DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chris Buescher gave RFK Racing a sweep of the Bluegreen Vacation Duel qualifying races Thursday after taking the lead after contact with Joey Logano on the final lap at Daytona International Speedway.
With two laps to go, Logano led Buescher, Michael McDowell and Harrison Burton across the start/finish line. On the white flag lap Logano attempted to block Buescher as they raced out of turn two when Buescher dove low. The two cars made contact and Logano slammed into the wall outside wall.
Last year’s Daytona 500 winner, Michael McDowell, narrowly avoided Logano’s spinning car. Buescher kept his Ford a few inches ahead of McDowell at the time of the caution flag and was declared as the winner.
RESULTS: Bluegreen Vacations Duel No. 2
“What a way to start Speedweeks out here, right, to put both RFK Ford Mustangs in victory lane, give Fastenal their first win on a Cup car,” Buescher said. “It’s not the big show, but we’ve got a really good hotrod here.
“Just hat’s off to everybody back at the shop. I know it’s been a hectic off season for everybody in our sport, but we’ve had a lot of changes going on, and it’s cool to see it play out.
“I think we were racing there – I think Brad talked about it, we got to race because he kept his clean and won, so we got to go out there and race it, and I know everybody was trying to do the same and trying to throw a block there at the end. I don’t want to get into him, just trying to pull down and get in front of the 15 there. I don’t want it to happen that way for sure, but I am really proud of the effort, proud of a nice good execution all the way down pit road, and we’re in a good spot here. That’s exciting.”
Logano was uninjured in the crash and admitted post-race that he simply timed his block incorrectly.
“Driver screwed up. That’s really all there is to it,” Logano said. “I thought I was still clear and the run came a lot quicker than I thought it would. I tried to block it a little bit and just got a tag in the left-rear and off it went. It’s my fault. It stinks because it tore up our car and kind of puts us in a spot as a race team. It’s just a dumb mistake.”
Harrison Burton, who made contact with Logano’s spinning Ford on the final lap, was credited with finishing third. Kyle Busch was fourth and Christopher Bell finished fifth.
Greg Biffle, driving for the upstart NY Racing team, finished 13th and raced his way into the starting lineup for Sunday’s 64th Daytona 500 despite a fueling issue on pit road. Timmy Hill finished 20th and was the only driver eliminated from the second Duel.
“It was a tough go,” Biffle said. “I have to thank Chevy, RCR and Hendrick engines. Everything happened tonight, but we finished 13th. Maybe it’s a good thing I had that issue on pit road, or I might have been in that wreck.”
Jacques Villeneuve finished last in his No. 27 Ford for Team Hezeberg Powered by Reaume Brothers Racing after mechanical issues sent them to the garage early. However, he was locked into Sunday’s Daytona 500 based on his qualifying lap Wednesday.
Congestion on pit road led to Denny Hamlin locking up the brakes on his No. 11 Toyota and spinning out when he was part of a group of cars that made pit stops with 34 laps to go. He ultimately finished 15th.