DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Excessive drama and long-shot endings as soon as once more proved the narrative of the evening in Thursday’s America 250 Florida Duels at Daytona with Casey Mears and B.J. McLeod claiming the ultimate two “open” positions for the 41-car subject for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
They may be a part of 23XI Racing’s Corey Heim and JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, who secured their Open automotive beginning spots in Wednesday evening’s Busch Mild Pole Qualifying session.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Collection Jimmie Johnson, owner-driver of Legacy Motor Membership, is utilizing an Open Exemption Provisional and raced his means as much as a thirty first beginning spot for Sunday.
Group Penske’s Joey Logano (Duel 1) and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott (Duel 2) have been Thursday’s race winners.
Mears, a former longtime fulltime NASCAR Cup Collection driver and race winner for the legendary Hendrick Motorsports Group – and nephew of Indianapolis 500 nice Rick Mears – turned in a online game transfer on the ultimate half lap of the opening Duel ending eighth and incomes an unlikely ticket into Sunday’s race – his first Daytona 500 begin since 2019.
“That is simply a type of locations the place there are sufficient random issues occur and stuff that occurs that’s out of your management and generally you’re on the fitting facet of it and generally you’re not and fortuitously as we speak, we have been on the fitting facet,” stated an emotional 47-year-old Mears.
“It was a wide range of feelings, however the one factor that’s fascinating this time round is that is all a bonus spherical for me. My profession just about ended again in 2017-2018 and to come back again and simply have the chance to do that once more is an enormous deal so I’m sort of soaking all of it in and having fun with each second.”
His Carl Lengthy-owned Storage 66 Ford crew solely has 10 members and even introduced a back-up automotive – not essentially for Daytona – however to strive once more at Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway subsequent week in case he didn’t find yourself qualifying for Sunday’s race.
At one level a miscue coming to pit highway left his No. 66 Ford Darkish Horse Mustang caught within the grass by pit highway, however he bought out and crucially misplaced just one lap, which finally made all of the distinction. He made it up on a later warning.
For all however that remaining additional time lap, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s “fourth automotive” pushed by Corey LaJoie ran among the many front-runners – constantly finest among the many three open automobiles in that first Duel. And he appeared simply poised to take the place transferring him into the race. Till the ultimate lap.
Sadly for LaJoie, that’s when he spun and picked up a number of automobiles within the melee whereas Mears was capable of zig and zag ahead from the again of the sphere and transfer right into a place on the Daytona 500 grid.
“It’s been unbelievable to work with these guys, and didn’t see this chance coming about,” LaJoie stated from the observe’s Infield Care Middle. “Didn’t see it, you recognize, ending like this, however, I imply, on the finish of the day, God’s so good, even within the valley. It sucks. It sucks.”
McLeod, 42, completed nineteenth within the second – caution-free – Duel race however was awarded the Daytona 500 switch spot after post-race inspection discovered a guidelines violation on the 18th-place Beard Motorsports automotive pushed by Anthony Alfredo.
This would be the sixth Daytona 500 begin – and first since 2023 – for the Floridian, McLeod, who owns and drives the No. 78 Life Quick Motorsports Chevrolet. His finest profession end within the 500 is nineteenth and got here in his 2019 debut within the race. He does have a pair of top-10 finishes within the Daytona summer time 400-miler.
Throughout post-race inspection, inspectors seen a transmission transaxle cooling hose in Alfredo’s automotive that was speculated to be hooked up however as an alternative was disconnected. NASCAR Cup Collection Managing Director Moran famous that every one hoses are checked post-race and “if something is discovered like this through the season it could be a DQ through the race” and famous it isn’t an “appeal-able” violation as a result of it got here in a qualifying race not a race.
“To start with, unlucky to be right here,” Moran stated. “Any small open crew we don’t wish to have these issues, however we do should do our job, ensure that there’s parity amongst the sphere and in addition parity amongst folks attempting to make the five hundred.
“Throughout inspection, we seen this hose, which is a transmission cooling transaxle cooling hose. Comes off of the fitting facet quarter window, and it’s supposed to enter the transaxle cooler. It must be hermetic, must be fixed.
“We’ve many guidelines, as you all know, that no elements can fall off the automotive for apparent causes. We don’t say what the intent is, however these elements should be fixed correctly. Sadly, this one piece wasn’t on the fitting facet. There was additionally one other hose disconnected for driving cooling, which impacts airflow.”
As for Mears, Sunday will mark his 495th begin within the NASCAR Cup Collection with the objective of attending to 500 begins this season. He stated he’s concentrating on superspeedways and highway programs on the 2026 schedule for one of the best likelihood of qualifying into the sphere as an open crew.
“I simply can’t consider we’re sitting right here proper now, the whole lot was simply utterly stacked towards us from high to backside,” Mears stated, including with a smile. “Thank God we have been simply in the fitting place on the proper time and we have been capable of get it house. …Feels good to be right here. Haven’t been right here shortly.”
