Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano won the first Duel race, beating Christopher Bell by 0.018s at the finish line. A push from teammate Ryan Blaney helped to secure him the victory.
Zane Smith, the defending winner of the NASCAR Truck Series championship, raced his way into the field in the No. 36 Front Row Motorsports entry. Chandler Smith in the No. 13 Kaulig Racing entry missed the show.
The second Duel race was far more eventful. Kyle Busch led a good portion of the race until he was hooked head-on into the outside wall by Daniel Suarez, collecting several other cars.
Among them was Austin Hill, who was not locked into the field. He was forced to retire from the race, allowing Conor Daly and the TMT Racing team to make the Daytona 500 field. Hill and Beard Motorsports did not.
Todd Gilliland led the race at the white flag, but a bad push sent him sideways. He saved it, but that allowed Aric Almirola to surge ahead and take the race win ahead of Austin Cindric.
On Friday, Jimmie Johnson led the field in the first Daytona 500 practice of the weekend. They will get another 30min practice session on Saturday. Zane Smith claimed victory in the Truck Series season-opener, which was cut short by rain. It was his eighth career Truck Series victory and his second consecutive at Daytona.
On Saturday, only 16 cars took part in practice. Among them, Brad Keselowski was fastest in the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford. Greg Van Alst took an upset victory in the ARCA race that followed, winning for the first time in his career.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series ended in dramatic fashion, with Sam Mayer flipping from the lead. Although it was close between Austin Hill, John-Hunter Nemechek, and Justin Allgaier, NASCAR reviewed the footage and determined Hill to be the race winner.
*Car damaged in an incident during the Duel races