After missing the 2024 Playoffs despite achieving his best season statistical-wise to date, Bubba Wallace struck first. He claimed a dominant victory in the first of two Duels at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 13.
The 31-year-old Wallace from Mobile, Alabama, led five times for a race-high 21 of 60-scheduled laps in the first Duel event. Wallace started in 15th place and navigated his way to the front for the first time on Lap 31,
He then overtook William Byron entering the frontstretch. With drafting help primarily from his 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick, Wallace remained towards the front for the remainder of the Duel’s second half, including the final restart period with 14 laps remaining.
Despite briefly losing his momentum after nearly getting sideways with nearly five laps remaining, Wallace fought back and muscled ahead of Ty Dillon, William Byron, and the rest of the field prior to the final lap. Once out in front during the final lap, Wallace fended off the field that had fanned out to three-packed lanes to win a Daytona Duel event for the first time in his career.
Chase Briscoe, the 2025 Daytona 500 pole winner, started on the pole. He shared the front row with Ryan Preece, who posted the third-fastest qualifying lap during Wednesday’s single-car qualifying session.
During the pace laps, Chase Elliott, Preece and Ross Chastain pitted to address mechanical issues with their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the first Duel event commenced, Briscoe and Preece dueled against one another for the lead in front of two-stacked lanes. As the field cycled around Daytona International Speedway for a full lap, Preece used the draft from the outside lane to muscle ahead and lead the first lap over Briscoe.
Just past the second lap, the event’s first caution flew when Zane Smith, who was the third competitor in line from the outside lane behind Preece and Austin Dillon, blew a right-front tire and hit the outside wall entering the first two turns, though he managed to limp his No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry back to his pit stall. At the moment of caution, Briscoe, who led the previous lap, was scored the leader over Preece.
During the first Duel’s first caution period, a bevy of competitors led by Briscoe pitted their respective entries, primarily for fuel, while Justin Allgaier, who was initially pitting for only fuel, instead pitted for four fresh tires due to sliding his No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet entry into his pit box. Amid the pit stops, Josh Berry cycled into the lead and he shared the front row with Briscoe prior to the first Duel’s first restart period on the seventh lap.
The start of the ensuing restart featured Berry and Briscoe dueling for the lead in front of the field through the first two turns until Berry gained a strong draft form Austin Dillon and Elliott to muscle ahead of Briscoe through the backstretch. Berry would then fend off Dillon entering the frontstretch to retain the lead on the eighth lap before he stalled a run by Elliott as Michael McDowell muscled his way into the top-three mark.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Elliott navigated his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet entry into the lead. He was followed by McDowell, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Dillon while Berry fell back to fifth place. Meanwhile, Briscoe, Justin Haley, Kyle Busch, Chandler Smith and Ty Gibbs were jostling inside the top 10 while Ty Dillon, Helio Castroneves, Martin Truex Jr., Tyler Reddick, Preece, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and JJ Yeley were scored in the top 20.
Three laps later, the first Duel’s second caution flew when Chandler Smith, who was scored in third place, made contact with Justin Haley while trying to move in front of him entering the first two turns. The contact sent Smith’s No. 66 Quick Tie Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry head-on into the outside wall as Ty Gibbs, who was trying to dodge Smith, was hit by Castroneves as he clipped and sent Haley head-on into the wall. In the process, Castroneves also hit the wall on the right side of his No. 91 Wendy’s Chevrolet entry and he would eventually hit the outside wall again due to hitting the apron as he tried to nurse his damaged car back to pit road. Bubba Wallace, JJ Yeley, Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch would all sustain damage to their respective entries while trying to avoid the carnage.
The damage to their respective entries was enough to knock both Chandler Smith and Helio Castroneves out of contention to finish the first Duel event. While Smith’s hopes of making the 67th running of the Daytona 500 with Garage 66 evaporated, Castroneves was guaranteed a starting spot for the event through NASCAR’s “Open Provisional Exemption.”
During the caution period, a bevy of competitors led by Elliott pitted for enough fuel to complete the first Duel’s scheduled distance while the rest led by McDowell remained on the track. Shortly after, McDowell along with Truex, Briscoe and Carson Hocevar pitted their entries, which allowed Elliott to cycle back into the lead.
When the first Duel restarted under green on Lap 19, Elliott and Berry dueled for the lead in front of Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain through the first two turns. As the rest of the field regained the momentum through the backstretch, Berry rocketed ahead from the outside lane as both he and Chastain had extra drafting help from William Byron, Bubba Wallace, McDowell and Truex. Amid the battles on the track, McDowell was assessed a drive-through penalty for improper lineup prior to the restart. Earlier, Ty Dillon was also penalized for speeding while exiting his pit stall.
Three laps later, Elliott received a draft from Austin Dillon from the inside lane to muscle ahead of Berry and reassume the lead through the frontstretch. Berry would then get shoved out of the draft entering the first two turns as he drifted to the rear of the field. With Berry falling back, Elliott was left to block Chastain for the lead as Austin Dillon, Byron, Allmendinger, Wallace, Reddick, Truex, Preece, Ty Gibbs, Allgaier, Kyle Busch, Stenhouse, Yeley and Ty Dillon were all mingling in a draft towards the front.
On Lap 24, the first Duel’s third caution flew due to debris reported in Turn 4. During the caution period, Briscoe steered his Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE entry into the garage and voluntarily retired to preserve his pole-winning car for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
As the first Duel restarted under green on Lap 28, Elliott dueled with Chastain for the lead through the first two turns until Chastain received a strong push from Byron to muscle his No. 1 Busch Light Chevrolet entry ahead through the backstretch. Chastain and Byron would then transition from both the inside and outside lane to defend runs from both Elliott and Wallace during the following lap before Byron steered his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet entry to the outside lane to challenge Chastain for the lead. With drafting help from Wallace on the outside lane, Byron would lead the first Duel’s halfway mark on Lap 30 over Chastain.
Not long after, Wallace steered his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE entry to the outside of Byron entering the frontstretch to assume the lead. By then, he had teammate Reddick and Preece drafting him while Byron transitioned back to the inside lane and in front of Chevrolet teammates Chastain, Elliott and Austin Dillon. With Preece trying to navigate his way back to the front, Wallace was left to duel against Byron in front of two stacked lanes for the lead.
With 25 laps remaining, Byron and Wallace, both of whom were dueling against one another for the lead through every corner and straightaway, continued to battle dead even for the lead. By then, Wallace, who was leading the outside lane, had drafting help from Preece and Reddick while Byron, who led the inside lane, remained in front of Chastain. A lap later, however, Preece transitioned to the inside lane and used drafts from Byron to challenge Wallace for the lead. Both Preece and Wallace would proceed to battle against one another for the lead over the next three laps.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Wallace was shoved to a narrow lead by teammate Reddick over Byron as Chastain, Ty Dillon, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Allgaier and Allmendinger were scored in the top 10. By then, Preece, who was racing at the front, had drifted back to within the top-15 mark after he got split by the front-runners and had no drafting help through the first two turns. As Preece fell back, Wallace went into defensive mode as he transitioned between the outside and inside lane to keep Byron drafting him.
A few laps later, the caution returned due to debris reported on the backstretch. During the caution period, select names that included Truex, Berry and Hocevar pitted while the rest led by Wallace remained on the track.
The start of the ensuing restart with 14 laps remaining featured Wallace dueling with Byron for the lead through the first two turns. With the field stacked up entering the backstretch, Wallace had teammate Reddick drafting him from the outside lane while Byron received a push from Chastain that enabled him to continue to duel with Wallace for the lead. Wallace and Byron would remain dead even through the frontstretch during the following lap until Wallace received another strong draft from Reddick through the backstretch to clear Byron and have both lanes to his control.
Down to the final 12 laps of the event, the field slowly started to fan out to three lanes as Wallace retained a steady lead over teammate Reddick. With the field scattering and trying to regain formation amid the pack, Ty Dillon muscled his way to the front along with Elliott while Byron, who briefly fell back, was trying to regain his momentum from fifth place. As Ty Dillon started to gain momentum as the lead competitor from the inside lane, Wallace continued to lead with 10 laps remaining.
With five laps remaining, Ty Dillon, who had dueled against Wallace for the lead over the previous four laps, was leading and had both lanes under his control after Wallace briefly got loose exiting the backstretch, which allowed Byron to battle him for second as Chastain, Reddick and Austin Dillon were in the mix within the top-six mark. By then, Yeley, who was trying to race into the top-10 mark, was also trying to fend off Allgaier and Truex to claim a transfer berth into the Daytona 500 in a non-chartered entry.
Despite nearly getting sideways exiting the backstretch, Wallace managed to regain his momentum from the outside lane and re-challenge Ty Dillon for the lead in front of the field. By then, Wallace continued to have drafting help from Reddick while Byron settled behind Dillon on the inside lane. Despite Dillon’s attempt to muscle ahead through the turns, Wallace used the straightaways from the outside lane to fight back and duel with Dillon for the lead.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Wallace, who had muscled ahead of the field entering the frontstretch, was leading ahead of Ty Dillon, Reddick and Allmendinger as the field fanned out to three lanes. Through the first two turns and the early portions of the backstretch, Wallace fended off Dillon to maintain the top spot.
Then as Allmendinger started to surge towards the front with a draft near the outside wall, teammate Dillon tried to move up to pick up the momentum. Allmendinger gave Dillon a hard bump in the rear end that resulted in Dillon hitting the wall. Despite the impact, Dillon kept his No. 10 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet entry racing straight. Both Byron and Reddick went three-wide on him entering Turns 3 and 4. As the rest of the field fanned out to three lanes entering the frontstretch, Wallace motored away to claim the checkered flag and win the first Duel event.
With the victory, Wallace, whose previous best result in the Duels was second in 2021, notched his first Daytona Duel victory of his career, his first trip to a Cup Series’ Victory Lane center since he won at Kansas Speedway in September 2022 and a second consecutive Daytona Duel victory for 23XI Racing after his teammate Tyler Reddick won the first Duel event a year ago. Wallace was also awarded 10 championship points and the third-place starting spot for this year’s 67th running of the Daytona 500.
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to mark Wallace’s eighth as a full-time competitor in the series as he will also make his eighth bid for his first Daytona 500 victory this upcoming weekend.
“Man, what a night,” Wallace said on the frontstretch on FS1. “Man, thanks to Tyler [Reddick]. That was awesome to see two team cars work together that well and learn a lot for Sunday. [Reddick] Did a great job pushing me. Man, I’ve wanted one of these Duel wins for so long. All my buddies got them, Tyler got one last year and I’m pissed off. [I] Got me one now. I’m good. It’s definitely a makeup for last night and the speed that we had, but we always know like Toyotas will race really well in [the main event], so all in all, good night.”
Byron, who radioed motor concerns in the closing laps, muscled his way to a second-place finish as Ty Dillon settled in a strong third place. Chastain and Reddick finished in the top five while Allmendinger, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Justin Allgaier and Kyle Busch completed the top 10 on the track.
Meanwhile and amid Wallace’s Duel victory, Allgaier was also left victorious on pit road after he emerged as the highest non-chartered competitor in the final results by finishing in ninth place. The result allowed the reigning Xfinity Series champion from Riverton, Illinois, to claim a starting berth into the Daytona 500 for the third time in his career and his first since 2015. Above all, Allgaier awarded JR Motorsports, the reigning four-time Xfinity Series championship-winning team, its first-ever entrance to a Cup Series race, where they will contend in the Great American Race.
“The emotions right now are really just because of how much everybody [at JR Motorsports] has wanted it,” Allgaier, who was emotional on pit road, said. “[Dale Jr.’s] lip was quivering and his hands were shaking before the race. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that out of Dale Jr. He told me before the race, he said, ‘Man, I’m nervous. I don’t want to make you nervous, but I’m really nervous.
It’s the truth. This means a lot to our team, this little team at JR Motorsports. You could tell how much [Dale Jr.] wanted this and our whole shop wanted this. There were so many faces on this car that have worked to make this car happen that this is their first-ever real experience in the Cup Series. We get to go race the Daytona 500. It’s pretty special. This one means more than I can ever imagine. It’s gonna be really fun.”
Like Allgaier, team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was left both emotional and jubilant as he will witness his newly formed Cup Series entry from JR Motorsports participate in NASCAR’s premier series for the first time to commence the 2025 racing season.
“I’m so proud of Justin,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “He put the whole team on his back those last couple of laps. I’m gonna tell you, man, this sport’s amazing, everything about it. I’ve seen it through so many different lenses. I love the challenges. I wouldn’t want it any other way. This was hard emotionally, but I can’t believe that we get to race on Sunday. I just can’t believe it!”
With Allgaier transferring into this year’s Daytona 500 based on being the highest non-chartered competitor in the final running order, Martin Truex Jr., who finished 15th, will fall back on his qualifying trials from Wednesday night to make the main event. As previously mentioned, Helio Castroneves, who ended up in 22nd place with a wrecked race car, will also qualify for the Daytona 500 through NASCAR’s “Open Provisional Exemption.”
Meanwhile, JJ Yeley and Chandler Smith were the two competitors from the first Duel event that did not qualify for this year’s Daytona 500.
There were 20 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The event featured four cautions for 15 laps. In addition, 18 of 23 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results:
1. Bubba Wallace, 21 laps led
2. William Byron, four laps led
3. Ty Dillon, four laps led
4. Ross Chastain, one lap led
5. Tyler Reddick
6. AJ Allmendinger
7. Austin Dillon
8. Chase Elliott, 15 laps led
9. Justin Allgaier
10. Kyle Busch
11. Ty Gibbs, one lap led
12. Michael McDowell, two laps led
13. Ryan Preece, three laps led
14. Josh Berry, six laps led
15. Martin Truex Jr.
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17. JJ Yeley
18. Carson Hocevar
19. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Radiator, three laps led
20. Chandler Smith – OUT, Accident
21. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident
22. Helio Castroneves – OUT, Accident
23. Zane Smith – OUT, Suspension
The second Duel event at Daytona International Speedway is scheduled to follow suit as the event is also being aired on FS1.
