2014 Budweiser Duels

NASCAR Thursday Night Budweiser Duel Review

By Richard Tix

As NASCAR Behind the Wall wrote in Wreckers or Checkers, going into the Budweiser Dules it would be interesting to see how they played out. Would drivers be too aggressive and cause a huge wreck or would they try and save there car for the important race, the 500? Also, would this race give us more insight into how the 500 will be played out? Will it be a wreck fest or a classic with NASCAR's new Aero Package?

Well, the Duels gave us fans a little bit of both. Lets take a look Duel by Duel.


Duel #1

Going into the first duel I was curious to see how the drivers would handle even more cars on the track. On Wednesday NASCAR had even more crashing and it was only practice! Even more drivers were forced to there back up car and Smoke and Danica switching engines so early at Daytona seemed to be paying off (By the time we get to the 500 they could move from the back to what seems like the 5th row!)

Dillon started the first Duel out on the Pole (See the Duel Lineups here). AJ Allmendinger was a fast mover to start the race coming from the back all the way up to 5th by lap 3. Not too long into the race the bottom line broke up. As Biffle moved down it seemed like everyone went to the high line and he got left hanging.

Around lap 14 the bottom line started getting momentum again and Earnhardt Jr jumped down from 2nd to join and took the lead on lap 15.  By lap 29 Kenseth had made his way back to the front and took the lead. Kenseth seemed to hold the lead most of the rest of the race.

Teams started to pit with about 24 laps to go. Jr came in with the second group and ended up smoking his tires which some thought might end up a problem. He dropped a few spots but he ended up finishing well.

Coming down on the last lap everyone was looking to make there move and then finally it happened as Harvick had a good run on Kenseth. Harvick pulled down to the lower half of the track and just ended up a few feet short. At the same time Kahne tried making a move even lower but was a car length too short. In the end it was a clean but exciting finish leaving Matt Kenseth NASCAR's Duel #1 winner.


Duel #2

The second Duel of the night which started off with Martin Truex Jr on the Pole was a bit of the same for most of the race. Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson started a bottom line early and got up front. BK held the lead and ran the top line most of the time before pits started.

Denny Hamlin had a run on JJ and pushed him up which left JJ falling back a bit. Denny continued his run up to the front. By lap 9 almost everyone was in a single line. Lap 36, or about 24 left, teams started pitting. Brad Keselowski came off pit road too fast and had to serve a drive through penalty which ended his strong run.

Once again it was a JGR car running up front most the race, this time Denny Hamlin. On the closing lap one big group came around to the finish line, just about everyone in the group would make the 500, but something weird happened.

Johnson ran out of gas while trying to get out of line, but at that time it was too late. Jamie McMurray who was having a good run got into JJ just enough to get the air under him and turn him around. Everything broke loose and a lot of drivers got caught up on the mess including the 78, 15, 48, 1, 66, 99, 34.

Oh, and Denny Hamlin won....


Duels in Review

Wreckers or Checkers? We got one of each on Thursday night. Though the wreck wasn't caused by over aggression but rather a weird scenario. Overall the Duels were great. Entertaining finishes with a lot of learning in between. We now know who is in or out of the Daytona 500 on Sunday (Line-up here). If the Daytona 500 is run close to the Duels it will be a very entertaining race. With 43 cars on the track I feel more cars will try and make the bottom line work earlier in the race. I can not imagine all 43 in a single file line for a whole race. It does seem that some drivers might be finally figuring out what the new Aero Package can and cant do.

Watch out on Sunday for the JGR drivers who have all looked fast in the pack. Also look for RCR, who have looked fast running solo. Maybe RCR cars have been just saving it until the 500? Brad Keselowski's bad move on pit road maybe helped him. He has had a great car all week and he didn't tear it up in that wreck, so keep and eye out for him. Also, Dale Earnhardt Jr has looked pretty strong as well.


We are so close fans! Need the Daytona 500 Starting Grid? Check out some other articles on the site and also check out This Sportz for there take on the Duels! As always, let me know what you think on Twitter! Who will win the 500!?