Hamlin tries to win 1st NASCAR title with new crew chief

Moments before the green flag, thinking about my annual go-to Duels strategy of hanging out with the pacing, panicked bubble teams during the second race, I turned to my editor and said, “This will be a breeze tonight, won’t it?”

Blaney, who was the top qualifying non-charter auto this past Sunday, raced his way in with a third-place finish after battling back from a loose left-rear wheel.

It seems like they’ve has a million different names over the past years and they have moved from afternoon races to under the lights.

“We can’t wait to see the Doobie Brothers’ energetic performance at the Food City 500 pre-race concert”, said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager for Bristol Motor Speedway. “I can’t tell you what it means to make the Daytona 500”.

“I was daydreaming a little bit”, Earnhardt Jr. said.

Kyle Busch won the second qualifying race Thursday night for the Daytona 500, but several contenders wrecked their prized cars in a last-lap accident. Know if we can get through these Duels, we can start on the front row regardless, that’s important. We had a really fast racecar.

Hamlin won last week’s exhibition race, but his Toyota didn’t have the help Hamlin needed when Earnhardt was ready to make a pass for the win.

With Blaney finishing third, Michael McDowell came home 14th and was able to lock himself into the 58th running of “The Great American Race” based on his qualifying time. The block led to Whitt spinning and bringing out the only caution of the race. The Hendrick Motorsports star is not one of the top Daytona performers, but he’ll be looking for a good finish in the Can-Am Duel so he can start up front in Sunday’s Daytona 500. Both cars spun, and Waltrip hit the outside wall.

But McMurray made contact with Jimmie Johnson to trigger a multi-car crash that before it ended swept up Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, Danica Patrick and AJ Allmendinger.

And even when the cars don’t roll over, going for a ride at 140 or 150 miles per hour in grass often leads to major damage that would likely be minimized on asphalt or concrete.

Busch was trying to hold off Jamie McMurray on the final lap and briefly blocked him. Two more cars made the field during Sunday time trials, leaving only two spots to be decided on Thursday night – one in each race.

Busch celebrated in Victory Lane for the first time since winning last year’s Sprint Cup championship. He was fifth in the points and headed to a track where he owns a record 10 wins.

Robert Richardson raced his way into the Daytona 500 grabbing the final available spot for open teams.