Logano wins opening duel at Daytona

Joey Logano claimed victory in the first Daytona 500 qualifying duel race, as a crash on the final lap determined which Open driver claimed a spot in Sunday’s field.

Logano led the last 13 laps of the race. He took the lead off pit road during a fuel-only pit stop.

The race was won under caution when the accordion effect went haywire as the field went down the backstretch. The surge came from Shane van Gisbergen pushing Daniel Suarez into the back of Corey LaJoie.

The contact spun LaJoie, who was trying to race his way into the Daytona 500 for RFK Racing. LaJoie was the second car on the inside lane at the time of the crash. But instead, Casey Mears kept his foot in the gas from the back of the pack, ran into Suarez, and continued through to take the transfer spot.

Mears recovered from falling off the lead lap after he spun coming to pit road on lap 46. The driver of the No. 66 for Carl Long got on the brakes too hot and spun, which collected Noah Gragson in the process.

“It was probably a little bit power of prayer; there was a lot of that going on in the car,” Mears said. “I couldn’t thank everybody enough for getting us here to begin. Yeah, I had an issue on pit road, and I got a run around the outside (on the last lap) and I figured I’d stay in the gas no matter what happened. When I saw them spinning, and I missed the first guy, I thought, ‘OK, good.’ Then I hit somebody square, and I knew when I hit him flat, it didn’t tear up the car too much, and I was going to be able to get back. But I didn’t know who was in front of me, still, and whether or not we made it. Then my guys started going nuts on the radio.

“I can’t believe we’re here based on our night and the way that it went.”

At the finish, it was Logano over Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, and John Hunter Nemechek. Shane van Gisbergen finished sixth ahead of Daniel Suarez, Mears, Ryan Preece, and Alex Bowman.

“It was a lot of teamwork all the way through,” Logano said. “I think about the (No.) 22 team in particular. Nick Hensley, our gas man, did a fantastic job getting us position off of pit road. Coleman Pressley up on the roof giving me great information and my teammate Ryan Blaney being committed and working together. So, it’s nice when everything works out the way it’s supposed to. I’ve got a great team around me. I’ve got a great Ford Mustang, and it’s great to see this yellow and red Ford Mustang back in victory lane.”

It was a largely uneventful race. The caution for Mears and Gragson was the first of the night, and the next flew shortly thereafter on lap 50. It occurred on the backstretch when a bump from Chris Buescher into Austin Dillon spun Bubba Wallace, who was leading the inside lane. The crash collected Chandler Smith, who was trying to race his way into the Daytona 500 for Front Row Motorsports.

With his win, Logano will start third in the Daytona 500. He won the event in 2015.