The
2016 Can-Am Duels
were a pair of
NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series
stock car
races held on February 18, 2016, at
Daytona International Speedway
in
Daytona Beach, Florida
. Both contested over 60 laps, they were the
qualifying races
for the
2016 Daytona 500
.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
won the first Duel race and
Kyle Busch
won the second Duel race.
Report
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Background
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Daytona International Speedway is one of six
superspeedways
to hold
NASCAR
races, the others being
Michigan International Speedway
,
Auto Club Speedway
,
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
,
Pocono Raceway
and
Talladega Superspeedway
.
[11]
The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.
[12]
The track's turns are banked at 31
degrees
, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.
[12]
Practice
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First practice (February 13)
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 46.364 and a speed of 194.116 mph (312.399 km/h).
[13]
Second practice (February 13)
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Joey Logano
was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 45.934 and a speed of 195.933 mph (315.324 km/h).
[14]
Pole qualifying
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Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is different from any other race weekend because the starting lineup for the race ? except for the two drivers that post the two fastest timed laps in the final round of qualifying ? isn't set on qualifying day. It sets the lineup for the two duel races the following Thursday.
Unlike qualifying at non-restrictor plate races, qualifying at Daytona International Speedway and
Talladega Superspeedway
consists of two rounds of cars being sent out one at a time to make a single timed lap. The fastest 12 advance to the final round to run for the pole position.
Chase Elliott
scored the pole for the race with a time of 45.845 and a speed of 196.314 mph (315.937 km/h).
[15]
He said that today was "a very, very cool day. I don’t know that this opportunity has sunk in yet, much less sitting on the pole for the Daytona 500. I think the big thing is just the team and the Daytona 500 qualifying is about the team guys and the effort they put into these cars and it’s nothing special I did, it’s really what kind of work they did this off-season to make it happen."
[16]
After qualifying seventh and being all but guaranteed into the Daytona 500 based on speed,
Ryan Blaney
said that he "wasn't really too nervous going into today. I knew we had a really fast race car. We just had to do our job and we did it and we just had to lock ourselves in. I really wasn't feeling any different than I do any other day."
[17]
Likewise,
Matt DiBenedetto
? who is also all but guaranteed in on his speed after qualifying 24th ? said that he could "sleep well, finally. I was really nervous all night. This is just a testament to the hard work from the guys on my team. Two-hundredths of a second. I'm really thankful, thankful to be racing in my first Daytona 500, most importantly. I'm really thankful and blessed to be here.”
[18]
Martin Truex Jr.
was unable to post a time over a roof flap issue.
[19]
The
Stewart Haas Racing
cars of
Kevin Harvick
and
Brian Vickers
had their times disqualified after their track bars failed inspection.
Qualifying results
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|
Key
|
Meaning
|
(1)
|
Race 1
|
(2)
|
Race 2
|
|
Practice (post-qualifying)
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Third practice (February 17)
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Michael McDowell
was the fastest in the third practice session with a time of 44.961 and a speed of 200.173 mph (322.147 km/h).
[20]
Fourth practice (February 17)
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Brian Scott
was the fastest in the fourth practice session with a time of 45.045 and a speed of 199.800 mph (321.547 km/h).
[21]
Kyle Larson
and
Michael Waltrip
will start from the rear of the field in their respective Duel races after being involved in a four-car crash in turn 1.
[22]
Final practice (February 18)
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Jimmie Johnson
was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 46.619 and a speed of 193.054 mph (310.690 km/h).
[23]
Races
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Race 1
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First half
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Start
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Under clear night
Florida
skies,
Chase Elliott
led the field to the green flag at 7:21 p.m. He drafted ahead of teammate
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
to lead the first lap. After stalling out heading to the line, Earnhardt took the lead on lap 3. He spent the next few laps holding the reins of the field controlling the top and bottom lanes. Eventually the field formed a single-file line and rode around the top lane of the track.
Brad Keselowski
made a few attempts to pass him, but Earnhardt continued to control the track to the point he settled back behind. By lap 27, the single-file train broke up and two lines formed amongst the front pack. A number of cars hit pit road to kick off a cycle of green flag stops on lap 40. Earnhardt hit pit road on lap 41 and teammate
Kasey Kahne
assumed the lead. He pitted the next lap and the lead cycled to
Denny Hamlin
.
Second half
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The first caution of the race flew on lap 43 for a single-car spin in turn 1. Going for the pass on
Michael McDowell
,
Cole Whitt
got turned and sent spinning by
Regan Smith
. He retired from the race and would go on to miss the Daytona 500.
The race restarted with 13 laps to go. Hamlin got a jump on Earnhardt and pulled to the front with ease. Earnhardt worked his way back to the front and drove underneath Hamlin to retake the lead with five laps to go. As
Brian Scott
got turned and slammed the inside wall exiting turn 4, Earnhardt took the checkered flag.
[24]
McDowell raced his way in as the fastest of the non-charter cars while
Cole Whitt
and
Josh Wise
did not qualify.
Results
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Race 2
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First half
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Start
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Matt Kenseth
led the field to the green flag at 9:02 p.m. He pulled ahead of teammate
Kyle Busch
to lead the first lap. Unlike the first Duel race, the bottom line disappeared and the field formed a single-file train by the fifth lap. After
Ryan Newman
led the second pack of cars back up to the lead 11 cars,
Martin Truex Jr.
jumped in front of him and reformed the bottom line. However, the line lost momentum and merged with the top line. Running with debris on his grille, Kenseth let Busch go by him in turn 1 to get it off and Busch took over the lead on lap 25. Kyle Busch hit pit road on lap 39 and handed the lead to
Aric Almirola
. He pitted the next lap and the lead cycled back to Busch.
Second half
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With six laps to go,
Jimmie Johnson
broke out of line and caused the single-file line to form multiple lines before reforming into a single line. Eventually, Kenseth tried to break the line up again, but the field remained in place. With two laps to go,
Casey Mears
ran out of gas, nearly caused a wreck amongst the leaders and broke up the single-file train. The final lap saw a multi-car wreck in turn 1 that ended the race and gave the win to Busch.
[25]
Robert Richardson Jr.
raced his way in, while
David Gilliland
and
Reed Sorenson
failed to qualify.
Results
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Media
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Television
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Radio
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MRN
Radio
|
Booth announcers
|
Turn announcers
|
Pit reporters
|
Lead announcer:
Joe Moore
Announcer:
Jeff Striegle
Announcer:
Rusty Wallace
|
Turns 1 & 2:
Dave Moody
Backstretch:
Mike Bagley
Turns 3 & 4:
Kyle Rickey
|
Alex Hayden
Winston Kelley
Steve Post
|
Notes
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References
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]
- ^
"2016 Sprint Cup Series schedule"
(PDF)
.
Jayski.com
.
Jayski's Silly Season Site
. January 26, 2016. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on February 7, 2016
. Retrieved
February 11,
2016
.
- ^
"Daytona International Speedway"
.
NASCAR.com
. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from
the original
on April 27, 2015
. Retrieved
February 11,
2016
.
- ^
"First Practice Results"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. February 13, 2016. Archived from
the original
on February 15, 2016
. Retrieved
February 13,
2016
.
- ^
"Second Practice Results"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. February 13, 2016. Archived from
the original
on February 15, 2016
. Retrieved
February 13,
2016
.
- ^
"Qualifying results"
(PDF)
.
Jayski.com
.
Jayski's Silly Season Site
. February 14, 2016. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on February 21, 2016
. Retrieved
February 16,
2016
.
- ^
"Third Practice Results"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. February 17, 2016. Archived from
the original
on February 21, 2016
. Retrieved
February 17,
2016
.
- ^
"Fourth Practice Results"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. February 17, 2016. Archived from
the original
on February 21, 2016
. Retrieved
February 17,
2016
.
- ^
"Final Practice Results"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. February 18, 2016. Archived from
the original
on February 21, 2016
. Retrieved
February 18,
2016
.
- ^
"Duel Race 1 Results"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. February 18, 2016. Archived from
the original
on February 22, 2016
. Retrieved
February 19,
2016
.
- ^
"Duel Race 2 Results"
.
MRN.com
.
Motor Racing Network
. February 18, 2016. Archived from
the original
on February 22, 2016
. Retrieved
February 19,
2016
.
- ^
"Race Tracks"
.
NASCAR
. Turner Sports. Archived from
the original
on June 28, 2011
. Retrieved
February 21,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
"Daytona International Speedway Track Facts"
.
Daytona International Speedway
. Archived from
the original
on October 16, 2012
. Retrieved
February 21,
2013
.
- ^
Long, Dustin (February 13, 2016).
"Dale Earnhardt Jr. fastest in first practice Saturday at Daytona"
.
nascartalk.nbcsports.com
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
:
NBC Sports
. Retrieved
February 13,
2016
.
- ^
Spencer, Lee (February 13, 2016).
"Penske teammates draft their way to the top of second 500 practice"
.
Motorsport.com
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
: Motorsport.com, Inc
. Retrieved
February 13,
2016
.
- ^
Gluck, Jeff (February 14, 2016).
"Chase Elliott wins pole for Daytona 500"
.
USA Today
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
:
Gannett Company
. Retrieved
February 14,
2016
.
- ^
Wackerlin, Jeff (February 14, 2016).
"Elliott Wins Daytona 500 Pole"
.
MRN.com
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
:
Motor Racing Network
. Archived from
the original
on February 16, 2016
. Retrieved
February 14,
2016
.
- ^
Pockrass, Bob (February 14, 2016).
"Chase Elliott gets pole, Matt DiBenedetto breathes sigh of relief"
.
ESPN.com
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
: ESPN Internet Ventures
. Retrieved
February 15,
2016
.
- ^
Willis, Ken (February 14, 2016).
"Like father, like son: Second-generation Elliott becomes youngest to win pole for 500"
.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
:
GateHouse Media, Inc.
Retrieved
February 15,
2016
.
- ^
Pockrass, Bob (February 14, 2016).
"Martin Truex Jr. to start at back of Daytona qualifying for violation"
.
ESPN.com
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
: ESPN Internet Ventures
. Retrieved
February 16,
2016
.
- ^
Spencer, Lee (February 17, 2016).
"Roush cars forced to change rear gears as McDowell leads practice"
.
Motorsport.com
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
: Motorsport.com, Inc
. Retrieved
February 17,
2016
.
- ^
Utter, Jim (February 17, 2016).
"Multi-car wreck mars Wednesday's final Cup practice"
.
Motorsport.com
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
: Motorsport.com, Inc
. Retrieved
February 17,
2016
.
- ^
Albert, Zack (February 17, 2016).
"Ty Dillon: 'I hate that we tore up so many race cars'
"
.
NASCAR.com
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
: NASCAR Media Group, LLC
. Retrieved
February 17,
2016
.
- ^
Bonkowski, Jerry (February 18, 2016).
"Jimmie Johnson leads final Sprint Cup practice prior to Can-Am Duels"
.
nascartalk.nbcsports.com
.
NBC Sports
. Retrieved
February 18,
2016
.
- ^
Gluck, Jeff (February 18, 2016).
"Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins first of two duels, will start third in Daytona 500"
.
USA Today
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
:
Gannett Company
. Retrieved
February 18,
2016
.
- ^
Fryer, Jenna (February 18, 2016).
"Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch win Daytona qualifying races"
.
Associated Press
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
: AP Sports.
Associated Press
. Archived from
the original
on February 20, 2016
. Retrieved
February 18,
2016
.