It’s duel time in Daytona! We will have two separate sixty-lap heat races brought to you by Bluegreen Vacation rentals tonight. Each race has twenty-one entries, and the finishing order will be what determines the starting lineup for Sunday’s Daytona 500. The finishing order of duel one will determine the odd-numbered starting positions and duel two decides the even-numbered starting positions. So, let’s go over a few things for both duels to watch for this evening.
Duel Number One
Alright, so “front row” Alex Bowman and his teammate William Byron will lead this duel to the green flag. I wouldn’t expect to see Bowman stay up there for very long. Mainly because if something was to happen to that fast race car then he would be forced to vacate the front-row starting position. He’ll probably ride around for a few laps in the pack to get a feel for his car in the draft then quickly fall back out of the way of any possible disaster.
As for the rest of the field you better keep an eye on the drivers who start third through seventh. They all drive Fords and two of them are Penske drivers. The Penske camp has been historically good in these drafting races. Plus ya know the competitive advantage of being lined up nose to tail for those Ford drivers will inevitably help them move to the front quickly.
Now as for the Ford drivers they’ve got one open driver in this race. Your current and reigning Craftsman Truck Series Champion Zane Smith. He will be competing against the third entry for Kaulig Racing which is being fielded by Chandler Smith. Chandler didn’t get to even attempt to run a qualifying lap last night due to mechanical issues. So, it will be interesting to see how what he does during duel time in Daytona. Honestly don’t have a prediction for which driver makes it, but I will be watching.
Duel Number Two
Both of these duel lineups are pretty even manufacturer wise. However the Chevrolet camp probably has the better over all lineup in this duel. With the other two Hendrick cars, as well as the new driver of the number eight: Kyle Busch. Now honestly that doesn’t make a difference in either race, and I’ll tell you why. The draft, it decides all you have to know when you pull out of line, but also know when to stay put. So, that’s why I’m a little more app to take one of those Chevrolet drivers if I do have to choose one minus maybe Kyle Larson. That will depend on how much they value that second starting position though.
Your open drivers in this race are Austin Hill, who won the Xfinity Daytona race last season, and Indycar regular Conor Daly. Conor is attempting to make his cup series debut so he will be hungry a lot like his competitor in the first duel Chandler Smith. Both Smith and Daly were unable to make qualifying runs because of mechanical issues. Which makes duel time in Daytona that much more pressure filled.
Let’s Wrap Up Duel Time In Daytona
I guess this is the point where a race analyst gives you his picks for the races tonight right? Maybe even throws some “open” car predictions out into the world? I can’t deny the people what they want I guess. Duel number one will end with Ryan Blaney crossing the line first. Easily could see his teammate Logano here as well. Now as for your open car competition, I’m going to go with the reigning truck series champion Zane Smith. He has a teammate in the race as well as a ton of really good Ford partners. If he stays with them I don’t know if Chandler Smith will be able to keep up during duel time in Daytona.
Now duel number two is where it might get a little tricky to choose a winner. The field is stacked with good drafting drivers. Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Corey Lajoie and a few more all are fighting for the win. You can’t pick them all right? So, ultimately I’m going to go with Chase Elliott, I’m going this way because I think his team wants to prove they aren’t the slowest Hendrick car. Don’t be surprised though if anyone in this field pulls into victory lane, tons of super speedway experience and wins in this duel. Experience will reign supreme though for duel number two’s open drivers and Austin Hill will get Beard Motorsports into another Daytona 500!
The first Bluegreen Vacation duel has an estimated green flag drop time around 7 PM eastern. These duels aren’t typically the wreck fest some fans are used to seeing at Daytona. It will be a great show either way because its NASCAR racing is back finally!
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