Daytona 500 starting lineup set after Daytona Duels go to Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Final-lap passes and fiery crashes, Thursday's BlueGreen Vacation Duel at Daytona races had a little bit of everything.

And a night after Toyota seemed to lag behind Chevrolet and Ford in terms of speed, a pair of Camrys went to Victory Lane.

Tyler Reddick emerged victorious in Duel 1 and Christopher Bell passed teammate Denny Hamlin on the last lap of Duel 2 to claim the win on Thursday night. Reddick and Bell claim spots 3 and 4, respectively, in the starting lineup for Sunday's Daytona 500.

The results of the first Duel set the odd-numbered positions with Duel 2 taking care of the even-numbered spots. That is, behind the front row of Joey Logano and Michael McDowell, both of whom locked in via Wednesday's qualifying.

The first Duel featured plenty of last-lap drama both at the front of the field and toward the back.

Tyler Reddick executed a last-lap pass on Kyle Larson and beat Chase Elliott to the line to claim the win. And that wasn't even the most consequential change of position on the final circuit.

Back in the pack, Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time Cup Series champion and two-time 500 winner, found a way to get around JJ Yeley heading into Turn 3 and his 12th-place finish was just good enough to punch a ticket into Sunday's field. Yeley settled for 16th.

"I just have such a better appreciation for what many have gone through to race in," Johnson said. "I was so fortunate for so many years to not have to worry about getting in on speed for a variety of different reasons.

"To go through that just now and have it come down the last 100 yards of the Duel, that wasn't in my playbook.

"I've never been through anything like this."

Speaking of guys who went through the ringer trying to get in, Kaz Grala could relate. He and B.J. McLeod, along with David Ragan, who could fall back on Wednesday's qualifying time if need be, found themselves near the back of the pack at the end of Duel 2 with Grala prevailing with a 12th-place finish.

"A lot more intense than i wanted it to be coming down to the end," Grala said. "Glad we were able to come out on the right end. It was pretty tough to beat those guys tonight."

The second race was marred by a violent, multi-car crash with 13 laps to go, leaving Ryan Blaney's Ford Mustang in flames and also ending the night for Josh Berry, Riley Herbst, Kyle Busch and Noah Gragson. That grouped the cars together for a final sprint to the end.

Denny Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, assumed the lead and brought the field to the white flag, but teammate Bell got a run coming out of Turn 2 and maneuvered around on the backstretch, holding the field off to the line.

"It feels good. These plate races man, I don’t know what to think of them," Bell said. "I always say these races are 100 percent luck and I know that’s not true. I feel like we’ve been struggling to get to the end of it and I’ve been a common denominator in a lot of these wrecks. It feels good to get to the end today."

Starting grid for Daytona 500

1. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

2. Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

3. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

4. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

6. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

7. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

8. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

9. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

10. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

11. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

12. Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

13. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

14. Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

15. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

16. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

17. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

18. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

19. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

20. Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

21. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

22. Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford

23. Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

24. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

25. Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

26. Kaz Grala, No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford

27. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

28. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

29. Core LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

30. David Ragan, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

31. Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

32. Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

33. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

34. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

35. Ricky Stenhouse, No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

36. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

37. Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

38. Riley Herbst, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford

39. Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet

40. Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Daytona Duels results

Race 1

(Jimmie Johnson qualified for Daytona 500, JJ Yeley eliminated)

1. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Joe Gibbs Toyota

2. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

3. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

4. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

5. Erik Jones, No. 43 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

6. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

7. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

8. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

9. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

10. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

11. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

12. Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

13. Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

14. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

15. Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

16. JJ Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet

17. Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

18. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

19. Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet

21. Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Race 2

1. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

3. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

4. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

5. Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

6. Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

7. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

8. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

9. Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

10. Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford

11. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

12. Kaz Grala, No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford

13. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

14. B.J. McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Racing Chevrolet

15. David Ragan, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

16. Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

17. Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

18. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

19. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

20. Riley Herbst, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford

21. Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona 500 starting grid set: Jimmie Johnson makes the field