Almirola wins duel #1 at Daytona - Race Results

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     Duel #1 at Daytona International Speedway has concluded, with Aric Almirola winning in the Stewart-Hass Racing No. 10 Ford Mustang. The No. 20 of Christopher Bell finished second, after a very strong strong race, where we saw him consistently towards the front of the pack. 

The No. 37 of Ryan Preece was the fastest open car in the race, and because of that, he earned a spot in Sunday’s Daytona 500. Austin Cindric also earned himself a spot in the Daytona 500 based on his qualifying speed (last night). Ty Dillon in No. 96 finished 6th, just behind the No. 37 of Preece, but unfortunately was not quite fast enough, and will not be starting in the “Great American Race”. 

The following are the results of duel #1: 

1. Aric Almirola- No. 10
2. Christopher Bell- No. 20
3. Ryan Newman- No. 6
4. Joey Logano-No. 22
5. Ryan Preece- No. 37
6. Ty Dillon- No. 96
7. Kyle Larson- No. 5
8. Daniel Suarez- No. 99
9. Michael McDowell- No. 34
10. Jamie McMurray- No. 77
11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr- No. 47
12. Matt DiBenedetto- No. 21
13. Denny Hamlin- No. 11
14. Cole Custer- No. 41
15. Tyler Reddick- No. 8
16. Austin Cindric- No. 33
17. Erik Jones- No. 43
18. Quin Houff- No. 00
19. Timmy Hill- No. 66
20. Alex Bowman- No. 48
21. Cody Ware- No. 51 
22. Josh Bilicki- No. 52- DNF

Other drivers had a great night, but just didn’t cut it.  One of those drivers is Daniel Suárez in the brand new  Trackhouse Racing No. 99. Suárez was very fast tonight and for a moment even found himself leading the race.  Unfortunately he wasn’t able keep this lead and at end of lap 60 finished 8th, which is very good for a new team, but definitely not a win. 

Some drivers had a disappointing night, not performing quite like they hoped. One of these drivers was Alex Bowman in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48. Bowman started the race out pretty well, on the pole, but began to slowly lose track position. On lap 31 Bowman went to the pits reporting engine issues, and went two laps down, though still reporting vibrations. Bowman finished 20th, which is definitely disappointing considering the speed he had. 

A driver who had an ok night was Tyler Reddick in the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro Zl1 1LE. Reddick consistently ran in the middle of the pack, though from time to time found himself near the front and the back. The No. 8 showed some decent speed and finished an okay 15th. 

While tame, this race was a very good opportunity to see the speed that old and new teams alike will bring to the track this year. Now to see how duel #2 goes!