DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The first 150-mile Can-Am Duel qualifying race for the 2016 Daytona 500 was exactly the kind of race that drivers and teams like.
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It used to be said that Dale Earnhardt Sr. could see the air at Daytona International Speedway.
“We knew this was a real good vehicle and we got another win at Daytona for the Earnhardt family”, he said.
Thursday, Feb. 18 marks 15 years since Earnhardt was killed in a violent crash during the Daytona 500. He was racing in the provisional Daytona 500 transfer spot inside the top 10 when his spin resulted in enough damage to necessitate a trip to the garage.
The victory means Earnhardt will start third in his attempt to win his third 500 on Sunday. “We’re up here in the 50s now”. I’m guilty of daydreaming a bit about winning this race tonight because of the date. That’s very special to me.
The race restarted on Lap 48, with Hamlin in control out front.
Busch was trying to hold off Jamie McMurray on the final lap and briefly blocked him.
Among those who wrecked strong race cars were Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr., who will all have to go to backup cars for the Daytona 500. The two-time Daytona 500 victor drove Amelia in all four restrictor-plate races and the Duel previous year, winning two points races as well as the Daytona qualifier. As a result, he failed to make the Daytona 500. All told, Earnhardt led 43 of 60 laps.
Hamlin won last week’s exhibition race, but his Toyota didn’t have the help Hamlin needed when Earnhardt was ready to make a pass for the win. “If we beat the No. 30 [Josh Wise] and the 98, we would have a spot in the Daytona 500 no matter where the 21 [Blaney] finished, and that’s what we did”.
On Lap 40, Earnhardt pitted and Denny Hamlin took the lead. That opened a spot for Michael McDowell to fall back on his qualifying session speed, meaning he was also locked into the 500. “There’s a huge trust factor that we’ve had for a really long time, so this feels like a continuation of something that has been going on for a while”. He had to use a block on Whitt to preserve his position.
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The yellow flag waved on lap 42 for a single-car incident involving Cole Whitt.
