Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne won Thursday’s Gatorade Duel qualifying races by the slimmest of margins at Daytona International Speedway, while Max Papis, Michael McDowell, Mike Bliss and Scott Speed raced their way into the Daytona 500.
Johnson won the first event in one of the closest finishes ever at Daytona. The four-time defending Cup champion had to start from the rear of the field after he wrecked in Wednesday’s practice and had to rely on a backup car. Johnson grabbed the lead when he opted not to pit during the final round of pit stop following Waltrip’s crash. With old tires, he held off Kevin Harvick by 0.005 seconds for his first Daytona victory this week.
“I don’t think today’s racing and even Sunday’s racing does much to influence the season and what’s to come,” said Johnson, who will start third. “This weekend, everybody wants this big prize and everybody wants to win the Daytona 500. I think we sent a message today.”
Harvick finished second, while Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer and Regan Smith completed the top-five. Papis and McDowell gained the first two transfer spots in race one. MiamiHerald.com
By virtue of his finish, Johnson will start from the third position in Sunday’s race, with Kahne beside him in the fourth position on the grid. Harvick nailed down the fifth starting spot with his runner-up finish, and Stewart will take the green flag in sixth position.
Pole-sitter Mark Martin (21st in Duel ) and second-place starter Dale Earnhardt Jr. (21st in Duel 2, after damaging the body of his car) claimed their positions on the grid in this past Saturday’s time trials.
For Johnson, the four-time defending Cup champion, fighting to hold the lead on old tires was an adventure. Even as he took the checkered flag at the end of a four-lap, green-flag run to the finish, Johnson wasn’t sure the race was over.
“Really didn’t know how many laps we had left,” Johnson said, speaking in staccato sentences. “I was hopeful it was going to be done soon. My spotter wasn’t really sure. As I went by the start/finish line sideways, I looked up and hoped that it was the checkered, because I felt like I was going to spin out. I stayed on the gas, saved it. Everybody else let off around me. I knew the race was over. NASCAR.com
Mike Bliss and Scott Speed transferred into the Daytona 500 from the second race. Michael Waltrip, Bobby Labonte, Bill Elliott and Joe Nemechek got into the race based on their qualifying times.
Waltrip spent a harrowing hour and a half after wrecking out of the first duel. His qualifying time in Saturday’s time trials wasn’t fast enough to get him into Sunday’s race unassisted.
Expecting this to be his final Daytona 500, the two-time Daytona 500 winner nervously rooted for Speed and Labonte to race their way into Sunday’s show. He needed one of the two drivers to do so, or he wouldn’t qualify.
Speed’s 14th-place finish saved Waltrip. In appreciation, Waltrip hugged Speed as the two crossed paths off the stage in the media center.
“I’m glad I was able to get him in that race,” Speed said. “The big man back there deserves to be in it.” Los Angeles Times
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