February 13, 2025 | By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric win Daytona Duels

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — With a push from teammate Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace surged ahead of 2024 DAYTONA 500 winner William Byron to win Thursday night’s first Duel at Daytona 150-mile qualifying race and earn the third starting position for the Sunday’s 67th running of the Great American Race (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Driving the No. 23XI Racing Toyota, Wallace edged Byron by 0.082 seconds, as intense drama unfolded behind the two frontrunners.

With a determined charge over the final two laps, Justin Allgaier finished highest among the unchartered cars in the first Duel, ensuring that a JR Motorsports Chevrolet would compete in a NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time in company history.

With a massive wreck littering the asphalt behind them, polesitter Austin Cindric edged Erik Jones for the victory in the second Duel. Though Jones was first to the finish line, Cindric held a lead by inches when the caution lights illuminated as the cars approached the stripe.

In an unchartered No. 01 Rick Ware Racing Ford, Corey LaJoie raced his way into the DAYTONA 500 with a sixth-place finish in Duel 2.

“Thanks to Tyler (Reddick),” Wallace said after the first Duel. “That was awesome to see two team cars work together that well and learn a lot for Sunday. Did a great job pushing me. Our McDonald’s Toyota Camry was really fast. Two different balances from being in the pack to being out front. Have some work to do there.

“I’ve wanted one of these Duel wins for so long. All my buddies got one. Tyler got one last year. I was pissed off. I got one now. I’m good.”

With the unchartered car of J.J. Yeley boxed in on the bottom, Allgaier made a three-wide move to the top on the next-to-last lap and surged forward to earn the transfer spot into the DAYTONA 500.

With a ninth-place finish to Yeley’s 17th, Allgaier earned the 17th starting position in Sunday’s race.

“He got up to the top on that last lap, and I didn’t think that was possible, but he got to the top and made it work,” said team co-owner and two-time DAYTONA 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who couldn’t hide his elation at making the race for the first time as a car owner.

“This was rough emotionally, but damn it, it worked out.”

“This means a lot to our team, this little team of JR Motorsports,” Allgaier added. “Dale Jr. is an amazing race car driver. He’s an amazing dad, car owner. You can tell how much he wanted this and our whole shop wanted this.”

A wild multicar wreck on Lap 14 eliminated the unchartered cars of Chandler Smith and Helio Castroneves in the first Duel. Smith was running third but moved down the track into the Chevrolet of Justin Haley, triggering a crash that damaged eight cars.

Smith’s Ford shot up into the outside wall, as did Castroneves’ Chevrolet. Out of control, Castroneves’ car bounced on the apron before climbing the track into the wall a second time.

“I got hit and ended up hitting the wall in Turn 2 pretty hard and broke a toe link,” said Castroneves, who nevertheless will start Sunday’s race on an open exemption provisional.

“It’s disappointing because the No. 91 Wendy’s Chevrolet was really good. The boys on the PROJECT91 team did an amazing job. They have a little bit of work to do, unfortunately. It wasn’t the night that we wanted, but we’ll take the provisional. So many people have been talking about it, but we will take it, and we will learn more for the race.”

At the end of the second Duel, Cindric had to wait until NASCAR reviewed the finish and confirmed him as the winner. With Cindric taking the checkered flag, Jones will start fourth on Sunday.

“I honestly thought I got him, but I wasn’t going to sit there and argue about anything,” said Cindric, who locked himself into the second starting position for the DAYTONA 500 during Wednesday night’s time trials. “But, yeah, it’s awesome. Glad to put on a great show for the fans here.”

Without a full-time ride in 2025, LaJoie underscored the significance of the Great American Race.

“You forget how special this race is, right, (until) you have to race for it, when you have to earn it, because when you’re racing full-time, it’s just the first one of 36. But when it’s the one that you think about for months, it means that much more.”

Ty Dillon finished third in Duel 1, followed by Ross Chastain, Reddick, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Allgaier and Kyle Busch.

In Duel 2, Chris Buescher ran third, followed by Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, LaJoie, Todd Gilliland, Ryan Blaney, John Hunter Nemechek and Christopher Bell.

The open cars of Anthony Alfredo and BJ McLeod failed to make the DAYTONA 500 field.


Race Results for the Duel 1 at DAYTONA - Thursday, February 13, 2025
Daytona International Speedway - Daytona Beach, FL - 2.5 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 60 Laps - 150. Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Thursday, 2/13/2025 @ 08:47 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 15 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald's Toyota 60   10 Running 5 21
2 11 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet 60   9 Running 2 4
3 5 10 Ty Dillon Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet 60   8 Running 2 4
4 19 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Chevrolet 60   7 Running 1 1
5 14 45 Tyler Reddick Nasty Beast Toyota 60   6 Running  
6 10 16 AJ Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 60   5 Running  
7 4 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet 60   4 Running  
8 8 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 60   3 Running 3 15
9 17 40 * Justin Allgaier(i) Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet 60   2 Running  
10 7 8 Kyle Busch zone Chevrolet 60   1 Running  
11 13 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 60   0 Running 1 1
12 9 71 Michael McDowell Go Bowling Chevrolet 60   0 Running 1 2
13 2 60 Ryan Preece BuildSubmarines.com Ford 60   0 Running 2 3
14 3 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 60   0 Running 2 6
15 12 56 * Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota 60   0 Running  
16 21 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. SUNNYD Chevrolet 60   0 Running  
17 23 44 * JJ Yeley Green River Whiskey Chevrolet 60   0 Running  
18 18 77 Carson Hocevar Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 60   0 Running  
19 1 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 26   0 Radiator 1 3
20 22 66 * Chandler Smith(i) Quick Tie Ford 13   0 Accident  
21 16 7 Justin Haley Chili's Ride the 'Dente Chevrolet 13   0 Accident  
22 20 91 * Helio Castroneves Wendy's Chevrolet 13   0 Accident  
23 6 38 Zane Smith Speedy Cash Ford 6   0 Suspension  

Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 8 Mins, 45 Secs. Average Speed: 130.909 MPH Margin of Victory: .082 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10:
Stage 2 Top 10:

Race Comments: Bubba Wallace has won the Duel at DAYTONA 1 at Daytona International Speedway, his first victory in the DAYTONA 500 Qualifying Race. Prior to the start of the race, no vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty.

Failed to Qualify: None.

Caution Flags: 4 for 15 laps; Laps: 4-7 (#38 Incident Turn 4 [None]); 15-19 (#66,, 7, 54, 91 Incident Turn 2 [None]); 26-28 (Debris Turn 4 [None]); 44-46 (Debris Backstretch [None]).

Lead Changes: 20 among 10 drivers; R. Preece 1; C. Briscoe 2-4; T. Gibbs 5; J. Berry 6-9; C. Elliott 10-15; M. McDowell 16-17; C. Elliott 18-19; J. Berry 20-21; C. Elliott 22-28; R. Chastain 29; W. Byron 30; B. Wallace 31-32; W. Byron 33-35; B. Wallace 36-37; R. Preece 38-39; B. Wallace 40-52; T. Dillon 53-55; B. Wallace 56; T. Dillon 57; B. Wallace 58-60.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series



Race Results for the Duel 2 at DAYTONA - Thursday, February 13, 2025
Daytona International Speedway - Daytona Beach, FL - 2.5 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 60 Laps - 150. Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Thursday, 2/13/2025 @ 10:31 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 1 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 60   10 Running 4 5
2 18 43 Erik Jones AdventHealth Toyota 60   9 Running 3 16
3 9 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 60   8 Running 3 9
4 3 11 Denny Hamlin National Debt Relief Toyota 60   7 Running 1 14
5 2 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 60   6 Running  
6 17 01 * Corey LaJoie Take 5 Oil Change/DuraMax Ford 60   5 Running  
7 7 34 Todd Gilliland Love's Travel Stops Ford 60   4 Running  
8 10 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Peak Ford 60   3 Running 3 5
9 19 42 John Hunter Nemechek Dollar Tree Toyota 60   2 Running  
10 4 20 Christopher Bell DEWALT/Interstate Batteries Toyota 60   1 Running  
11 5 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 60   0 Running  
12 13 35 Riley Herbst # Monster Energy/Zero Sugar Toyota 60   0 Running  
13 20 62 * Anthony Alfredo(i) Fortify Building Solutions Chevrolet 60   0 Running  
14 15 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # WeatherTech Chevrolet 60   0 Running  
15 22 51 Cody Ware Parts Plus/Jacob Construction Ford 60   0 Running  
16 16 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 60   0 Running  
17 21 78 * BJ McLeod HitchGo Chevrolet 60   0 Running  
18 11 4 Noah Gragson Rush Truck Centers Ford 60   0 Running  
19 14 84 * Jimmie Johnson Carvana Toyota 60   0 Running  
20 8 6 Brad Keselowski Kroger/Cottonelle Ford 48   0 Accident 1 2
21 12 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 47   0 Accident 2 9
22 6 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 47   0 Accident  

Time of Race: 0 Hrs, 55 Mins, 41 Secs. Average Speed: 161.628 MPH Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Stage 1 Top 10:
Stage 2 Top 10:

Race Comments: Austin Cindric has won the Duel at DAYTONA 2 at Daytona International Speedway, his first victory in the DAYTONA 500 Qualifying Race. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: No. 20 (Unapproved Adjustments)

Failed to Qualify: None.

Caution Flags: 2 for 6 laps; Laps: 49-53 (#6, 48, 99 Incident Backstretch [None]); 60-60 (#5, 88, 35, 62, 51 Incident Frontstretch [None]).
Lead Changes: 16 among 7 drivers; A. Cindric 1; D. Hamlin 2-15; E. Jones 16-17; R. Blaney 18; E. Jones 19-31; D. Suarez 32-33; R. Blaney 34-36; D. Suarez 37-43; R. Blaney 44; B. Keselowski 45-46; C. Buescher 47-53; A. Cindric 54; C. Buescher 55; A. Cindric 56; C. Buescher 57; A. Cindric 58-59; E. Jones 60.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: February 16, 2025 - Daytona International Speedway
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875



Starting Line Up by Row
Daytona International Speedway
DAYTONA 500

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Friday, 2/14/2025 @ 12:30 AM Eastern

Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Bill Elliott  02/08/87 00:15:10 197.802

Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 0.000 0.000
2 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 0.000 0.000

Row 2: 3 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald's Toyota 0.000 0.000
4 43 Erik Jones AdventHealth Toyota 0.000 0.000

Row 3: 5 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
6 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 0.000 0.000

Row 4: 7 10 Ty Dillon Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
8 11 Denny Hamlin National Debt Relief Toyota 0.000 0.000

Row 5: 9 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
10 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 0.000 0.000

Row 6: 11 45 Tyler Reddick Nasty Beast Toyota 0.000 0.000
12 01 Corey LaJoie Take 5 Oil Change/DuraMax Ford 0.000 0.000

Row 7: 13 16 AJ Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
14 34 Todd Gilliland Love's Travel Stops Ford 0.000 0.000

Row 8: 15 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
16 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Peak Ford 0.000 0.000

Row 9: 17 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
18 42 John Hunter Nemechek Dollar Tree Toyota 0.000 0.000

Row 10: 19 40 Justin Allgaier(i) Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
20 20 Christopher Bell DEWALT/Interstate Batteries Toyota 0.000 0.000

Row 11: 21 8 Kyle Busch zone Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
22 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 0.000 0.000

Row 12: 23 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 0.000 0.000
24 35 Riley Herbst # Monster Energy/Zero Sugar Toyota 0.000 0.000

Row 13: 25 71 Michael McDowell Go Bowling Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
26 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # WeatherTech Chevrolet 0.000 0.000

Row 14: 27 60 Ryan Preece BuildSubmarines.com Ford 0.000 0.000
28 51 Cody Ware Parts Plus/Jacob Construction Ford 0.000 0.000

Row 15: 29 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 0.000 0.000
30 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 0.000 0.000

Row 16: 31 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. SUNNYD Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
32 4 Noah Gragson Rush Truck Centers Ford 0.000 0.000

Row 17: 33 77 Carson Hocevar Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
34 6 Brad Keselowski Kroger/Cottonelle Ford 0.000 0.000

Row 18: 35 7 Justin Haley Chili's Ride the 'Dente Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
36 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 0.000 0.000

Row 19: 37 38 Zane Smith Speedy Cash Ford 0.000 0.000
38 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 0.000 0.000

Row 20: 39 56 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota 0.000 0.000
40 84 Jimmie Johnson Carvana Toyota 0.000 0.000

Row 21: 41 91 Helio Castroneves Wendy's Chevrolet 0.000 0.000

Did Not Qualify: #66 Chandler Smith(i),#62 Anthony Alfredo(i),#78 BJ McLeod,#44 JJ Yeley

Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 17 3 Ford 13 1
Toyota 11 0

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series