Can-Am Duels 2018: Time and TV schedule for Daytona 500 qualifying

The twin qualifying races held the Thursday before Sunday’s Daytona 500 were once one the most dramatic portions of Speedweeks.

With a robust entry list often exceeding 50-plus cars, many drivers knew their only hope of earning a spot in NASCAR’s biggest race was by being aggressive in the Duel qualifiers. When you combined desperation with the opportunity get into the Daytona 500, the byproduct was frequent hairy moments on the track that made the Can-Am Duels one of the can’t-miss events of the season.

The level of desperation that has become the trademark of Duels won’t be as pronounced Thursday night when the first green flag waves at 7 p.m. ET, which can be seen on Fox Sports 1 or streamed on Fox Sports Go. With a lower entry list than in years past (only 40 cars), every driver entered is assured a spot in the Daytona 500 starting lineup on Sunday regardless of where they finish in their Duel.

That, however, doesn’t mean the qualifying races won’t be entertaining; it’s just that the focus will not be on those frantically trying make the Daytona 500. Instead, with championship points on the line and a rules package that has made cars jittering when running in a pack, the typical drama will occur in a different form.

“You want to win,” Kevin Harvick said. “That’s the first goal. The second goal is to gather as many points as you can to push forward into getting the season started in a good direction. You gain the most points by winning the race.

“When you start handing out points for a qualifying race, it doesn’t matter how many cars are in the race. They want to finish as high as they can.”

The balance between racing hard for points that can carry significance later in the season and drivers not putting themselves in a position that could cause damage to their primary car is delicate. Points matter, yet so too does winning the Daytona 500.

That fine line is something 2016 Daytona winner Denny Hamlin is acutely aware of and will remind himself throughout his Duel. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver posted the second-fastest speed in Daytona 500 qualifying last weekend and will start Duel No. 2 on the pole. Alex Bowman, the Daytona 500 pole-sitter, will lead the field to the green in the first qualifying race.

“We won last year in the Duel, and we got 10 points,” Hamlin said. “It’s good to start the year with 10 points before the 500 even starts. I have to try to win the race, but if I find myself in a tough spot in the middle three-wide with three to go, I’ve got to try to get out of it. It’s not worth five points getting in a wreck and taking away our best car.”

And then those like two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson, who says his first priority is getting through the Duels unscathed. And if that means leaving a few points on the table, so be it.

“I think you worry less about that just because of the environment,” Johnson said. “It’s not top of mind right now. It’s more about having a good race car for the 500. So we’ll be smart, for sure.”