You’d think maybe if you won NASCAR’s biggest race in the past you’d get some sort of free pass or something. Nope! So when the Budweiser Duels are held Thursday night to determine the starting grid for the Daytona 500, 2010 champion Jamie McMurray and 2011 winner Trevor Bayne will both have to race just like (almost) everyone else. So will 2013 pole-sitter Danica Patrick.
Daytona 500 qualifying 2014: Budweiser Duel will determine the rest of the field
Austin Dillon and Martin Truex Jr. will sit on the front row of the Daytona 500 starting grid Sunday. Two Budweiser Duel qualifying races on Thursday will help determine the where all the other drivers begin.
Robert Laberge
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Sunday’s qualifying set only the first row for the granddaddy of stock-car racing, and fittingly the No. 3 car, once driven by the great Dale Earnhardt and making its return for the first time since his death at Daytona International Speedway 13 years ago, earned the top spot. This year it’s driven by Austin Dillon, grandson of Richard Childress, Earnhardt’s former friend and car owner, who qualified first at 196.019 mph. Martin Truex Jr. earned the outside poll at 195.852.
The rest of the 43-car field will be set through a combination of the top 15 finishers in each of the two Budweiser Duel races (televised 7 p.m. on Fox Sports 1), followed by the four fastest drivers who didn’t already qualify. Seven more will make it in the field based either on owner points or having a Sprint Cup championship on their resume. Bayne and McMurray do not have any of those luxuries, nor do Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano or Kasey Kahne.
On the other hand, we already know a few drivers in the field, even if they do not finish in the top 15 of their respective duels. Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowler, Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart are in. Kurt Busch may be as well, based on being a past Sprint Cup champion.
After a big crash during practice on Wednesday, six drivers -- and possibly a seventh -- will have start at the back of their respective packs. Ryan Truex, Paul Menard, Joey Logano, Dave Blaney and Brian Vickers have already gone to backup cars. Cole Whitt’s team is trying to fix his, as of Thursday night. Patrick, Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte will also start at the back of the packs due to unapproved engine changes.
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