DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Aric Almirola dominated the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel Thursday night at Daytona Int’l Speedway for his maiden victory in a Daytona 500 qualifying race.
Almirola led four times for 52 of the 60 laps around the 2.5-mile superspeedway, taking full command after a cycle of green-flag pit stops just past halfway and never giving up control of the race again.
The Tampa, Fla., native held off final-lap surges by both Joey Logano and Christopher Bell, ultimately nipping Bell at the finish line by .041 seconds for the win.
It marked Stewart-Haas Racing’s third career Duel victory as a team and Almirola’s first win of any kind in a NASCAR Cup Series car since Oct. 14, 2018 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
“Mike Bugarewicz and all these guys on this team built me an incredible Ford Mustang. What a way to kick off our 10th season together with Smithfield,” said Almirola, who will start third in Sunday’s Daytona 500. “They’ve been an incredible partner of mine. This is just a great way to start Speedweeks; this thing is really fast and I can’t wait until Sunday.
“It’s been a long time since I got to sit here and do an interview on the start-finish line.”
Almirola also couldn’t resist taking a jab at new NASCAR on FOX broadcaster Clint Bowyer during his victory lane interview.
“Things are going right for Tampa Bay, huh Clint Bowyer!” Almirola said with a grin, referencing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ recent Super Bowl win over Bowyer’s home team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Thursday’s first Duel race set the odd-numbered starting positions for The Great American Race.
The final lap featured some chaos, with three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin dropping off the pace in turn two with an apparent fuel issue and Cole Custer crashing in turn four as well.
At the front of the field, Logano ducked to the bottom in turn three with an assist from Bell, but stalled out when Almirola side-drafted Logano exiting turn four coming to the checkered flag.
Bell then went back to the top and pushed Almirola clear of Logano before moving to Almirola’s outside in a last-ditch attempt to win the race in his own right.
That move didn’t pay off, but it did give Bell a runner-up result that lines the newly-minted Joe Gibbs Racing driver and Norman, Okla., native up fifth on the grid for the 63rd Daytona 500.
Ryan Newman crossed the line third, followed by Logano, who faded back to fourth at the finish.
Ryan Preece edged out Ty Dillon by .038 seconds for fifth place, effectively knocking Dillon out of the Daytona 500 as a result.
Dillon had to finish as the highest non-chartered driver in the first Duel in order to make the show, while Preece was already locked into the Daytona 500 by virtue of his qualifying speed from Wednesday night.
With Preece stealing the race-in spot, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric was able to fall back on his qualifying time to advance into the Great American Race.
Cindric finished 16th, one lap down, after a mid-race speeding penalty took him out of contention.
To view full race results from the first Bluegreen Vacation Duel, advance to the next page.