Reddick, Bell Win Duels As Johnson Qualifies For Daytona 500
Jimmie Johnson didn’t win the first Daytona Duel on Wednesday, but he made history anyway.
Johnson was entered in a non-chartered car and needed to beat fellow open driver J.J. Yeley to make the Daytona 500 field.
Johnson was involved in a wreck with 10 laps to go and was trailing Yeley on the restart with six laps left.
The two raced side by side most of the way until Yeley moved out front on the last lap, but Johnson was able to catch a draft off of Ross Chastain’s car and pulled ahead and beat Yeley to the checkered flag four spots clear in 12th place.
JOEY LOGANO WINS DAYTONA 500 POLE POSITION
Johnson will now become the first NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee to compete in a Cup Series when he takes the green flag in the Daytona 500.
Tyler Reddick won the race with a last lap move on leader Kyle Larson to take his first Duel victory.
Christopher Bell won the second Duel after an 11-car wreck with 13 laps to go shuffled the field.
Kaz Grala finished 12th to snag the last open spot after not completing a lap during single-car qualifying on Wednesday due to a mechanical issue.
Joey Logano and Michael McDowell, the first and second fastest qualifiers, avoided damage during their Duels and willl start the Daytona 500 on the front row.
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