The 2014 Budweiser Duels were a pair of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car races that were held on February 20, 2014, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Both contested over 60 laps, they were the qualifying races for the 2014 Daytona 500. Joe Gibbs Racing swept the Duel races, with Matt Kenseth winning the first race. Kevin Harvick finished second, while Kasey Kahne, Marcos Ambrose and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top five. Denny Hamlin won the second race, ahead of Jeff Gordon, while Kurt Busch, Paul Menard and Brian Scott rounded out the top five.

2014 Budweiser Duels
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
LocationDaytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4 km)
DistanceRace 1:
60 laps, 150 mi (240 km)
Race 2:
60 laps, 150 mi (240 km)
Avg SpeedRace 1:
192.259 mph (309.411 km/h)
Race 2:
192.651 mph (310.042 km/h)
WeatherMostly clear with a temperature of 73 °F (23 °C); wind out of the southeast at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
Race 1
Pole positionAustin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing)
45.914 seconds
Most laps ledMatt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing)
(31)
WinnerMatt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Race 2
Pole positionMartin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing)
45.953
Most laps ledBrad Keselowski (Team Penske)
(34)
WinnerDenny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Television
NetworkFox Sports 1 & MRN
AnnouncersMike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds (Television)
Joe Moore and Barney Hall (Booth)
Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Jeff Striegle (3 & 4) (Turns) (Radio)
Nielsen Ratings2.0
(3.122 Million)

These were the first Budweiser Duel races to be held in primetime, as the races were previously held in the early afternoon. The Duels were telecast on Fox Sports 1.

Report

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Background

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Daytona International Speedway, where the races were held.

Daytona International Speedway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.[9] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[10] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[10]

Practice and qualifying

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A. J. Allmendinger was the fastest in the first of two practice sessions for the Duel races with a time of 45.096 and a speed of 199.574 mph (321.183 km/h). Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Paul Menard, Dave Blaney, Ryan Truex, Trevor Bayne and Parker Kligerman were involved in a crash on the frontstretch of Daytona during early practice on February 19, that resulted in heavy damage for Logano, Menard, Blaney, Truex, and Kligerman. This forced the teams to set up backup cars for the Duel races the following evening. Workers had to repair two sections of the catch fencing, ending practice early. Brian Vickers and Cole Whitt were also involved in a crash earlier during this practice, forcing Vickers to a backup car while Whitt's team was forced to repair their primary, as Swan Racing's only backup was given to Kligerman. Blaney eventually withdrew from the race after his team could not secure a backup car.[11] Kligerman stated that it was the first flip of his career, and that he "assumed it would be rougher. It was pretty soft. I was up in the fence floating along. Then it just slid over softly".[11] Logano stated that Kenseth had "started making a move to go down" and that he "was making the run, and I was going to fill that hole. He started to come back up and I was there".[11] Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the second of two practice sessions for the Duel races with a time of 45.096 and a speed of 199.574 mph (321.183 km/h).

Races

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Race 1

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Austin Dillon led the field to the green flag at 7:16 p.m., and after leading the first 14 laps, Dillon lost the lead to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on lap 15. Matt Kenseth took the lead on lap 28, and held the lead until lap 37, when he pitted and the lead was passed to Earnhardt Jr. once again. Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne each held the lead for a lap before Kenseth cycled back to the lead with 21 laps to go. On the last lap, Kevin Harvick pulled up alongside Matt Kenseth, while Kahne got to the inside, creating a three-wide photo finish in which Kenseth prevailed. Michael McDowell and Joe Nemechek failed to make the Daytona 500.[12] Kenseth stated that he "was kind of embarrassed to walk in the garage" but felt that his race performance "builds confidence in all of us, makes us feel like you can go out and get the job done if everybody does their jobs and we do everything right".[12] Harvick's car failed post-race inspection because his car exceeded the maximum split on the track bar. He was disqualified, but his speed in qualifying was enough to get him into the Daytona 500.[13] Greg Zipadelli, the competitions director at Harvick's team – Stewart-Haas Racing – referred to the infraction as "an adjustment during the race and it was more than it should have been".[13]

Race 2

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Martin Truex Jr. led the field to the green flag at 8:40 p.m., and Brad Keselowski took the lead on lap 2. Keselowski held the race lead for the next portion of the race, holding it until his pit stop on lap 36, which handed the lead to Casey Mears. On his pit stop, Keselowski was deemed to have been speeding while exiting, and had to serve a pass-through penalty. Denny Hamlin took the lead with 23 laps to go, and maintained the race lead until the end of the race, winning under caution.[12]

Coming through turn four on the final lap, Jimmie Johnson ran out of gas, got loose after being tapped in the left corner panel, overcorrected and hit the wall collecting Jamie McMurray in the process. Truex Jr. had no way to avoid the wreck and rear-ended McMurray. While slowing to avoid the wreck, Clint Bowyer got rear-ended by Ryan Truex, slid to the runoff area taking David Ragan with him. Bowyer flipped over in the air and landed on all four wheels with the only damage being a destroyed drive-train. Ragan and Michael Waltrip were also caught in the wreck and both hit the inside wall head-on. Carl Edwards was caught by McMurray, but sustained minimal damage. McMurray made contact with Johnson again as they continued on into the grass, destroying the front ends of their cars.[12] Bobby Labonte and Terry Labonte, who were both 30 seconds behind the leader on the final lap, raced their way into the Daytona 500, at the expense of Eric McClure, Morgan Shepherd and Ryan Truex.[12] Hamlin's team owner, Joe Gibbs, stated Hamlin had "worked extremely hard" for the result, and he thought his team was "all hungry when the year started".[12]

Results

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Duel 1

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Qualifying

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No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.914 196.019 1
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.961 195.818 2
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.987 195.707 3
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.104 195.211 4
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.153 195.004 5
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46.179 194.894 6
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46.235 194.658 7
22 Joey Logano[N 1] Team Penske Ford 46.253 194.582 8
20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.255 194.574 9
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.262 194.544 10
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.272 194.502 11
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 46.291 194.422 12
10 Danica Patrick[N 1] Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 46.301 194.380 13
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 46.366 194.108 14
36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 46.376 194.066 15
38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 46.455 193.736 16
30 Parker Kligerman (R)[N 1] Swan Racing Toyota 46.489 193.594 17
14 Tony Stewart[N 2] Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 46.544 193.365 18
55 Brian Vickers[N 1] Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 46.681 192.798 19
26 Cole Whitt (R) Swan Racing Toyota 46.744 192.538 20
95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 46.804 192.291 21
98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 46.860 192.061 22
87 Joe Nemechek Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 47.249 190.480 23
23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 47.447 189.685 24
77 Dave Blaney[N 3] Randy Humphrey Racing Ford No time No speed 25

Race results

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Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Status Led
1 9 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 Running 31
2 10 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 Running 1
3 6 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 60 Running
4 4 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 Running 14
5 22 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 60 Running
6 7 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 60 Running
7 14 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 60 Running
8 16 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 Running
9 3 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 60 Running
10 18 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 60 Running
11 20 26 Cole Whitt (R) Swan Racing Toyota 60 Running
12 2 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 60 Running
13 13 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 60 Running
14 24 23 Alex Bowman (R) BK Racing Toyota 60 Running
15 19 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 60 Running
16 8 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 60 Running
17 17 30 Parker Kligerman (R) Swan Racing Toyota 60 Running
18 1 3 Austin Dillon (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 60 Running 14
19 5 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 60 Running
20 11 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 Running
21 21 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 59 Running
22 23 87 Joe Nemechek Identity Ventures Racing Toyota 59 Running
23 15 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 20 Wheel Bearing
24 12 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 60 Disqualified

Duel 2

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Qualifying

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No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 45.953 195.852 1
99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.986 195.712 2
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 46.084 195.296 3
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.144 195.042 4
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.173 194.919 5
33 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.207 194.776 6
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.240 194.637 7
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 46.253 194.582 8
7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 46.255 194.574 9
15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 46.267 194.523 10
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.278 194.477 11
42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 46.294 194.410 12
21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 46.312 194.334 13
41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 46.373 194.078 14
51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 46.436 193.815 15
40 Landon Cassill Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 46.456 193.732 16
66 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 46.529 193.428 17
35 Eric McClure Front Row Motorsports Ford 46.655 192.905 18
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 46.706 192.695 19
34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 46.795 192.328 20
32 Terry Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 46.842 192.135 21
52 Bobby Labonte HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 46.999 191.493 22
83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 47.282 190.347 23
93 Morgan Shepherd BK Racing Toyota 47.483 189.542 24

Race results

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Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Time/Retired Led
1 11 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 Running 23
2 4 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 Running 0
3 14 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 60 Running 0
4 5 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 60 Running 0
5 6 33 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 60 Running 0
6 13 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 60 Running 0
7 12 42 Kyle Larson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 60 Running 0
8 1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 60 Running 1
9 16 40 Landon Cassill Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 60 Running 0
10 10 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 60 Running 0
11 19 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 60 Running 0
12 21 32 Terry Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 60 Running 0
13 22 52 Bobby Labonte HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 60 Running 0
14 8 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 60 Running 2
15 2 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 60 Running 0
16 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 59 Accident 0
17 20 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 59 Accident 0
18 17 66 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 59 Accident 0
19 23 83 Ryan Truex (R) BK Racing Toyota 59 Running 0
20 15 51 Justin Allgaier (R) HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 59 Running 0
21 9 7 Michael Annett (R) Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 59 Running 0
22 24 93 Morgan Shepherd BK Racing Toyota 59 Running 0
23 18 35 Eric McClure Front Row Motorsports Ford 57 Running 0
24 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 57 Running 34

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c d Driver started at the rear of the field, for changing to a backup car post-qualifying.
  2. ^ Tony Stewart started at the rear of the field, for a post-qualifying engine change.
  3. ^ Dave Blaney withdrew from the Daytona 500 after wrecking his primary car in the pre-qualifying practice session. He was unable to secure a backup car.

References

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  1. ^ "Daytona International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  2. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 17, 2014. Archived from the original on May 26, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  3. ^ "Budweiser Duel 1 Lineup". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 20, 2014. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  4. ^ "Budweiser Duel 2 Lineup". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 20, 2014. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  5. ^ "Third Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 19, 2014. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  6. ^ "Fourth Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 19, 2014. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  7. ^ "Budweiser Duel 1 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 20, 2014. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  8. ^ "Budweiser Duel 2 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 20, 2014. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  9. ^ "Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Daytona International Speedway Track Facts". Daytona International Speedway. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  11. ^ a b c Long, Dustin (February 19, 2014). "Wild Ride for Kligerman". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Long, Dustin (February 20, 2014). "Kenseth, Hamlin Duel Winners". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  13. ^ a b Long, Dustin (February 20, 2014). "Harvick's Car Fails Inspection". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.