Elliott, Hamlin win Duels as Daytona 500 field set

Chase Elliott earned his first unofficial victory Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway while Denny Hamlin added another Speedweeks victory to his résumé.

Elliott and Hamlin were victorious in their respective Can-Am Duels, which set the field for the 59th annual Daytona 500. Although Elliott will start on the pole in Sunday's Daytona 500, the No. 24 team still went full-speed ahead in the first of two Can-Am Duel races. Elliott led the first lap of the event before being overtaken by Brad Keselowski, who would lead a race-high 28 laps.

But Elliott returned the favor on Lap 37 when he shot to the inside of Keselowski off Turn 2. Elliott then fended off repeated challenges for the lead, including on a restart with nine laps. In addition to the win, Elliott also earned 10 points under NASCAR's new points system in which both Duel races award points to the top 10 finishers.

"Oh, man we had such a fast NAPA Chevy tonight," Elliott said. "I didn't think anybody was going to help us there at the first part of the race and I had a couple good pushes to get us out front, and our spotter (Eddie D'Hondt) did a great job on the roof making sure he was calling the lanes correctly, and we were able to get back in front."

Jamie McMurray edged Kevin Harvick at the finish line for second place, while Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.

There were two cautions during the first Duel race, the first a competition caution on Lap 25. The second caution flew on Lap 50 after Corey LaJoie got into the rear of Reed Sorenson, which sent him bouncing off Paul Menard and then head-on into the inside wall in the short-chute near Turn 1.

Sorenson, who was racing LaJoe for one of the final two spots in the field, saw his chances at making the Daytona 500 end with the accident.

"I just remember getting turned," said Sorenson. "Not sure how it developed, but I figured we were in a good position to make this race ... I guess he felt like he did what he had to do to make the race, so I hope he's proud of that part it."

LaJoie was apologetic about the contact, saying he was trying to split the middle.

"I just tried to fill a hole, and it was getting down to it, and I probably did have position on him," he said. "But man, when I'm trying to get into the Daytona 500 if my mom was in that spot I'd probably wreck her, too."

Hamlin overcame a pit road penalty early in the second Can-Am Duel race for his third victory in the event. Dale Earnhardt Jr. dominated the event by leading 53 of 60 laps. But Hamlin, who had drafting help from Austin Dillon, made his move with two laps to go and cleared Earnhardt for the lead.

"Great car," Hamlin said. "Got a push there from Austin, we worked really well together that entire race. I'll keep that in mind in the [Daytona] 500. It looked like our cars were really good together. I can't thank this team enough for a great job by Wheels (Mike Wheeler, crew chief). FedEx announced their renewal today, so that's a great sign of a great year, hopefully, to come."

The only major event during the second Duel race was a caution on Lap 48 when Jimmie Johnson lost a right front tire and hit the wall in Turn 3. A few laps earlier, Johnson had been tagged from behind by David Ragan and bounced off Ryan Blaney, causing the fender damage that eventually cut down the tire.

Corey LaJoie and DJ Kennington raced their way into the Daytona 500 through their respective Duel races, joining Elliott Sadler and Brendan Gaughan, who qualified on speed.

"The most amazing feeling in the world," an emotional Kennington said. "[Thanks to] My dad, my whole family, just thanks everybody. This is one of the biggest moments of my life and all the guys at work, everybody that pitches in so I can come and do this, thanks everybody, I really appreciate it." 

Timmy Hill and Reed Sorenson failed to qualify for Sunday's race.

NASCAR announced after the race that the cars of Martin Truex Jr., AJ Allmendinger and Chris Buescher failed minimum height requirements after the races. All three cars will start from the rear of the field in Sunday's Daytona 500, and Truex and Allmendinger lose the points they earned in the qualifying race.