Bubba Wallace secured victory in the first of Thursday night’s Daytona Duel races, earning himself a third-place starting position for Sunday’s Daytona 500. The 23XI Racing driver leveraged a strong push from teammate Tyler Reddick to capture his first career Duel win and the second consecutive victory for his team in the qualifying races.

“What a good night,” Wallace celebrated after the race. “I didn’t know how it was going to play out, and we got the lead there and my McDonald’s Camry just switched like a light switch to a totally different balance from being in the pack.”

William Byron finished second despite handling issues in his No. 24 Chevrolet, while Ty Dillon impressed with a third-place finish despite scraping the wall on the final lap. The result gives Dillon a career-best Daytona 500 starting position of seventh.

The night featured significant drama for open entries seeking to qualify for Sunday’s race. Justin Allgaier secured a historic moment for JR Motorsports, racing his way into their first-ever NASCAR Cup Series start with a ninth-place finish. However, the qualifying race ended in disappointment for others, as a spectacular crash involving Chandler Smith and Helio Castroneves eliminated both drivers’ chances of racing their way in, though Castroneves will still make his Cup debut thanks to the Open Exemption Provisional.

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