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing
6	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing
7	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing
8	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing Team
9	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing
10	54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing
11	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing
12	84	*Jimmie Johnson	Legacy Motor Club
13	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports
14	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club
15	36	*Zane Smith	Front Row Motorsports
16	16	AJ Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing
17	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing
18	47	Ricky Stenhouse	JTG Daugherty Racing
19	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing
20	77	Ty Dillon	Spire Motorsports
21	13	*Chandler Smith	Kaulig Racing

 

Starting Lineup for Duel 2 at Daytona

Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team
1	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports
2	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing
3	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing
4	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske
5	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing
6	99	Daniel Suarez	Trackhouse Racing Team
7	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports
8	41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing
9	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing
10	45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing
11	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing
12	67	*Travis Pastrana	23XI Racing
13	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing
14	42	Noah Gragson	Legacy Motor Club
15	31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing
16	62	*Austin Hill	Beard Motorsports
17	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports
18	78	BJ McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports
19	15	Riley Herbst	Rick Ware Racing
20	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports
21	50	*Conor Daly	The Money Team Racing

*Open, non-chartered entry