Kurt Busch won the first of two Gatorade Duels today as he held off Regan Smith at the finish line, remaining perfect so far in Daytona Speedweeks.
2011 Gatorade Duel At Daytona: Kurt Busch Wins First Race
Busch was leading Smith on a green-white-checkered finish, and Smith looked to dart out and pass Busch at the last second. But Busch anticipated the move and sent Smith down to the yellow line, staying ahead of Busch for his second Daytona victory in less than a week (Busch also won Saturday night’s Bud Shootout).
The celebration was also on for JJ Yeley – who earned one of the two transfer spots – and Michael Waltrip, who didn’t race but made the Daytona 500 field when Bill Elliott took the other transfer spot (yes, it’s complicated).
Because Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drop to the back at the start of the Daytona 500, Kurt Busch will have the inside line and will become the starter for the race.
Here are the results for the first Gatorade Duel, which set the bottom lane for the race:
- Kurt Busch
- Regan Smith
- Kevin Harvick
- Matt Kenseth
- Kasey Kahne
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- AJ Allmendinger
- Mark Martin
- Paul Menard
- Ryan Newman
- Jimmie Johnson
- Tony Stewart
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Brian Vickers
- Bill Elliott
- Bobby Labonte
- JJ Yeley
- Kevin Conway
- Joe Nemechek
- Dave Blaney
- Marcos Ambrose
- Andy Lally
- Michael McDowell
- David Gilliland
– Names in BOLD were trying to make Daytona 500 field via transfer spot
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