Daytona 500 Duels: Wallace, Cindric win qualifiers; attention focused most on JRM's attempt to make race
(Photo by Don Coble)
By Don Coble
DAYTONA BEACH – There were tears of happiness and sorrow following both 150-mile qualifying races for the Daytona 500 Thursday night at the Daytona International Speedway.
For
36 drivers, the results of the Duels only set their starting spots for the
Great American Race on Sunday (2:30 p.m., FOX). But it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for nine other drivers without exemptions into the sport’s biggest race to race their way into a race that has attracted as many as 19.4 million
television viewers.
Bubba
Wallace fought back tears when he drove his Michael Jordan and Denny
Hamlin-owned Toyota to Victory Lane after winning the first Duel, while Eric
Jones was on the verge of tears when NASCAR determined Austin Cindric was ahead
by a foot when it threw a caution flag for a crash 100 yards short of the checkered
flag. Jones was ahead when they crossed the line.
Most
of the attention, however, was one of the teams without a charter exemption that
had to do it the old-fashioned way in the first race – JR Motorsports, headed by
Dale Earnhardt Jr., his sister and brother-in-law Kelley Earnhardt Miller and L.W.
Miller and driver Justin Allgaier.
Buoyed
by Chris Stapleton’s Traveller Whiskey sponsorship and support from Hendrick Motorsport, the Xfinity Series team was expected to breeze through the qualifying process in its Cup Series debut but suddenly faced many challenges.
With
three laps remaining, Allgaier's No. 40 Chevrolet was behind J.J. Yeley for the final qualifying
spot into the 500, and they were separated by Martin Truex Jr.
Suddenly, the traffic lines moved, and Allgaier saw an opening and shot from 14th to a ninth-place finish in the last two laps while Yeley faded from 12th to 17th.
Dale
embraced his sister, and both cried. So much effort went into making the biggest
race on the schedule to a family that defines the Earnhardt brand that making the
field proved exhausting, especially after Allgaier didn’t lock down one
of two qualifying spots among the non-charter teams during pole qualifying.
“Where
else do you go and barely make the field and cry tears of joy?” Earnhardt Jr. asked.
“We
really wanted to make it in [Wednesday],” Kelley said. “We’ve been saying on
the way down here. ‘It’ll be OK. Whatever happens, happens.' This is our first
try, and so on and so forth. Then last night came, and it was just really kind of a
gut punch when we didn’t make it on time.”
Before
the race, Earnhardt Jr. approached every team member on pit road and shook
their hand. Then, he climbed to the top of the pit box and focused solely on the
race.
“We
have kind of tried to downplay how badly we want to race in the Cup Series,” he
said. “At least I have. It’s like one of them things where you are like, ‘Man,
if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.’ I’m not going to make it drag down all
the other great things happening in my world, but man, we got here, and we got
a taste of it. Holy Moly, yesterday was so disappointing. I didn’t know exactly
how badly I wanted to do this or wanted to be a part of something like this
until we started going through it.
“Kelley
said we race, we love to race, and racing is hard, and I wouldn’t have it any
other way. This was rough emotionally, but damn it, it’s fun when it works out.”
Dale
said Stapleton was well-focused on Thursday’s race. He was more concerned about
Allgaier making Sunday’s main event than the exposure his whiskey garnered
during the coverage.
“He’s
super engaged,” Earnhardt said. “Chris was texting me the whole race: ‘What are
we swapping tires for?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, we just run over some debris, we’re
going to be on the safe side.’
“He
was very particular about the car's design, which was funny because I
am, too.”
Allgaier won the Xfinity Series Championship last November after starting in a
back-up car after crashing in practice, falling two laps down and rallying to
finish second in the race.
Dale
and Kelley will return to their full-time responsibilities when they field
four cars with drivers Allgaier, Connor Zilisch, Carson Kvapil, and Sammy Smith
in Saturday’s United Rentals 300 Xfinity Series race (5 p.m., CW).
While
the Earnhardts and Allgaier were celebrating, 50 yards away, Wallace was in
Victory Lane. He admitted he was teary before and after the race.
Wallace
and his wife Amanda celebrated the birth of a son, Becks, last September. He
was overwhelmed when he carried the baby across the stage during driver introductions.
In
Victory Lane, he lifted his 4-month-old son in a pose similar to “The Lion
King.”
“It
is the coolest thing having a kid,” he said. “I regret not having one earlier. I
feel like I’m walking lighter because of him. Four months old, and he’s already
changed my life.”
While
the qualifying race means Wallace will start third in the Daytona 500, after admitting
to battling with past mental health issues, he said he will celebrate “the
little things.”
Wallace
led 21 of the 60 laps, including 17 of the last 20 and the final three laps.
The defending Daytona 500 champion, William Byron was second, followed by Ty Dillon,
Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick.
Four-time
Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves was knocked out by a crash on the 14th
lap. Still, NASCAR offered an “Open Exemption Provisional” for the 41st
starting spot – if he can fix his car or find another car.
In
the second race, the outcome came down to a frame-by-frame examination by NASCAR
officials.
Cindric
and Eric Jones were side-by-side when cars crashed 100 yards behind them as
they approached the finish line. Jones was first at the line, but NASCAR rules state that the driver ahead is the winner when the yellow lights are displayed.
After
declaring Jones the unofficial winner, they reversed their decision after determining
Cindric was ahead when the caution lights were turned on.
“I
hate that it just didn’t work out,” Jones said. “There’s so much going on with
our group, rebuilding and trying to improve. It would have been nice
to take pictures in Victory Lane for everybody. But overall, I think we got a
good car.”
Jones
finished second after leading 16 of 60 laps. Cindric, who locked his spot on
the outside pole in Sunday’s Daytona 500 during Wednesday’s pole qualifying, led
the final three laps.
Chris
Buescher finished third, while Denny Hamlin was fourth, Joey Logano was fifth
and Corey LaJoie locked down a non-charter exemption with a sixth-place finish.
Those missing the race were Yeley, Anthony Alfredo, BJ McLeod and Chandler Smith.
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
(Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
