NASCAR Cup Series: 2019 Daytona 500 even starting positions set

The even starting positions for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season opener, the Daytona 500, are set following Gander RV Duel 2.

Following the conclusion of Gander RV Duel 2, the even starting positions for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season opener, the 61st annual Daytona 500, at Daytona International Speedway are set. The results of this race determined these starting positions.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano led only one lap of the 60-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona International Speedway oval in Daytona Beach, Florida in his #22 Ford, but he led the final lap to win it and to secure himself the fourth place starting position for Sunday’s 200-lap race at the track.

Fourth place was the highest possible Daytona 500 starting position for the drivers who competed in Gander RV Duel 2. This was the case because of the fact that Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who started the race from the pole position, solidified himself the second place starting position for the Daytona 500 with his qualifying run this past Sunday, February 10.

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Bowman strategically finished Gander RV Duel 1 in 13th place in his #88 Chevrolet. He finished one lap off the lead after leading the race’s first 11 laps. After that, he fell toward the back of the field to reduce the chances of being involved in a wreck.

Had Bowman been involved in a wreck in this race, he likely would have been forced to use a backup car for the Daytona 500, which would have forced him to surrender his second place starting position for the race.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, who started Gander RV Duel 2 in second place in his #9 Chevrolet as the fastest even-positioned qualifier on Sunday who failed to secure a front row starting position for the Daytona 500, finished in eighth. As a result, he is set to start the Daytona 500 on the outside of the ninth row in 18th.

Here is a list of the drivers who are set to start in the even starting positions for the 2019 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Even Starting Positions
2nd – Alex Bowman
4th – Joey Logano
6th – Clint Bowyer
8th – Aric Almirola
10th – Denny Hamlin
12th – Kurt Busch
14th – Ryan Blaney
16th – Jamie McMurray
18th – Chase Elliott
20th – Austin Dillon
22nd – Ty Dillon
24th – David Ragan
26th – Kyle Larson
28th – Erik Jones
30th – Brendan Gaughan
32nd – Corey Lajoie
34th – Michael McDowell
36th – Ross Chastain
38th – B.J. McLeod
40th – Casey Mears

The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season opener, the 61st annual Daytona 500, is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, February 17, so be sure not to miss it.