Drama at the end of the Duels as field is set for Daytona 500

ustin Dillon, driver of the #3 DOW Chevrolet, and Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 3M Ford, lead the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Budweiser Duel 1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20, 2014 in Daytona Beach, Florida.(Getty Images)
ustin Dillon, driver of the #3 DOW Chevrolet, and Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 3M Ford, lead the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Budweiser Duel 1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20, 2014 in Daytona Beach, Florida.(Getty Images)
ustin Dillon, driver of the #3 DOW Chevrolet, and Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 3M Ford, lead the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Budweiser Duel 1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20, 2014 in Daytona Beach, Florida.(Getty Images)

The Duel qualifying races used to set the field for the Daytona 500 ran under the lights for the first time Thursday night. For 299.5 miles there was great racing but very little drama; that happened in the last few feet.

Matt Kenseth led 31 of 60 caution free laps to win the first Duel in a thrilling three wide finish.  The second Duel, won by Denny Hamlin was just as sedate, that was until the final lap.

Daytona 500 pole sitter Matt Dillon held the lead at the start of the first Duel. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.