The 2016 Can-Am Duels were a pair of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car races held on February 18, 2016, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Both contested over 60 laps, they were the qualifying races for the 2016 Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first Duel race and Kyle Busch won the second Duel race.
Report
Background
Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees. Practice
First practice (February 13) Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 46.364 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.364 194.116 2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 46.427 193.853 3 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.444 193.782Official first practice results
Second practice (February 13) Joey Logano was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 45.934 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 45.934 195.933 2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 45.954 195.848 3 21 Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 45.966 195.797Official second practice results
Pole qualifying
Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is different from any other race weekend because the starting lineup for the race – except for the two drivers that post the two fastest timed laps in the final round of qualifying – isn't set on qualifying day. It sets the lineup for the two duel races the following Thursday.
Unlike qualifying at non-restrictor plate races, qualifying at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway consists of two rounds of cars being sent out one at a time to make a single timed lap. The fastest 12 advance to the final round to run for the pole position.
Chase Elliott scored the pole for the race with a time of 45.845 and a speed of . He said that today was "a very, very cool day. I don’t know that this opportunity has sunk in yet, much less sitting on the pole for the Daytona 500. I think the big thing is just the team and the Daytona 500 qualifying is about the team guys and the effort they put into these cars and it’s nothing special I did, it’s really what kind of work they did this off-season to make it happen."
After qualifying seventh and being all but guaranteed into the Daytona 500 based on speed, Ryan Blaney said that he "wasn't really too nervous going into today. I knew we had a really fast race car. We just had to do our job and we did it and we just had to lock ourselves in. I really wasn't feeling any different than I do any other day."
Likewise, Matt DiBenedetto – who is also all but guaranteed in on his speed after qualifying 24th – said that he could "sleep well, finally. I was really nervous all night. This is just a testament to the hard work from the guys on my team. Two-hundredths of a second. I'm really thankful, thankful to be racing in my first Daytona 500, most importantly. I'm really thankful and blessed to be here.”
Martin Truex Jr. was unable to post a time over a roof flap issue. The Stewart Haas Racing cars of Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers had their times disqualified after their track bars failed inspection.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 24 Chase Elliott (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.031 45.845 1 (1) 2 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.994 45.910 1 (2) 3 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.968 45.993 2 (1) 4 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.127 46.105 2 (2) 5 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.191 46.126 3 (1) 6 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.215 46.192 3 (2) 7 21 Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 46.257 46.214 4 (1) 8 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.201 46.231 4 (2) 9 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.269 46.234 5 (1) 10 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.266 46.267 5 (2) 11 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 46.330 46.270 6 (1) 12 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 46.331 46.282 6 (2) 13 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 46.332 — 7 (1) 14 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.367 — 7 (2) 15 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.368 — 8 (1) 16 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.407 — 8 (2) 17 95 Ty Dillon Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 46.407 — 9 (1) 18 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 46.421 — 9 (2) 19 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46.451 — 10 (1) 20 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.472 — 10 (2) 21 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 46.536 — 11 (1) 22 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46.552 — 11 (2) 23 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 46.647 — 12 (1) 24 93 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 46.708 — 12 (2) 25 59 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 46.728 — 13 (1) 26 7 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 46.743 — 13 (2) 27 83 Michael Waltrip BK Racing Toyota 46.776 — 14 (1) 28 34 Chris Buescher (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 46.786 — 14 (2) 29 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 46.804 — 15 (1) 30 32 Bobby Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 46.922 — 15 (2) 31 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 46.977 — 16 (1) 32 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 47.013 — 16 (2) 33 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47.046 — 17 (1) 34 15 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47.059 — 17 (2) 35 38 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 47.073 — 18 (1) 36 26 Robert Richardson Jr. BK Racing Toyota 47.245 — 18 (2) 37 98 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Toyota 47.275 — 19 (1) 38 35 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 47.531 — 19 (2) 39 23 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota 47.602 — 20 (1) 40 30 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 48.056 — 20 (2) 41 40 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 49.679 — 21 (1) 42 14 Brian Vickers Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 0.000 - 21 (2) 43 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 0.000 - 22 (1) 44 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 0.000 - 22 (2)Official qualifying results Key Meaning (1) Race 1 (2) Race 2
Practice (post-qualifying)
Third practice (February 17) Michael McDowell was the fastest in the third practice session with a time of 44.961 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 59 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 44.961 200.173 2 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.019 199.916 3 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.086 199.619Official third practice results
Fourth practice (February 17) Brian Scott was the fastest in the fourth practice session with a time of 45.045 and a speed of . Kyle Larson and Michael Waltrip will start from the rear of the field in their respective Duel races after being involved in a four-car crash in turn 1.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 45.045 199.800 2 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.052 199.762 3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.061 199.729Official fourth practice results
Final practice (February 18) Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 46.619 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.619 193.054 2 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 47.394 189.897 3 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 47.394 189.897Official final practice results
Races
Race 1
First half
Start Under clear night Florida skies, Chase Elliott led the field to the green flag at 7:21 p.m. He drafted ahead of teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. to lead the first lap. After stalling out heading to the line, Earnhardt took the lead on lap 3. He spent the next few laps holding the reins of the field controlling the top and bottom lanes. Eventually the field formed a single-file line and rode around the top lane of the track. Brad Keselowski made a few attempts to pass him, but Earnhardt continued to control the track to the point he settled back behind. By lap 27, the single-file train broke up and two lines formed amongst the front pack. A number of cars hit pit road to kick off a cycle of green flag stops on lap 40. Earnhardt hit pit road on lap 41 and teammate Kasey Kahne assumed the lead. He pitted the next lap and the lead cycled to Denny Hamlin.
Second half The first caution of the race flew on lap 43 for a single-car spin in turn 1. Going for the pass on Michael McDowell, Cole Whitt got turned and sent spinning by Regan Smith. He retired from the race and would go on to miss the Daytona 500.
The race restarted with 13 laps to go. Hamlin got a jump on Earnhardt and pulled to the front with ease. Earnhardt worked his way back to the front and drove underneath Hamlin to retake the lead with five laps to go. As Brian Scott got turned and slammed the inside wall exiting turn 4, Earnhardt took the checkered flag. McDowell raced his way in as the fastest of the non-charter cars while Cole Whitt and Josh Wise did not qualify.
Results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps 1 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 2 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 60 3 4 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 60 4 22 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet 60 5 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 6 1 24 Chase Elliott (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 7 8 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 8 11 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 60 9 15 34 Chris Buescher (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 10 3 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 60 11 5 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 60 12 17 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 60 13 10 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 60 14 13 59 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 60 15 14 7 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 60 16 20 23 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota 60 17 21 30 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 60 18 18 15 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 60 19 16 32 Bobby Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 60 20 12 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 59 21 9 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 58 22 19 98 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Toyota 47Unofficial race results
Race 2
First half
Start Matt Kenseth led the field to the green flag at 9:02 p.m. He pulled ahead of teammate Kyle Busch to lead the first lap. Unlike the first Duel race, the bottom line disappeared and the field formed a single-file train by the fifth lap. After Ryan Newman led the second pack of cars back up to the lead 11 cars, Martin Truex Jr. jumped in front of him and reformed the bottom line. However, the line lost momentum and merged with the top line. Running with debris on his grille, Kenseth let Busch go by him in turn 1 to get it off and Busch took over the lead on lap 25. Kyle Busch hit pit road on lap 39 and handed the lead to Aric Almirola. He pitted the next lap and the lead cycled back to Busch.
Second half
With six laps to go, Jimmie Johnson broke out of line and caused the single-file line to form multiple lines before reforming into a single line. Eventually, Kenseth tried to break the line up again, but the field remained in place. With two laps to go, Casey Mears ran out of gas, nearly caused a wreck amongst the leaders and broke up the single-file train. The final lap saw a multi-car wreck in turn 1 that ended the race and gave the win to Busch. Robert Richardson Jr. raced his way in, while David Gilliland and Reed Sorenson failed to qualify.
Results