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NASCAR Cup Daytona 500

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

The starting grid for the 2023 Daytona 500 will be set by two qualifying races – the Bluegreen Vacations Duels – on Thursday night.

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.

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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

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