Budweiser Duels Preview

Later tonight, the infamous Budweiser Duels will take center stage at Daytona International Speedway which will officially set the lineup for the 57th running of the Daytona 500. Not only will tonight’s pair of 60 lap races decide the starting grid for the biggest race of the season, but it will also decide the fate for several teams trying to earn a spot in the Great American Race. Drivers like David Ragan, Ryan Blaney, Ron Hornaday, and others will get an opportunity to race their way into the Daytona 500 while several more popular drivers must do the same as well. For drivers already locked into the Daytona 500, the Budweiser Duels offer teams the opportunity to see how their cars will react in true race competition. Therefore let’s take this time to look at the lineups for both duel races and give a brief preview of the drivers to watch:

Budweiser Duel 1: Starting Lineup

The front row of the first duel features quite an interesting pair with Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth, two guys that have had several run-ins throughout their career. Kenseth has been solid throughout speedweeks thus far by winning last Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited and also showing solid speed in practices. Gordon already has the pole locked up so do not be surprised to see the #24 team play it safe especially if things get dicey. Still, this duel has several popular names that could make some noise starting with bad Brad, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and the defending Daytona 500 champion in Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt made a bold statement earlier in the week that the #88 team had the fastest car off the hauler. Earnhardt is not normally the guy to make those types of statements so needless to say he must be happy with the speed the car has shown thus far. Junior will start rear of the field due to failing post qualifying inspections last Sunday which disallowed his qualifying time. Therefore Junior will get the chance to show us just how much “speed” that #88 car truly has under the hood. While I think these races are a crap shoot, I am interested to see how Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer perform. Bowyer is a solid restrictor plate racer but he is in a backup car after wrecking in the opening moments of Sunday’s Daytona 500 qualifying session. For Stewart, Daytona was once a place where he was always a threat to win but he has not performed well here in recent years. After suffering the worse year of his career in 2014, many are wondering if Stewart can find a way to right the ship in 2015 and perhaps finally score his first Daytona 500 victory.

Budweiser Duel 2: Starting Lineup

The encore 60 lap race of the night in Duel #2 has plenty of talent to entertain as well with guys like Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Denny Hamlin. While those names sound pretty convincing, none of those drivers have been overly impressive at Daytona throughout their careers. Hamlin was possibly the most impressive car at Daytona Speedweeks in 2014. Hamlin won the Sprint Unlimited and won one of the duel races before finishing 2nd in the Daytona 500. While it may be a bit too early to tell if Hamlin has another car worthy of contending for a Daytona 500 victory, one thing that is noteworthy is that he will have two teammates to help him in duel #2. Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards will have the opportunity to work with each other in the 60 lap event which could be beneficial for all of the JGR teammates. However, I just have this eerie feeling that someone is going to score an upset in the 2nd duel. There are plenty of sleepers to gamble on in the 2nd duel. Michael Waltrip and Greg Biffle stand out as guys that know how to find the front at Daytona. Perhaps Ryan Blaney can make a splash in his debut with the Wood Brothers? Remember how strong Martin Truex Jr was in the #78 last week in the Sprint Unlimited? Do not be surprised if Truex makes some noise again.