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NASCAR Chevy Teams Have Rough Go At 2023 Duels At Daytona: Video

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.

NASCAR Cup Series Race Results, Duel 1 At Daytona, February 16, 2023
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
NASCAR Cup Series Race Results, Duel 2 at Daytona, February 16, 2023
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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Alexandra is a Colorado-based journalist with a passion for all things involving horsepower, be it automotive or equestrian.

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Comments

  1. The Chevy teams must have Ferrari designing the team strategy.

    Reply
  2. The front of the fords are flat and the Chevy is cut out big difference

    Reply

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