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NASCAR Ford Teams Sweep 2023 Duels At Daytona: Video

The twin races of the 2023 Duels at Daytona exhibited very different racing styles, but at the end of the night, two NASCAR Ford teams held on to nab the victories and secure their starting positions in the second row for the forthcoming Daytona 500 on February 19th.

For the first Duel, Joey Logano guided the No. 22 NASCAR Ford Mustang to lead 25 laps as the Blue Oval-badged racers teamed up to form a single-file freight train for most of the race. Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang, meanwhile, also led quite a few laps, showing the way for 30 circuits around the famous 2.5-mile asphalt trioval through the relatively tame race. The checkered flag fell on Logano’s No. 22, however, as he barely edged out his teammate Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang at the line for the win.

“The execution of this race is everything,” Logano said of the Ford racers’ pit strategy that kept them close together. “You know most likely there won’t be a caution, so you’ve got to do a good job on pit road cycling yourself to the front.”

The second Duel was quite a bit more action-packed. An early caution bunched the field on Lap 8 of the 60-lap event, and unlike the first Duel, the field stayed two-wide for most of the event. However, late in the race, the No. 10 NASCAR Ford of Aric Almirola charged to the front alongside the No. 2 Mustang of Austin Cindric, who took advantage of a six-car wreck to take over the lead. Almirola guided the No. 10 Mustang to lead 17 laps, including the final one, taking the second Blue Oval victory of the night.

“This is so cool,” said Almirola after winning his second career Duel. “Daytona is such a special place to me. I grew up sitting in those grandstands dreaming about racing here.” He added, “I know Sunday’s [Daytona 500] the big one, we’re going to keep focused on that one. The job’s not finished.”

As such, Logano’s No. 22 Mustang and Almirola’s No. 12 Mustang will start on the second row for the Daytona 500, right behind Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevy Camaro ZL1 and Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Camaro.

NASCAR Cup Series Race Results, Duel 1 At Daytona, February 16, 2023
Finish Start Car Number Driver Team Laps Run Laps Led Car
1 3 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 60 29 Ford Mustang
2 11 20 Christopher Bell DeWalt/Rheem Toyota 60 0 Ford Mustang
3 4 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Blue DEF/PEAK Ford 60 30 Ford Mustang
4 7 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 60 0 Ford Mustang
5 13 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops Ford 60 0 Ford Mustang
6 9 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Ford 60 0 Ford Mustang
7 6 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald's Toyota 60 0 Toyota TRD Camry
8 15 36 * Zane Smith(i) Wellcare Ford 60 0 Ford Mustang
9 5 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford 60 0 Ford Mustang
10 2 24 William Byron RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 60 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
11 8 1 Ross Chastain AdventHealth Chevrolet 60 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
12 14 43 Erik Jones GUNS N' ROSES Chevrolet 60 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
13 17 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops Club Chevrolet 60 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
14 12 84 * Jimmie Johnson Carvana Chevrolet 60 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
15 16 16 AJ Allmendinger Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet 60 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
16 18 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet 59 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
17 1 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 59 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
18 21 13 * Chandler Smith(i) Quick Tie Inc. Chevrolet 59 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
19 10 54 Ty Gibbs # Monster Energy/Interstate Batteries Toyota 59 0 Toyota TRD Camry
20 19 51 Cody Ware Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford 59 0 Ford Mustang
21 20 77 Ty Dillon Ferris Chevrolet 59 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
NASCAR Cup Series Race Results, Duel 2 at Daytona, February 16, 2023
Finish Start Car Number Driver Team Laps Run Laps Led Car
1 2 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 60 17 Ford Mustang
2 4 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 60 3 Ford Mustang
3 7 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 60 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
4 9 6 Brad Keselowski Nexlizet Ford 60 0 Ford Mustang
5 20 7 Corey LaJoie Celsius Chevrolet 60 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
6 1 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 60 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
7 17 38 Todd Gilliland gener8tor Skills Ford 60 1 Ford Mustang
8 11 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 60 0 Toyota TRD Camry
9 13 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx 50 Toyota 60 0 Toyota TRD Camry
10 8 41 Ryan Preece HaasTooling.com Ford 60 0 Ford Mustang
11 14 42 Noah Gragson # Wendy's Chevrolet 60 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
12 6 99 Daniel Suarez Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet 60 2 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
13 10 45 Tyler Reddick Monster Energy Toyota 60 0 Toyota TRD Camry
14 15 31 Justin Haley Cirkul Chevrolet 60 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
15 3 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 60 0 Ford Mustang
16 18 78 BJ McLeod Power Slap Rumble Chevrolet 60 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
17 21 50 * Conor Daly(i) BitNile.com Chevrolet 59 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
18 16 62 * Austin Hill(i) Bennett Transportation/Beard Chevrolet 41 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
19 5 8 Kyle Busch 3CHI Chevrolet 40 28 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
20 19 15 Riley Herbst(i) SunnyD Ford 40 0 Ford Mustang
21 12 67 * Travis Pastrana Black Rifle Coffee Toyota 40 0 Toyota TRD Camry

# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible

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Alexandra is a Colorado-based journalist with a passion for all things involving horsepower, be it automotive or equestrian.

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