Staff Report |NASCAR.com
Sunday’s Daytona 500 single-car qualifying set only the front row for the “Great American Race” — Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron (Busch Pole Award) and Alex Bowman will lead the field when the green flag drops Feb. 17 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The qualifying speeds, though, set the lineups for Thursday’s Gander RV Duel races at Daytona (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the twin 60-lap races that determine the full starting lineup for the 61st running of the Daytona 500.
Duel 1 is typically comprised from the odd-numbered drivers on the Daytona 500 qualifying speed chart — first, third, fifth, etc. Duel 2 is then the even-finishing drivers. NASCAR officials, though, ensure an even number of Open, non-Charter teams in each duel race.
The results of those two races will determine the cars that qualify for the Daytona 500, and where they line up on the grid. The winner of Duel 1 will start the Daytona 500 in third place, second place starts fifth, and so on through the inside row. The winner of Duel 2 will start the Daytona 500 in fourth place, second place starts sixth and so on through the outside row.
Additionally, Tyler Reddick and Casey Mears locked themselves into the Daytona 500 field by virtue of being the fastest two Open cars during qualifying.
Below
is the starting lineup for each Duel race.
* denotes Open, non-Charter team
DUEL 1 LINEUP
| STARTING POSITION | DRIVER | TEAM |
| 1. | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2. | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 3. | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing |
| 4. | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 5. | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske |
| 6. | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 7. | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 8. | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 9. | Tyler Reddick* | Richard Childress Racing |
| 10. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 11. | Daniel Suarez | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 12. | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 13. | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 14. | Ryan Truex* | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 15. | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 16. | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing |
| 17. | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 18. | Matt Tifft | Front Row Motorsports |
| 19. | Parker Kligerman* | Gaunt Brothers Racing |
| 20. | Landon Cassill | StarCom Racing |
| 21. | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing |
PROJECTED DUEL 2 LINEUP
| STARTING POSITION | DRIVER | TEAM |
| 1. | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2. | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 3. | Joey Logano | Team Penske |
| 4. | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 5. | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing |
| 6. | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 7. | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 8. | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske |
| 9. | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 10. | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 11. | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports |
| 12. | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports |
| 13. | Casey Mears* | Germain Racing |
| 14. | Jamie McMurray | Spire Motorsports |
| 15. | Brendan Gaughan* | Beard Motorsports |
| 16. | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 17. | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing |
| 18. | Ross Chastain | Premium Motorsports |
| 19. | Corey LaJoie | GO FAS Racing |
| 20. | BJ McLeod | Petty Ware Racing |
| 21. | Joey Gase* | Motorsports Business Management |
