No driver has ever won the Sprint Unlimited, a qualifying race and the Daytona 500 in a single season. But thanks to a victory in the first Budweiser Duel, which follows his dominating win in the Unlimited earlier in the week, Kevin Harvick will attempt to become the first driver to complete the Daytona Speedweeks sweep.
Budweiser Duel 2013 results: Kevin Harvick wins first duel, favorite to win Daytona 500
After sliding back early on, Harvick begin picking his way through the field as Trevor Bayne asserted himself early on as the driver to beat.
But a pass of Bayne on Lap 37 gave Harvick a lead he would not relinquish in the 60-lap event and just as he did five days before, Harvick held off Greg Biffle to claim his second Daytona win in five days.
“Obviously at the beginning of the race, got ourselves stuck in the middle trying to make something happen,” Harvick said post-race. “Hadn’t been in that particular position before to see what was going to happen. Didn’t have a lot of help. Just one car in front of us. Kind of fell to the back.
“They got single file. I think there were four or five cars started coming on the bottom. I thought we needed to at least try to make something happen. We were able to side draft and break them up one or two at a time.”
The win, Harvick’s first ever in a Daytona qualifying race, will place him third on the grid for the “Great American Race” -- in prime position to claim his second victory in the Daytona 500.
Daytona 500 pole-sitter Danica Patrick finished 17th.
Bayne, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Regan Smith were all involved in a multi-car wreck with seven laps to go.
The complete finishing order of Budweiser Duel No. 1 is below:
1) Kevin Harvick
2) Greg Biffle
3) Juan Pablo Montoya
4) Jimmie Johnson
5) Kurt Busch
6) Tony Stewart
7) Brad Keselowski
8) Casey Mears
9) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
10) Joey Logano
11) Bobby Labonte
12) David Gilliland
13) Joe Nemechek
14) Michael Waltrip
15) Scott Speed
16) David Reutimann
17) Danica Patrick
18) Regan Smith
19) Martin Truex Jr.
20) Denny Hamlin
21) Brian Keselowski
22) Carl Edwards
23) Trevor Bayne
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