Thursday’s America 250 Duels at Daytona International Speedway set the line up for the 2026 Daytona 500 this Sunday. The two intense qualifying races also gave ‘open’ drivers one last chance to earn a spot in the 41-car Daytona 500 field.
Joey Logano and Chase Elliott won the Duel races, and after a final-lap crash. A surprise post race disqualification also reshuffled the entry list to the iconic season NASCAR Cup series opening event. Here are the winners and losers from 2026 America 250 Duels at Daytona.
Winners From the Duels
Logano and Elliott were the main winners in the Duel races Thursday night. Logano took Duel 1 in overtime and will start third in Sunday’s Daytona 500. His aggressive push late in the race kept him ahead of Ryan Blaney and others at the finish.
Meanwhile, Elliott won Duel 2 in a clean, caution free race. He led the final laps and crossed the line ahead of a strong pack that included Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson. Elliott’s third career Duel win puts him in a strong starting spot for the Great American Race.
Casey Mears capitalized on chaos in Duel 1 and finished eighth after avoiding a late crash that collected several competitors, to secure one of the open car spots in the Daytona 500 field. B.J. McLeod also finished 19th in Duel 2 and was awarded a Daytona 500 transfer spot after Anthony Alfredo’s result was disallowed in tech inspection. The veteran driver will make his sixth start in the race.
Losers From the Duels
Corey LaJoie, who drove RFK Racing’s open entry RFK Racing’s open entry, had a rough day. He ran near the front for much of Duel 1 but spun on the final lap and was involved in the crash that ended his chances of advancing to the Daytona 500 and failed to qualify. RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher was also caught up in the restart chaos and will start Daytona 500 from the last spot.
Beard Motorsports’ Anthony Alfredo had appeared to get a 500 starting spot after finishing 18th in Duel 2. But post-race inspection found a rules violation in his car, and NASCAR disallowed his finish. Chandler Smith and JJ Yeley came up short in the 2026 America 250 Duels at Daytona and will not race Sunday.
Meanwhile, William Byron, who won the past two Daytona 500s, also found himself shuffled down the starting order and will need a strong run from farther back on the grid.
The 68th Daytona 500 is set to start at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, with live coverage on FOX and radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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