For the second straight year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took his #88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS to victory in the first of two Can-Am Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500 on Thursday evening. This is Earnhardt's fifth career Duel victory, a record among active drivers. Earnhardt's father Dale Sr., whose 15th death anniversary fell on Thursday, won a record ten straight Duels from 1990 through 1999. Dale Jr. used a few moments of his victory lane time to pay tribute to his father, adding that it felt special to win on the anniversary of that somber day. He is considered a favorite to win this year's Daytona 500, a victory which would be his third in the Great American Race, thanks to his 2016 restrictor plate car "Amelia".
The second Duel race was won by Kyle Busch. On the final lap, a crash took out Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr. and outside polesitter Matt Kenseth, whose #20 Toyota was to have shared Sunday's front row with the #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet of rookie Chase Elliott (#24). Kenseth and his crew brought out their backup Toyota and will have to start from the rear of Sunday's Daytona 500 field, meaning they have major ground to make up in Kenseth's quest for a third Harley J. Earl Trophy. Kenseth, his Joe Gibbs teammates and new Toyota recruit Truex are believed to have some of this year's fastest cars in Speedweeks.
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