Dale Earnhardt Jr. picks up 17th career win at Daytona

“I knew how important it was to keep the lead, so I did everything I could”, Earnhardt said.

Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, AJ Allmendinger and Danica Patrick were all involved in the melee at the end of the race that saw Kyle Busch go to Victory Lane. “The Intimidator” crashed hard into the outside wall of Turn 4 during the final lap of the Daytona 500, rocking the racing world and forcing NASCAR to take an immediate and aggressive stance on better protecting drivers.

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

Driving a vehicle he believes is unbeatable, Earnhardt Jr. added to his family legacy at Daytona on the anniversary of his father’s death. “We’re up here in the 50s now”.

The 32-year-old Smith had raced the last three seasons in the Xfinity Series behind the wheel of the No. 7 auto for JR Motorsports, owned by NASCAR’s most popular driver, Earnhardt.

“I told you how much I like people remembering dad and talk about dad”, he said.

“That’s very special to me, and I was glad that nothing bad happened, we didn’t tear our vehicle up, because that would have been embarrassing on a day like this”. “I think there were some opportunities that Denny let the 88 have him, wasn’t able to put a big enough block on him or something like that to hold the lead”.

“Starting at the back, when it’s 500 miles … if you can’t get to the front in three-and-a-half, four hours”, Kenseth said, “you have an issue”.

Matt DiBenedetto was the highest finishing non-charter team in the race (ninth) and earned a starting position in Sunday’s 500.

Groundbreaking for the project began two and a half years ago, one day before the green flag flew at the 2013 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

“My ranch is located in Pilot Point, Texas”, he explained. “I’ve been on the other side too, where I’ve been loading up and going home on a Thursday night”. Josh Wise finished 17th in the Duel and also failed to qualify for the Daytona 500.

Kenseth dominated the race early until he was forced to give up the lead to Kyle Busch on Lap 24 in order to try to get a piece of debris off his grille.

Earnhardt is the first driver to win a duel race two years in a row since Gordon did it in 2006 and 2007.

Joey Logano was second while rookie Ryan Blaney finished third, followed by Kevin Harvick, Hamlin and Chase Elliott.

Can-Am Duel No. 2 will take place at 9 p.m. ET (FS1) and will set the outside line of the Daytona 500 field. Still, his Wood Brothers Racing team got him back on the lead lap and he was in position to work with Logano to make a late run at Earnhardt.

Blaney and 14th-place Michael McDowell were the two non-chartered drivers to make Sunday’s field. I feel good about it. I was asking what our strategy was here and if we needed to protect [the car], but Chad [Knaus] of course wanted me to but said, ‘Go race’.

“Once we got back to fourth, fifth, I probably should have just bailed”, said Kenseth, who was about fifth at the time of the accident.

McDowell will start on the back row in the Daytona 500, getting in on his front-row qualifying lap time.