Last Friday, Conor Daly told The Checkered Flag that his “perfect scenario” would be to race alongside friends Jimmie Johnson and Travis Pastrana in the Daytona 500. Despite a disastrous qualifying session in which he never turned a lap and being plagued by mechanical trouble in his Duel on Thursday, he capitalised on a late wreck that took out fellow non-chartered driver Austin Hill to clinch his spot in the Great American Race.
Daly and Hill simply needed to finish ahead of the other in Duel #2 to make the Daytona 500, a task that seemed to grow taller for the former when his car started to vibrate. Despite being off the pace and ultimately finishing a lap down, Hill was collected in a lap 40 crash that began when Daniel Suárez pushed leader Kyle Busch too hard and shot him into the backstretch wall, and Hill was spun upon contact with Riley Herbst. Pastrana, who qualified for the 500 on Wednesday alongside Johnson, was also involved.
While it may be a stroke of luck, Daly was more than happy to take it after a difficult week. He will be the sixty-second different driver to have competed in both the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500, a stat that also includes Johnson.
“We were inherently unlucky for the last thirty-six hours, but we got lucky,” said Daly. “I wish I could have said that I drove it in on pure pace, but it was just crazy.
“When we went out there, the car was bouncing around. I had no idea what was going on. I thought the drivetrain was broken, and Tony (Eury Jr., crew chief) just made it better every time. We got lucky with the yellows to try to get some experience, but it is pretty crazy.
“This race, I’ve watched it for so many years and so much crazy stuff can happen, and thankfully we were on the right side of the craziness. It’s pretty amazing.”
Daly is not the only Open driver celebrating a Daytona 500 grid spot. In the first Duel, former Craftsman Truck Series rivals Zane Smith and Chandler Smith jockeyed for the other available grid position, but the latter’s hopes dried up after receiving a speeding penalty.
“Before, I said I’m fine if I don’t make it but it would be awesome if I make it,” said Chandler Smith, who will now focus on the Xfinity Series. “I believe everything happens for a reason. I’m a believer.
“I’m fine with this. I had a lot of fun right there. I learned a lot, now I get what these guys talk about when you run on a Sunday you gain a lot of experience. That translates into Saturdays and Sundays.”
With Zane Smith qualifying, the 2023 Daytona 500 will feature all three defending national series champions. Joey Logano (Cup) won Duel #1 and will start third, while Ty Gibbs (Xfinity) finished nineteenth in said race. It is the first Cup race with such a quirk since the 2011 Pure Michigan 400 with Johnson (Cup), Brad Keselowski (Xfinity), and Todd Bodine (Truck), though that was when Cup regulars like Keselowski were allowed to race for lower series championships.
The Duel #1 win is Logano’s third after 2019 and 2020, while fellow Ford driver Aric Almirola won Duel #2 for the second time after 2021. Keselowski and RFK Racing team-mate Chris Buescher, who swept the 2022 Duels, interestingly finished fourth in their respective races.
“There was so much anxiety about wrecking a race car because we were in such a bad position supply chain-wise and not having all the parts and pieces we needed,” said Almirola. “When my car drove as bad as it drove last year in the Duels, I bailed and just rode around and didn’t want to take any chances.
“This year, having more confidence, more understanding of these race cars, a year under our belt, even though the car didn’t drive great, I was able to be a lot more aggressive with a relatively good feeling about what we had in our race car and what we have for spare parts if we needed to work on it.”
Duel #1 results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 2 | 11 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 60 | Running |
| 3 | 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 4 | 7 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 5 | 13 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 6 | 9 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 7 | 6 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 60 | Running |
| 8 | 15 | 36 | Zane Smith* | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 9 | 5 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 10 | 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 11 | 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 12 | 14 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 13 | 17 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 14 | 12 | 84 | Jimmie Johnson | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 15 | 16 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 16 | 18 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 59 | Running |
| 17 | 1 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 59 | Running |
| 18 | 21 | 13 | Chandler Smith* | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 59 | Running |
| 19 | 10 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 59 | Running |
| 20 | 19 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 59 | Running |
| 21 | 20 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 59 | Running |
* – Ineligible for Cup points
Bold – Open car, made Daytona 500
Underscore – Open car, DNQ
Duel #2 results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 2 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 3 | 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 4 | 9 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 5 | 20 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 6 | 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 7 | 17 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 8 | 11 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 60 | Running |
| 9 | 13 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 60 | Running |
| 10 | 8 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 11 | 14 | 42 | Noah Gragson | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 12 | 6 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 13 | 10 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 60 | Running |
| 14 | 15 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 15 | 3 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 16 | 18 | 78 | B.J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet | 60 | Running |
| 17 | 21 | 50 | Conor Daly* | The Money Team Racing | Chevrolet | 59 | Running |
| 18 | 16 | 62 | Austin Hill* | Beard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 41 | Accident |
| 19 | 5 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 40 | Accident |
| 20 | 19 | 15 | Riley Herbst* | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 40 | Accident |
| 21 | 12 | 67 | Travis Pastrana | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 40 | Accident |