2016 Can-Am Duels

2016 Can-Am Duels
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Location Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance Race 1:
60 laps, 150 mi (240 km)
Race 2:
60 laps, 150 mi (240 km)
Avg Speed Race 1 172.911 mph (278.273 km/h)
Race 2 191.898 mph (308.830 km/h)
Weather Clear night skies with a temperature of 59 °F (15 °C); wind out of the north/northeast at at 14 mph (23 km/h)
Race 1
Pole position Chase Elliott (R)
Most laps led Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (43)
Winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Race 2
Pole position Matt Kenseth
Most laps led Kyle Busch (35)
Winner Kyle Busch
Television
Network Fox Sports 1 & MRN
Announcers Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip (Television)
Joe Moore and Jeff Striegle (Booth)
Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4) (Turns) (Radio)

The 2016 Can-Am Duels were a pair of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car races held on February 18, 2016, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Both contested over 60 laps, they were the qualifying races for the 2016 Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the first Duel race and Kyle Busch won the second Duel race.

Report

Background

Daytona International Speedway, where the races were held.

Daytona International Speedway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.[11] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[12] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[12]

Practice

First practice (February 13)

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 46.364 and a speed of 194.116 mph (312.399 km/h).[13]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.364 194.116
2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 46.427 193.853
3 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.444 193.782
Official first practice results

Second practice (February 13)

Joey Logano was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 45.934 and a speed of 195.933 mph (315.324 km/h).[14]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 45.934 195.933
2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 45.954 195.848
3 21 Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 45.966 195.797
Official second practice results

Pole qualifying

Chase Elliott, seen here at Road America, scored the pole for the Daytona 500.

Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is different from any other race weekend because the starting lineup for the race – except for the two drivers that post the two fastest timed laps in the final round of qualifying – isn't set on qualifying day. It sets the lineup for the two duel races the following Thursday.

Unlike qualifying at non-restrictor plate races, qualifying at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway consists of two rounds of cars being sent out one at a time to make a single timed lap. The fastest 12 advance to the final round to run for the pole position.

Chase Elliott scored the pole for the race with a time of 45.845 and a speed of 196.314 mph (315.937 km/h).[15] He said that today was "a very, very cool day. I don’t know that this opportunity has sunk in yet, much less sitting on the pole for the Daytona 500. I think the big thing is just the team and the Daytona 500 qualifying is about the team guys and the effort they put into these cars and it’s nothing special I did, it’s really what kind of work they did this off-season to make it happen."[16]

After qualifying seventh and being all but guaranteed into the Daytona 500 based on speed, Ryan Blaney said that he "wasn't really too nervous going into today. I knew we had a really fast race car. We just had to do our job and we did it and we just had to lock ourselves in. I really wasn't feeling any different than I do any other day."[17]

Likewise, Matt DiBenedetto – who is also all but guaranteed in on his speed after qualifying 24th – said that he could "sleep well, finally. I was really nervous all night. This is just a testament to the hard work from the guys on my team. Two-hundredths of a second. I'm really thankful, thankful to be racing in my first Daytona 500, most importantly. I'm really thankful and blessed to be here.”[18]

Martin Truex, Jr was unable to post a time over a roof flap issue.[19] The Stewart Haas Racing cars of Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers had their times disqualified after their track bars failed inspection.

Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 Grid
1 24 Chase Elliott (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.031 45.845 1 (1)
2 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.994 45.910 1 (2)
3 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.968 45.993 2 (1)
4 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.127 46.105 2 (2)
5 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.191 46.126 3 (1)
6 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.215 46.192 3 (2)
7 21 Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 46.257 46.214 4 (1)
8 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.201 46.231 4 (2)
9 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.269 46.234 5 (1)
10 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.266 46.267 5 (2)
11 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 46.330 46.270 6 (1)
12 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 46.331 46.282 6 (2)
13 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 46.332 7 (1)
14 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.367 7 (2)
15 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.368 8 (1)
16 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 46.407 8 (2)
17 95 Ty Dillon Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 46.407 9 (1)
18 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 46.421 9 (2)
19 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46.451 10 (1)
20 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.472 10 (2)
21 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 46.536 11 (1)
22 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46.552 11 (2)
23 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 46.647 12 (1)
24 93 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 46.708 12 (2)
25 59 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 46.728 13 (1)
26 7 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 46.743 13 (2)
27 83 Michael Waltrip BK Racing Toyota 46.776 14 (1)
28 34 Chris Buescher (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 46.786 14 (2)
29 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 46.804 15 (1)
30 32 Bobby Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 46.922 15 (2)
31 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 46.977 16 (1)
32 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 47.013 16 (2)
33 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47.046 17 (1)
34 15 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47.059 17 (2)
35 38 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 47.073 18 (1)
36 26 Robert Richardson, Jr. BK Racing Toyota 47.245 18 (2)
37 98 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Toyota 47.275 19 (1)
38 35 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 47.531 19 (2)
39 23 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota 47.602 20 (1)
40 30 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 48.056 20 (2)
41 40 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 49.679 21 (1)
42 14 Brian Vickers Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 0.000 - 21 (2)
43 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 0.000 - 22 (1)
44 78 Martin Truex, Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 0.000 - 22 (2)
Official qualifying results
Key Meaning
(1) Race 1
(2) Race 2

Practice (post-qualifying)

Third practice (February 17)

Michael McDowell was the fastest in the third practice session with a time of 44.961 and a speed of 200.173 mph (322.147 km/h).[20]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 59 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 44.961 200.173
2 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.019 199.916
3 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 45.086 199.619
Official third practice results

Fourth practice (February 17)

Brian Scott was the fastest in the fourth practice session with a time of 45.045 and a speed of 199.800 mph (321.547 km/h).[21] Kyle Larson and Michael Waltrip will start from the rear of the field in their respective Duel races after being involved in a four-car crash in turn 1.[22]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 45.045 199.800
2 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.052 199.762
3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.061 199.729
Official fourth practice results

Final practice (February 18)

Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 46.619 and a speed of 193.054 mph (310.690 km/h).[23]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 46.619 193.054
2 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 47.394 189.897
3 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 47.394 189.897
Official final practice results

Races

Race 1

First half

Start

Under clear night Florida skies, Chase Elliott led the field to the green flag at 7:21 p.m. He drafted ahead of teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to lead the first lap. After stalling out heading to the line, Earnhardt took the lead on lap 3. He spent the next few laps holding the reigns of the field controlling the top and bottom lanes. Eventually the field formed a single-file line and rode around the top lane of the track. Brad Keselowski made a few attempts to pass him, but Earnhardt continued to control the track to the point he settled back behind. By lap 27, the single-file train broke up and two lines formed amongst the front pack. A number of cars hit pit road to kick off a cycle of green flag stops on lap 40. Earnhardt hit pit road on lap 41 and teammate Kasey Kahne assumed the lead. He pitted the next lap and the lead cycled to Denny Hamlin.

Second half

The first caution of the race flew on lap 43 for a single-car spin in turn 1. Going for the pass on Michael McDowell, Cole Whitt got turned and sent spinning by Regan Smith. He retired from the race and would go on to miss the Daytona 500.

The race restarted with 13 laps to go. Hamlin got a jump on Earnhardt and pulled to the front with ease. Earnhardt worked his way back to the front and drove underneath Hamlin to retake the lead with five laps to go. As Brian Scott got turned and slammed the inside wall exiting turn 4, Earnhardt took the checkered flag.[24] McDowell raced his way in as the fastest of the non-charter cars while Cole Whitt and Josh Wise did not qualify.

Results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps
1 2 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60
2 7 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 60
3 4 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 60
4 22 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet 60
5 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60
6 1 24 Chase Elliott (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60
7 8 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60
8 11 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 60
9 15 34 Chris Buescher (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 60
10 3 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 60
11 5 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 60
12 17 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 60
13 10 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 60
14 13 59 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 60
15 14 7 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 60
16 20 23 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota 60
17 21 30 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 60
18 18 15 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 60
19 16 32 Bobby Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford 60
20 12 44 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 59
21 9 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 58
22 19 98 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Toyota 47
Unofficial race results

Race 2

First half

Start

Matt Kenseth led the field to the green flag at 9:02 p.m. He pulled ahead of teammate Kyle Busch to lead the first lap. Unlike the first Duel race, the bottom line disappeared and the field formed a single-file train by the fifth lap. After Ryan Newman led the second pack of cars back up to the lead 11 cars, Martin Truex, Jr. jumped in front of him and reformed the bottom line. However, the line lost momentum and merged with the top line. Running with debris on his grille, Kenseth let Busch go by him in turn 1 to get it off and Busch took over the lead on lap 25. Kyle Busch hit pit road on lap 39 and handed the lead to Aric Almirola. He pitted the next lap and the lead cycled back to Busch.

Second half

Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap in turn 2

With six laps to go, Jimmie Johnson broke out of line and caused the single-file line to form multiple lines before reforming into a single line. Eventually, Kenseth tried to break the line up again, but the field remained in place. With two laps to go, Casey Mears ran out of gas, nearly caused a wreck amongst the leaders and broke up the single-file train. The final lap saw a multi-car wreck in turn 1 that ended the race and gave the win to Busch.[25] Robert Richardson, Jr. raced his way in, while David Gilliland and Reed Sorenson failed to qualify.

Results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps
1 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60
2 10 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 60
3 5 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 60
4 4 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60
5 8 95 Ty Dillon Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 60
6 11 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 60
7 14 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 60
8 22 14 Brian Vickers Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 60
9 12 93 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 60
10 16 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 60
11 17 38 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 60
12 19 35 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 60
13 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 59
14 21 78 Martin Truex, Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 59
15 15 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 59
16 1 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 59
17 6 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 59
18 18 26 Robert Richardson, Jr. BK Racing Toyota 59
19 9 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 59
20 13 83 Michael Waltrip BK Racing Toyota 59
21 20 40 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 56
22 7 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31
Unofficial race results

Media

Television

Fox Sports 1
Booth announcersPit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon
Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip
Jamie Little
Chris Neville
Vince Welch
Matt Yocum

Radio

MRN Radio
Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters
Lead announcer: Joe Moore
Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Announcer: Rusty Wallace
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody
Backstretch: Mike Bagley
Turns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey
Alex Hayden
Winston Kelley
Steve Post

Notes

    References

    1. "2016 Sprint Cup Series schedule" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski, LLC. January 26, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
    2. "Daytona International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
    3. "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 13, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
    4. "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 13, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
    5. "Qualifying results" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski, LLC. February 14, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
    6. "Third Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 17, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
    7. "Fourth Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 17, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
    8. "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
    9. "Duel Race 1 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
    10. "Duel Race 2 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
    11. "Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
    12. 1 2 "Daytona International Speedway Track Facts". Daytona International Speedway. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
    13. Long, Dustin (February 13, 2016). "Dale Earnhardt Jr. fastest in first practice Saturday at Daytona". nascartalk.nbcsports.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: NBC Sports. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
    14. Spencer, Lee (February 13, 2016). "Penske teammates draft their way to the top of second 500 practice". Motorsport.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Motorsport.com, Inc. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
    15. Gluck, Jeff (February 14, 2016). "Chase Elliott wins pole for Daytona 500". USA Today (Daytona Beach, Florida: Gannett Company). Retrieved February 14, 2016.
    16. Wackerlin, Jeff (February 14, 2016). "Elliott Wins Daytona 500 Pole". MRN.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Motor Racing Network. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
    17. Pockrass, Bob (February 14, 2016). "Chase Elliott gets pole, Matt DiBenedetto breathes sigh of relief". ESPN.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
    18. Willis, Ken (February 14, 2016). "Like father, like son: Second-generation Elliott becomes youngest to win pole for 500". The Daytona Beach News-Journal (Daytona Beach, Florida: GateHouse Media, Inc.). Retrieved February 15, 2016.
    19. Pockrass, Bob (February 14, 2016). "Martin Truex Jr. to start at back of Daytona qualifying for violation". ESPN.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
    20. Spencer, Lee (February 17, 2016). "Roush cars forced to change rear gears as McDowell leads practice". Motorsport.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Motorsport.com, Inc. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
    21. Utter, Jim (February 17, 2016). "Multi-car wreck mars Wednesday's final Cup practice". Motorsport.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Motorsport.com, Inc. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
    22. Albert, Zack (February 17, 2016). "Ty Dillon: 'I hate that we tore up so many race cars'". NASCAR.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
    23. Bonkowski, Jerry (February 18, 2016). "Jimmie Johnson leads final Sprint Cup practice prior to Can-Am Duels". nascartalk.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
    24. Gluck, Jeff (February 18, 2016). "Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins first of two duels, will start third in Daytona 500". USA Today (Daytona Beach, Florida: Gannett Company). Retrieved February 18, 2016.
    25. Fryer, Jenna (February 18, 2016). "Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch win Daytona qualifying races". Associated Press (Daytona Beach, Florida: AP Sports). Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
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