NASCAR: Joey Logano wins first Bluegreen Vacations Duel

Joey Logano took the checkered flag to win the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel, locking up a second row starting spot for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 this Sunday.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano led a pack of 15 drivers who finished within 0.805 seconds of one another to win the first of two Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona International Speedway to set the starting lineup for this Sunday afternoon’s 62nd annual Daytona 500, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season opener, at the same venue.

Logano started this 60-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked superspeedway oval in Daytona Beach, Florida in sixth place in his #22 Ford, and he won it by 0.172 seconds over Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola in second in his #10 Ford to secure the third starting position for Sunday’s 200-lap race.

Ford drivers rounded out the top four, as Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Newman finished in third place in his #6 Ford ahead of Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski in fourth in his #2 Ford.

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Richard Petty Motorsports’ Bubba Wallace led all Chevrolet drivers with a fifth place finish behind the wheel of the #43 Chevrolet. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon finished behind him in sixth in his #3 Chevrolet ahead of the race’s highest finishing Toyota driver, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., in seventh in his #19 Toyota.

Race polesitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of JTG Daugherty Racing, who already took the pole position for this Sunday afternoon’s Daytona 500 by setting the pace in this past Sunday afternoon’s single-car qualifying session in his #47 Chevrolet, was the highest running Chevrolet driver for much of the race, but he faded to eighth place on the final lap, notably avoiding a wreck that could have robbed him of that pole position.

Leavine Family Racing rookie Christopher Bell and Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher rounded out the top 10, finishing in ninth and 10th place in their #95 Toyota and #17 Ford, respectively.

The race featured 11 lead changes among six drivers, with Stenhouse leading more laps than anybody else with 27 laps led. Logano won the race having led 19 laps, and Newman, Dillon, Buescher and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer also spent time at the front.

The race came to an early end for Gaunt Brothers Racing’s Daniel Suarez, who needed to race his way into the Daytona 500. That bid ended when he was involved in a wreck with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, the wreck that brought out the race’s only caution flag period.

Premium Motorsports’ Reed Sorenson finished in 18th place and became the 39th of 40 drivers to lock himself into this Sunday’s main event.

Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley finished in 17th and technically raced his way in ahead of Sorenson, but because he had already qualified for the race with his effort in this past Sunday’s single-car qualifying session, the rules reverted to qualifying time, and Sorenson earned the additional spot because of his effort this past Sunday.

Here are the full race results of the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway.

Race Results
1st – Joey Logano
2nd – Aric Almirola
3rd – Ryan Newman
4th – Brad Keselowski
5th – Bubba Wallace
6th – Austin Dillon
7th – Martin Truex Jr.
8th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
9th – Christopher Bell
10th – Chris Buescher
11th – Denny Hamlin
12th – John Hunter Nemechek
13th – Chase Elliott
14th – Ryan Blaney
15th – Clint Bowyer
16th – Ryan Preece
17th – Justin Haley
18th – Reed Sorenson
19th – Quin Houff
20th – Chad Finchum
21st – Joey Gase
22nd – Daniel Suarez

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The second of two Bluegreen Vacations Duels to set the starting lineup for Sunday afternoon’s 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 is set to air live on Fox Sports 1 from Daytona International Speedway once the post-Duel 1 activity is complete.

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