Austin Dillon wins duel #2 at Daytona - Race Results

      

Chris O’Meara/Associated Press

     Austin Dillon won the Bluegreen Vacations duel #2 at Daytona International Speedway in the iconic Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet. Dillon brings Richard Childress Racing a win in the duels for the first time since Dale Earnhardt brought the team his 10th in 2000.

Bubba Wallace finished second in the race, after he made his first start in the No. 23 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing. Wallace found himself in the front of the pack time and time again throughout the race, showing the speed that 23XI Racing will bring in 2021.

The No. 36 of David Ragan and The No. 16 of Kaz Grala will join the No. 37 of Ryan Preece and the No. 33 of Austin Cindric from the first duel as the open cars who earned a starting position in Sunday’s Daytona 500. 

The following are the results of duel #2:

1. Austin Dillon- No. 3 
2. Bubba Wallace- No. 23
3. Kevin Harvick- No. 4
4. Kyle Busch- No. 18
5. Chase Elliott- No. 9
6. Ryan Blaney- No. 12
7. Corey LaJoie- No. 7
8. David Ragan- No. 36
9. Kurt Busch- No. 1
10. Chris Buescher- No. 17
11. Brad Keselowski- No. 2
12. Martin Truex Jr- No. 19
13. Joey Gase- No. 53
14. Kaz Grala- No. 16
15. Chase Briscoe- No. 14
16. Garrett Smithley- No. 13
17. Derrike Cope- No. 15
18. Noah Gragson- No. 62
19. William Byron- No. 24
20. Ross Chastain- No. 42
21. Anthony Alfredo- No. 38
22. BJ McLeod- No. 78 - DNF

Some drivers had a disappointing night. One of those drivers was William Byron in the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro Zl1 1LE which was near the front of the pack for most of the race, and was real competition. Unfortunately towards the end of the race Byron was collected in a crash, and his car was damaged. For this reason he finished in 19th, but will make the Daytona 500 (because a Hendrick Motorsports has a charter).

Another driver who had a pretty disappointing night was Noah Gragson in the Beard Motorsports No. 62 Chevrolet Camaro Zl1 1LE. Gragson, an Xfinity series regular, had to race his way into the Daytona 500. This was a difficult task, though he was putting up a fight, and had an opportunity to make Sunday’s race. All was going well for Gragson until he was collected in a crash late in the race. For this reason Gragson finished 18th. This situation was very similar to William Byron’s, though I would consider it more disappointing because the team was not locked into the Daytona 500, and now will not make an appearance on Sunday. This was also a sad moment considering that team owner, Mark Beard Sr., passed away two weeks ago, and his name was on the car. 

This second duel was far more chaotic than the first, but it too helps us to understand how these teams will perform in Daytona 500 and throughout the rest of the 2021 season.