Hendrick teams dominate Duels as Patrick makes the field at Daytona

Dale Earnhardt won the first Duel at Daytona Thursday, (Getty Images)
Dale Earnhardt won the first Duel at Daytona Thursday, (Getty Images)
Dale Earnhardt won the first Duel at Daytona Thursday, (Getty Images)

The lessons learned Thursday include the continued dominance of Hendrick Motorsports, who will race in Sunday’s Daytona 500 and that Danica Patrick and Denny Hamlin may now have a very strained friendship.  NASCAR set the field for the 2015 Daytona 500 Thursday night with the running of the Duel qualifying races. The 150 mile races set the field for Sunday’s season opening race and provided a bit of drama along the way. Six drivers failed to make the field, but Patrick will race despite a late race scare.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first Duel working his way quickly through the field after starting in last place and taking the lead for the final time with five laps to go. Earnhardt was forced to start from the back of the field after his time was disallowed by NASCAR for his Chevy being too low after qualifying last Sunday. He took the lead for the first time on lap 35 and went onto win his fourth career Duel qualifying race.

“I’m so glad to be able to get through the Duel in one piece because I know how good this race car is,” Earnhardt said. 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.