Joey Logano, Chase Elliott Win Duels at Daytona

While Joey Logano cruised to victory in the first duel, Casey Mears threaded the needle to secure his spot in the Daytona 500.

Mears, a long shot to make the Daytona 500 in the Garage 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, fell behind the eight ball when he spun entering pit road during a round of green-flag pit stops, collecting Noah Gragson.

When a multi-car incident involving Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Chris Buescher and others sent the race to overtime, it also offered the opportunity for Mears to rejoin the lead lap via the free pass. When another incident after the field had taken the white flag collected fellow Open competitor Corey LaJoie, Mears moved up to eighth in the rundown and advanced as the highest-finishing Open driver.

Race Results: 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Duels at Daytona

"Probably a little bit of the power of prayer," said Mears on FS1. "There's a lot of that going on in the car. I just couldn't thank everybody enough for getting us here to begin with.

"I had an issue on pit road, and I got a run around the outside. I figured I'd just stay in the gas no matter what happened. When I saw them spinning and I missed the first guy, I thought, okay, good. Then I hit somebody square, and I knew when I hit them flat, it didn't tear up the car too much and I was going to be able to get back.

"I didn't know who was in front of me still, whether or not we made it. All the guys started going nuts on the radio."

Meanwhile, Logano finished ahead of Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney to win the first duel, earning the third starting spot in Sunday's Daytona 500.

"Just a lot of teamwork all the way through," said Logano. "I think about the 22 team, in particular, Nick Hensley, our gas man, did a fantastic job getting us position off pit road. Coleman Pressley up on the roof, giving me great information. My teammate, Ryan Blaney, being committed and working together.

"It's nice when everything works out the way it's supposed to. I've just got a great team around me, a great Ford Mustang, and it's great to see this yellow and red Ford Mustang back in victory lane. A lot of partners have been sticking with us for a long period of time. To have them back at the top is a great place to start the season."

For most teams in the field, preparations now begin for Sunday's race. For Mears and the Garage 66 team, those preparations involve potential repairs to his car from damage in the last-lap incident.

"I don't know exactly what the rules are. I don't know what's repairable on this and what isn't. I think we do have another car that we plan to take to Atlanta in case we didn't make the show, we'd have something ready to go for Atlanta. Maybe we can get that ready?

"I don't even know what the rules are. I just know we made it. The car is damaged. We've got to figure it out. I'm just really happy to be here."

For all of the excitement and drama in the first duel, the second race went caution-free. That did not mean it was any less thrilling, however, as Chase Elliott held off several challengers to win Duel 2.

"It's a great way to get the blood pumping for sure, on a Thursday night," said Elliott. "There was a lot going on. Ever since we came off pit road after that pit cycle, man, we were getting after it. It was a lot of fun.

"Carson [Hocevar] did a great job helping me control those lines and helping get Team Chevy to victory lane tonight. Certainly, I owe him an appreciation for just sticking with it and pushing me well. It's real easy to get people out of control, so I appreciate that."

Initially, Anthony Alfredo finished 18th, earning the distinction of highest finishing Open Competitor in Duel 2. However, his placement was disallowed in post-race technical inspection, giving the Open spot to B.J. McLeod. According to NASCAR Cup Series Director Brad Moran, a transaxle cooling hose was loose and a driver cooling hose was not attached properly following the second duel.

The Daytona 500 takes the green flag on Sunday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. ET. Coverage of the event will be on FOX, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

-Photo credit: James Gilbert/Getty Images