The Duels at Daytona International Speedway were just that, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins race 1 and Denny Hamlin wins race 2. Kenny Wallace, Brian Vickers, Dale Jarrett and John Andretti transfer into the Daytona 500. 

©CIA Stock Photo, Inc

©CIA Stock Photo, Inc

Results - Duel 1 Results Duel 2

The racing today was a great show for the fans. The first race had the heavy hitters and the second race had several drivers who are the “young guns” this year. We saw that Bill Elliott and Kenny Schrader who will not make the 500. Schrader has been in the 500 for 23 years, but not this one. The Wood Brothers has been in every race except two and this year. 

Team work was the key to the races. We saw it in both races where it made the difference. Casey Mears, Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmy Johnson would work together several times. Johnson dropped out at the end of the race to save his car from damage as tires played havoc on many drivers as well as his car. 

Earnhardt would take his second win this week with a big push from Reed Sorenson to stay in front of the pack to drive to victory lane. All the Hendrick cars were looking strong after having to go to the back, due to engine changes earlier this week. 

We also saw in race two teamwork play out as pole setter for that race, Michael Waltrip drop back in the field to help out Dale Jarrett move to the front to get one of the treasured transfer positions.  

Waltrip helped him move to the front and ran blocker several times in the race. David Reutimann hooked up with the two to lend a hand as well. 

Hamlin had big help from Tony Stewart to gain the lead position and keep him front of the pack to win the Green-White-Checkered race. 

NOW ONTO THE RACE!! 

It’s Valentine’s Day, but you know that love and friendship will not be part of the action today. It will be a Duel to the finish. Not only once, but twice today. 

Duel #1 is a power packed group of racers of Johnson, Nemechek, Earnhardt Jr., Newman, Kurt Busch, Edwards, Petty and many more. We will see several Hendrick Motors drivers as well as one driver who uses a Hendrick motor, go to the back of the pack for an engine issue where they all had to be replaced. 

60 laps of pure action. If it is anything like the Shootout last weekend, get ready for some huge action!! 

Jimmy Johnson is showed to be on the pole, but he will go to the back along with Earnhardt Jr., Casey Mears, A.J. Allmendinger, Scott Riggs, Clint Bowyer and J.J. Yeley due to the engine changes. So that will put Ryan Newman and Joe Nemechek to bring the field to racing speed. 

GREEN FLAG as Darryl Waltrip waves the flag from the starter stand – BOOGITY, BOOGITY, BOOGITY let’s go racin’ boys!! 

Newman has a good run, but no help so he will be run down real quick. BY turn three it’s side by side racing. At the end of lap one, Nemechek leads the lap. His teammate Kenny Wallace slips to the back of the field. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 2 as Brian Vickers coming out of turn two is tagged from the left rear by Boris Said and he spins through all the drivers onto the apron and no contact. He slips through all of it and will have to get some new tires, but looks ok. 

Wallace, Bobby Labonte, Kyle Petty and Yeley make a quick pit stop. 

GREEN FLAG lap 5 as Newman and Nemechek get us going again. Single file start train for the top 12. Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. have hooked up and have moved up to 13^th and 14^th. Mears runs 10^th. 

Lap 7 Newman on the low side has help from Kurt Busch to stay a half car in front of Nemechek who is on the high side. Lap 8 into lap 9 the first 5 rows it’s two wide racing just like pace laps. 

Lap 9 Nemechek is the leader again. Trouble for Kurt Busch as he may have lost his electrical as smoke is in his car. Lap 12 Boris Said is the man on the move as he runs behind Nemechek. 

Lap 13 Earnhardt Jr. has moved his way up to 6^th, Johnson was with him but they are not connected anymore and runs 9^th. Reed Sorenson is your new leader. Earnhardt is up to 4^th. Lap 14 Edwards is the leader now. 

Lap 15 Earnhardt is 3^rd, Johnson slips back to 13^th. Martin Truex Jr. is on the high side and takes the lead followed by Jr., Newman and Sorenson. The group of 4 is single file on the high side.  

Lap 17 we see 6 drivers single file in turn one but by turn three Jr. takes the lead and the crowd goes wild at the start finish line.

Lap 20 your top 10 drivers are Jr., Newman, Sorenson, Truex Jr., Elliott Sadler, Mears, Johnson, Said, Nemechek and Edwards. Most of the field is single file to move back forward. 

Lap 21 we are back to two by two racing again. Earnhardt on the outside and Newman on the inside. Sadler’s car drops like a rock to the back as the drivers zig out of the way to miss him on the high side of the track in turn 4. It looks like he picked up a flat tire. 

Lap 23 we are back to single file for the top 5 as Jr. is firmly in front. Lap 25 Newman is up to 2^nd behind Jr. Regan Smith is on pit road. Kyle Petty and Carl Long are off pace. 

Lap 27 Single file for the top 10 or so. Lap 28 Johnson has moved back up to 4^th and Mears 5^th. Lap 29 only a few drivers on the low side. Everyone seems comfortable on the high side. 

Lap 30 Vickers has a right front tire issue and on pit road. Your top 10 drivers are; Earnhardt Jr., Newman, Sorenson, Johnson, Mears, Bowyer, Truex Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya, Edwards and Hornish Jr. 

Lap 31 pit stops begin as Sam Hornish and Said make scheduled pit stops. Lap 34 Sorenson, Edwards and Montoya pit. We hear that several drivers are concerned about tires. 

Lap 35 Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Labonte, Nemechek, Yeley, Newman, Truex Jr., Bowyer, Mears and Bill Elliott. Lap 36 Paul Menard and Wallace pit. Lap 37, Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield pit. Petty is having a bad day, having made several pit stops in this race. 

Lap 37 Johnson is the leader followed by Earnhardt Jr. Lap 40 (20 to go) your top 10 drivers are – Johnson, Jr., Newman, Montoya, Sorenson, Truex Jr., Vickers, Mears, Labonte and Hornish. 

Lap 44 Earnhardt tries to make a move to the inside to pass Johnson but no one goes with him. Newman and Montoya hang with Johnson. By turn three, Newman and Montoya move to the low side to pass Johnson. 

Lap 46 we are back to two wide racing again Johnson is now on the low side, Newman on the high side. Johnson is now the one to get hung out and he slips back.  Lap 47 it’s Newman, Sorenson, Earnhardt Jr. on the outside with Truex, Johnson and Montoya on the inside. 

10 to go Newman leads the field. The cars all chomping to get the move on. Earnhardt Jr. and Newman battle for the lead. Earnhardt takes the lead with a big swing from the low side to the high side in front of Newman. 

Lap 53 Johnson heads for pit road, it looks like tire issues.

6 to go Earnhardt leads by two car lengths followed by Sorenson and Newman. Wallace with a huge move to 5^th and it looks like he will transfer to the 500. 

YELLOW FLAG with 5 to go, Sadler pops a tire and head into the wall. This is a big help for Johnson and will not go a lap down. We see all the drivers that are trying to get the second transfer spot who are Vickers, Riggs, Bowyer, Allmendinger, Truex Jr., Elliott, Smith, Mayfield and Sterling Marlin come in for fresh tires. 

This will be a GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED finish, not overtime though, but will finish on lap 60. Sorenson hooks up with Earnhardt Jr. and they pull big time in front of the field. 

WHITE FLAG as Earnhardt Jr. runs in front. A big fight in the back of the pack for the second transfer spot. Out of turn 4 it’s… 

Earnhardt Jr. for the win. For the transfer positions it’s Wallace and Vickers who is moving passed Nemechek to take the second transfer position. Nemechek should get in by qualifying time. 

Your top 10 finishers were – Earnhardt Jr., Sorenson, Newman, Mears, Edwards, Labonte, Montoya, Wallace, Hornish Jr. and Menard. 

Gatorade Duel 2 –  

Well, we have one race down, and it was a pretty good one. Last year was a yawn fest, this year it was better. This race we have three drivers going to the back of the pack for engine changes – Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Dario Franchitti (Late to Driver Intro’s) and Tony Stewart. 

Team Owner Michael Waltrip starts on the pole, David Reutimann driver for Waltrip will start on the outside front row. 26 drivers racing for the dream. 

GREEN FLAG for the drivers and Reutimann passes Waltrip at the line and will have to make the drive through pit road and his race is pretty much done unless a yellow comes out. 

Lap 2 Waltrip is the leader. Lap 3 Jeff Burton is a man on the mission who started towards the back of the pack and muscles his way up to 7^th. Lap 4 Kevin Harvick started 21^st and is 9^th. Kyle Busch started 20^th and is 8^th. 

Lap 5 Jeff Gordon started in back, he has moved up to 14^th. Lap 6 Waltrip moves to the high side with Dave Blaney and Matt Kenseth following. Lap 7 Travis Kvapil takes the lead for the moment as we see two rows of race cars. Jeff Burton takes his car to pit road as he may have a tire issue. 

Lap 8 Burton is done with his stop and will get eaten up by the pack on the back stretch. Waltrip is back in the lead. Lap 11 the top 8 are on the high side single file. Lap 12 Blaney is trying to make a move to the front on the back side of the track.  As they head to turn three Waltrip drops to the front of Blaney, but clips the front of his car and his hands are busy to save the car. A big save by Waltrip. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 15 as Jaques Villeneuve clips the apron hooks back up into Jamie McMurray. They both shoot up into the outside wall to collect Stanton Barrett and Franchitti. It looks like a few drivers will be in the garage. 

Villeneuve has been fighting his car the entire race and could not hold onto it any longer. 

The yellow has helped out Reutimann who was a half lap down, now he will be able to try to make a run for the win. Burton is on pit road and the team pushes his car to the garage with a possible broken shock. 

Pit road is closed for a few laps as Barrett’s car is dead on pit road, where the safety crew picks up the driver and car. 

Lap 19 pit road is open and we see everyone coming in. Looks like 4 tries and fuel for everyone. Out of pit road it is Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Waltrip, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. 

GREEN FLAG lap 22 led by Kenseth and Kahne single file past the start finish line. Harvick and Waltrip hook up to make the move past Kenseth and Kahne. Waltrip leaves Harvick out to dry. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 24 as Waltrip and Gordon battle for the lead. Blaney has blown up his motor. Waltrip is scored in the lead. With all the oil from Blaney’s car and the clean up that is needed, NASCAR has Red Flagged the Race. We stay under red for about 10 minutes. We are back to yellow and one to go. 

GREEN FLAG lap 29 as Waltrip and Gordon leading the drivers back to racing. Turn one Gordon takes the lead. Waltrip plans to hook up with Dale Jarrett to help him move forward. 

Lap 30 (Halfway) your top 10 drivers are Gordon, Kenseth, Busch, Hamlin, Biffle, Kahne, Harvick, Carpentier, Martin and Schrader. Lap 31 Kyle Busch and Hamlin hook up and pass Gordon to grab 1^st and 2^nd. Lap 35 we see a pack of 10, single file, riding the high line. 

25 to go the cars are covered in speedy dry. The speedy dry is a new type, and it is sticking to the cars on the body and windshield. Lap 38 Gordon has moved to 2^nd. The battle is for the transfer spot. Waltrip is helping Jarrett, while Kahne helps out Patrick Carpentier. Kenny Schrader is also in the battle for the position. 

20 to go the top ten drivers are; Busch, Stewart, Harvick, Gordon, Martin, Hamlin, Jarrett, Waltrip, Ragan and Reutimann. Tony Stewart has been working to move to the front and is 3^rd place. The outside line is struggling with Stewart and Gordon fighting their cars. 

Lap 44 Jarrett is up to 3^rd with Waltrip behind him. Harvick is the leader. Mark Martin has been a quiet runner and takes over 2^nd place. 

Lap 45 Harvick, Martin and Jarrett run nose to tail. The field not as racy as the 1^st race. 11 to go Harvick and Busch are in front.  

10 to go Busch with help from Stewart pass Harvick on the inside. Gordon drops in behind to help them out. Martin, Hamlin, Kahne and Jarrett follow. 

8 to go Jarrett is loose and Waltrip doing his best to keep other drivers behind them. 

7 to go Jarrett has the 1^st transfer spot with Reutimann and Carpentier battling for the 2^nd transfer spot. 

6 to go Stewart and Hamlin run several car lengths ahead of the field which battle two wide. 

5 to go Jarrett still running the low line with Waltrip running blocking position. Reutimann in front of Carpentier. 

4 to go Waltrip racing nose to tail to get all the way in. Stewart and Hamlin with no huge challenge. 

3 to go Stewart, Hamlin and Gordon. Jarrett, Waltrip and Reutimann running together to get the two transfer positions. 

YELLOW FLAG with two to go as Carpentier hits the wall on the back side of the stretch. His car is tore up and will not be in the running. We will see a GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED this Duel. This will go into overtime. 

Red Flag is out for the second time for clean up. Another 15 minutes and we are back to yellow. One lap around and we will go back to racing with Stewart and Hamlin leading the single file back to the… 

GREEN FLAG as we see Busch trying to gap the field so they could make a run but it blows up in his face and will get hung out. On the back side of the track Hamlin drops to the low side followed by Gordon. 

WHITE FLAG Gordon and Hamlin battle for the lead. Stewart behind Hamlin, Kahne behind Gordon. 

Coming out of turn 4 Hamlin is the leader, Gordon has nothing for him. At the line Hamlin is the winner followed by Stewart, Gordon, Kahne, Martin, Ragan, Harvick, Biffle, Jarrett and Andretti. 

Jarrett makes it in for his 20^th and last Daytona 500. Andretti takes the 2^nd transfer position. Reutimann is on time, so Boris Said is out of the race.