Bubba Wallace claims victory in Duel 1 at Daytona. (Photo Credit: Donald Jenney | The Podium Finish)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As Bubba Wallace cruised to a strong second-half performance victory in the first of 150-mile qualifying duel races, it was all smiles from the JR Motorsports team as Justin Allgaier raced the team’s first Cup entry into the 67th DAYTONA 500.
DAYTONA 500 polesitter Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece, with an impressive fourth-place qualifying performance in last night’s qualification for the pole position for the “Great American Race,” led the field to green in the opening duel race.
The first yellow of the 60-lap event fell on Lap 3 after Zane Smith in the No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford hit the outside retaining wall in between Turns 1 and 2 after a shunt from Chase Elliott.
As the green flag fell back once again, the field continued to battle two-by-two, with the open cars trying to race their way into the DAYTONA 500 duking it out for every position way before the halfway mark of the race.
Trouble struck on lap 14 for several open cars as Chandler Smith attempted to maneuver the No. 66 Ford for Garage 66 to the inside lane. Smith came down into the No. 7 Chevrolet of Justin Haley as they entered turn one, causing a chain reaction with Smith hitting the outside wall, collecting Ty Gibbs, who then collided with Haley and pushed him into the outside wall.
Helio Castroneves, driving the No. 91 ca,r was also involved in the crash. JJ Yeley, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet, sustained minor damage but continued racing, keeping his hopes of qualifying for the DAYTONA 500 alive despite the chaos. Despite crashing out, Castroneves will be able to compete in the 500, officially turning the lineup into 41 cars.
As the duel continued, two additional cautions were issued due to debris. Throughout the event, Allgaier, in his No. 40 Chevrolet, was consistently battling with Yeley for the final transfer spot into the main event.
As the field approached the white flag in Duel No. 1, Allgaier was running on the high line in seventh place, while Yeley was back on the inside line in 17th. Yeley pushed hard, but as they raced down the backstretch. Allgaier locked bumpers with the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by AJ Allmendinger, allowing them to surge towards the front as they entered Turn 3.
Ty Dillon‘s No. 10 Chevrolet attempted to make a move by sliding up to the high line, trying to gain momentum from Allgaier and Allmendinger to overtake race leader Wallace. However, this maneuver slowed down the outside line, enabling Yeley to close the gap and get right back up to Allgaier.
Unfortunately, Yeley’s triumph was interrupted as he began to lose the draft while exiting turn 4. This allowed Allgaier to secure the final transfer spot, while Wallace crossed the finish line to win Duel No. 1. Allgaier ultimately finished in ninth place.
This accomplishment for Allgaier puts the JR Motorsports team into their first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race in the sport’s biggest event, the DAYTONA 500, after falling short of qualifying on speed in Wednesday night’s qualification round.
Justin Allgaier (No. 40) races against Ty Gibbs (No. 54) in Duel 1 at Daytona on February 13, 2025 (photo Credit: Donald Jenney | The Podium Finish)
“This just means so much to Dale (Earnhardt Jr.), Kelley (Earnhardt Miller) and L.W. (Miller) and everyone at JR Motorsports.” said the 2024 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Justin Allgaier.
“This might seem like not that big of a deal to a lot of people, but when I think about our small team at JR Motorsports –- as big as it is, it really is a small family team. To see this happen tonight, it takes a lot of weight off my shoulders.”
Bubba Wallace, the winner of Duel 1, spoke about his victory after leading a race-high 21 laps during the race.Wallace will start in third for the DAYTONA 500 on Sunday
“I didn’t know how it was going to play out, and we got the lead there and my McDonald’s Camry just switched like a light switch to a totally different balance from being in the pack.” “But all-in-all – we’ve got McDonald’s back in victory lane at the Duel. It sets us up really good for Sunday. We will enjoy this little moment right now. I told myself I would do more of – enjoy the little stuff. But hats off to these guys here.”
Dillon continues to impress everyone with Kaulig Racing in Speedweeks as he crossed the line in second, Wallace’s teammate at 23XI Racing, Tyler Reddick, finished third, Allmendinger in fourth, and Cook Out Clash winner Elliott rounded out the top 5. William Byron, Allgaier, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Ryan Preece rounded out the rest of the top 10.
Duel No.1 at Daytona International Speedway Race Results
- Bubba Wallace
- William Byron
- Ty Dillon
- Ross Chastain
- Tyler Reddick
- AJ Allmendinger
- Austin Dillon
- Justin Allgaier (i)
- Kyle Busch
- Ty Gibbs
- Michael McDowell
- Ryan Preece
- Josh Berry
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- JJ Yeley
- Carson Hocevar
- Chase Briscoe
- Chandler Smith (i)
- Justin Haley
- Helio Castroneves
- Zane Smith
