Search
Close this search box.

Partner

Austin Dillon Edges Bubba Wallace For Duel 2 Win; David Ragan, Kaz Grala Transfer to Daytona 500

share it
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit

Bubba Wallace nearly grabbed a victory in his first race with Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team in Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel No. 2 at Daytona International Speedway, but in a frantic last-lap battle over an overtime finish he was edged out by the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Austin Dillon.

Here is video of the finish of Duel 2:

“Heck of a push through three and four,” Dillon said. “I knew Bubba was going to try to block it, but I just whipped the wheel and it worked out well.”

Kevin Harvick, who gave the race-winning shove to Dillon, finished third in the Duel, Kyle Busch was third and Chase Elliott finished fifth.

Following a missed shot at a win, Wallace lamented about his own shortcomings during the race.

“A lot of mistakes,” Wallace admitted. “A good debut, but nothing to be really happy about with myself. It’s okay for drivers to be hard on themselves, that’s how we motivate ourselves to get out and do better. Just hats off to my guys at 23XI.”

David Ragan, who had already secured a spot in the Daytona 500 field with his qualifying speed, drove his way into a starting spot for the Daytona 500 by finishing eighth. With Ragan not needing to fall back on his qualifying time, that locks Kaulig Racing’s Kaz Grala into the Daytona 500 on speed.

It appeared that the battle to transfer to the Daytona 500 would be between Noah Gragson and Garrett Smithley, who had been inside or around the top-10 for the majority of the event, but a multi-car pileup with four laps to go, dashed their hopes of making the Daytona 500.

Video: Brad Keselowski, Garrett Smithley Trigger Huge Melee Near End of Duel 2

Although Gragson and Smithley were eliminated due to the crash, there is more drama in the crash as William Byron wadded up his primary car in the incident. Byron was scheduled to start second in Sunday’s Daytona 500, but will have to go to a backup car and will start at the rear of the field.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Post

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel has upheld a disqualification for Stewart Friesen and the No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing team following last Friday's race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
National Motorsports Appeals Panel Upholds Friesen's IRP Disqualification
Carson Hocevar will drive the No. 11 Kaulig Racing entry in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway following the release of Josh Williams
Carson Hocevar to Pilot No. 11 Kaulig Racing Car in Xfinity Race at Iowa
Josh Williams has been released by Kaulig Racing with 12 races remaining in the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
Josh Williams, Kaulig Racing Parting Ways With Immediate Effect
Shane van Gisbergen took his first ever win on an oval in Tuesday night's Pro Legends A-Feature at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Cook Out Summer Shootout
Shane Van Gisbergen Gets First Oval Win On Final Night of Cook Out Summer Shootout
Mexico City will reportedly not return to the NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 2026, and will likely be replaced by Chicagoland Speedway, which has not hosted a NASCAR National Series race since 2019.
Report: Mexico City Off Cup Schedule in 2026, Chicagoland Likely to Return
KOTHBoth1
Joey Gase Running Iowa Double-Duty with Support of Hulu's King of the Hill

Join Our Newsletter

Ready to have NASCAR news hand-delivered to your email daily?

Related Article