Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
Kevin Harvick wins first Budweiser Duel in Daytona
Kevin Harvick made the pass on Greg Biffle to take the lead on lap 38. Harvick held the lead through pit stops and on the final restart with three to go to take the victory in the first Budweiser Duel at Daytona International Speedway.
It marks the second straight win for Harvick after winning the Sprint Unlimited on Saturday night.
“I think the way it worked out is that you were free and I was definitely free on the bottom,” Harvick said. “That’s why I think the top was the way to go. You had to be careful when you made moves or you’d be put to the back pretty quick.”
Greg Biffle finished second, Juan Pablo Montoya would come through the field late in the race to finish third, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Regan Smith. Tony Stewart finished fifth, followed by Brad Keselowski, Casey Mears and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Joey Logano finished 11th, followed by Bobby Labonte, David Gilliland, Joe Nemechek, Michael Waltrip and Scott Speed.
Daytona 500 pole sitter Danica Patrick ran a pretty conservative race, finishing 17th.
“I learned some,” she said. “I feel like what I really need to do is go down to Harvick’s bus and figure out what he is doing cause he has it going on the top was the way to go. I was easy on the gas at the beginning, to try and not get freight trained.”
Kyle Busch wins second Budweiser Duel at Daytona
Kyle Busch would take fuel only with 20 laps remaining and came off pit road in the lead. He would lead the rest of the way to win his first Budweiser Duel in four years. It also marks the second fastest Duel in NASCAR History with Busch completing the race with an average speed of 193.966 mph.
“It’s hard to pass the leader,” Busch said. “When you get out front, you can run pretty good. You just need to get out there and lead. There wasn’t enough lane-by-lane racing here, but you use the tools that you have once you figured it out and win.”
Kasey Kahne finished second, Richard Childress’ grandson Austin Dillon finished third and will make his first Daytona 500 start on Sunday.
“That’s awesome,” Dillon said. “Got a little nervous before that. Just stayed in it the whole team, stayed right there with Kasey Kahne all race. Wanted to get a Chevrolet in the 500 but couldn’t get by Kyle there.”
Clint Bowyer finished fourth while Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.
