Nascar Cup

Wallace and Cindric triumph at Daytona Duels

Allgaier qualifies JR Motorsports; NASCAR revisits Duel 2 finish

Photos : Nascar Media
2025/02/13
Daytona, Florida

The Duel Day at Daytona International Speedway determined the 40 drivers who qualified for the Daytona 500, with victories for Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric. Wallace secured the third starting position in the first duel, while the second duel had a controversial finish after a yellow flag, awarding the win to Cindric following a NASCAR review. Justin Allgaier guaranteed the first participation for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Bubba Wallace takes Duel 1

The first duel was decided in the final laps. Bubba Wallace, driving the Toyota for 23XI Racing, advanced with the help of his teammate Tyler Reddick, passing William Byron’s Chevrolet by just 0.082 seconds. With this result, Wallace will start third on the grid for the Daytona 500.

The highlight of Duel 1 was the qualification of Justin Allgaier, who secured a spot for JR Motorsports on the NASCAR Cup Series grid for the first time. Allgaier capitalized on the final laps to achieve the best result among non-chartered cars, guaranteeing his place in Sunday’s main race.

image Wallace and Cindric win in Daytona Duels

Complete Results for Duel 1

Bubba Wallace (Toyota)
William Byron (Chevrolet)
Ty Dillon (Chevrolet)
Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)
Tyler Reddick (Toyota)
AJ Allmendinger (Chevrolet)
Austin Dillon (Chevrolet)
Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
Justin Allgaier (Chevrolet)
Kyle Busch (Chevrolet)
Ty Gibbs (Toyota)
Michael McDowell (Chevrolet)
Ryan Preece (Ford)
Josh Berry (Ford)
Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Chevrolet)
JJ Yeley (Chevrolet)
Carson Hocevar (Chevrolet)
Chase Briscoe (Toyota)
Chandler Smith (Ford)
Justin Haley (Chevrolet)
Helio Castroneves (Chevrolet)
Zane Smith (Ford)

Controversy and Review in Duel 2

The second duel was marked by a close finish. Although Erik Jones crossed the finish line first, a crash in the final turn forced NASCAR to review the exact moment the yellow flag was shown. After an exhaustive review, it was determined that Austin Cindric was in front at that moment and was declared the winner.

"I feel bad for Erik," Cindric commented after the official announcement. "But those are the rules, and we’re focusing on what’s next on Sunday."

Jones, for his part, accepted the decision, though he didn’t hide his disappointment. "I did everything I could, but it just didn’t work out this time," he said.

Highlights and Incidents

Duel 1 saw several incidents, including a crash that knocked Chandler Smith and Helio Castroneves out of contention. Despite the damage, Castroneves will be able to compete in the Daytona 500 thanks to a provisional exemption.

In Duel 2, Corey LaJoie secured his spot by finishing sixth, while Anthony Alfredo, BJ McLeod, Chandler Smith, and JJ Yeley failed to qualify for the main race.