A general view of the start of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Budweiser Duel 1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20, 2014
Photo – Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
A very competitive first Budweiser Duel ended with Matt Kenseth beating Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne out by a nose. Kenseth earned the third starting spot for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
Austin Dillon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kenseth were the leaders throughout the race. Dillon led early, then Earnhardt Jr. led for the middle part of the race, and Kenseth led just about the entire second half.
The fight to make the Daytona 500 field was a close battle through all 60 laps. Josh Wise, Alex Bowman, and Cole Whitt made the race based off of their finishing positions. However, drivers including Parker Kligerman, Reed Sorenson, and Joe Nemechek have to wait out the second Duel to find out whether they made the race. Michael McDowell did not place high enough and he will not make the Daytona 500.
Kenseth’s win marked the second victory for Joe Gibbs Racing during SpeedWeeks as Denny Hamlin won last weekend’s Sprint Unlimited. JGR can sweep all races before the Daytona 500 if Hamlin is able to return to victory lane in the second Duel.