The NASCAR Chevy teams performed well during qualifying for the 2023 Daytona 500, but the field-setting Duels were a completely different story for the Bow Tie-badged racers. Misguided pit strategies and on-track incidents rendered the teams unable to get the finishes they were hoping for.
Alex Bowman earned the pole position during Daytona 500 qualifying, and his No. 48 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1 led the field to the green for the first Duel. However, Bowman was unwilling to risk damaging his primary race car and having to forfeit his front-row starting position to make repairs, and dropped far behind the pack to keep his nose clean for the event.
Up front, the NASCAR Chevy teams opted to pit before the Ford and Toyota teams, but this strategy unfortunately put them off the pace and relegated them to a single-file train far behind the lead Fords. While The Blue Oval teams duked it out for the lead heading to the checkered flag, the Chevy racers were nonfactors and quietly finished far behind. Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford Mustang took the first victory.
The NASCAR Chevy teams appeared strong once the green flag dropped on the second Duel. Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Camaro quickly found the front of the field with the No. 99 of Daniel Suárez hot on his tail. Busch led 28 out of 60 laps in the No. 8 Camaro, but unfortunately, Suárez’s No. 99 Camaro hit him from behind and caused him to wreck, collecting six cars with 18 laps left on the scoreboard. This development ended the NASCAR Chevy domination of the second Duel, and the win was captured by the No. 10 Mustang of Aric Almirola.
“Lots of pushing and shoving,” said Busch of the racing action on track, frustrated that his No. 8 NASCAR Chevy was heavily damaged in the incident. “Finally overloaded the left rear and hooked it to the right. Hate it for all my guys. Built a fast Chevy Camaro and was fun to drive. Had a long way to go and don’t understand [this] but it is what it is.”
The final transfer spot was captured by Conor Daly, driver of the No. 50 NASCAR Chevy, meaning he will make an attempt to win his first Daytona 500 on February 19th alongside the regular Cup Series drivers.
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 |
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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Comments
The Chevy teams must have Ferrari designing the team strategy.
The front of the fords are flat and the Chevy is cut out big difference