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NASCAR divides qualifying for the Daytona 500 into two parts: qualifying for the pole and two 150 mile races. These two races are better known as Duels at Daytona and, in 2021, they will take place on Thursday, February 11 at Daytona International Speedway. The green flag for the first race will drop sometime after 7 p.m. ET. The second race will begin sometime after 8:45 p.m. ET.
The Duels determine the 3-40 starting positions for the Daytona 500, but they also perform an important competitive function: they decide which teams will occupy the two remaining free places in the 40-car realm. Eight teams are competing for four open spots in this year’s race; 36 places have been reserved for Cup Series teams that have charter agreements with NASCAR.
MORE: All about the Daytona 500
Ryan Preece (JTG Daugherty Racing) and David Ragan (Front Row Motorsports) won the top two open positions with their qualifying speeds on Wednesday night. That leaves Austin Cindric (Team Penske), Ty Dillon (Gaunt Brothers Racing), Noah Gragson (Beard Motorsports), Kaz Grala (Kaulig Racing), Timmy Hill (Motorsports Business Management) and Garrett Smithley (Motorsports Business Management) set to run their in the last two places open Thursday.
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman (pole) and William Byron (second) are on the front row for Sunday’s race after their one-lap qualifying on Wednesday night. They will lead the peloton in their respective Duel races.
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel races at Daytona, including start times, TV news, and start lineups.
Daytona Duels 2021 start times
- Duel 1: 7 p.m. ET
- Duel 2: 8:45 p.m. ET
The training for Duel 1 consists mainly of drivers who finished odd places on qualifying pole. This means that pole-sitter Alex Bowman will be on the front row for his duel race, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (third in qualifying).
The training for Duel 2 consists mainly of drivers who finished in even places on qualifying pole. This means that William Byron, who qualified for second place, will lead the peloton in his duel race alongside Bubba Wallace (fourth in qualifying).
MORE:
Daytona Duels 2021 TV channel
- Connected TV: FS1
- Direct: Fox sports go
The 2021 Speedweeks mark the start of Fox’s 21st season covering NASCAR and the network’s 18th year spanning the Daytona 500. Mike Joy (play-by-play), Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Larry McReynolds (analysts) will provide coverage of the stand and studio of the Duels. Jamie Little and Regan Smith will be the pit reporters.
TSN Canada will also broadcast the Duels live.
The Duel 2021 Daytona radio broadcast can be heard on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) or SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Daytona Duels 2021 starting roster
The starting line-ups for Thursday’s Duels were set by Wednesday’s qualifying speed poles, with drivers qualifying odd positions in Duel 1 and drivers qualifying even positions in Duel 2.
Below is the start list for Thursday Night’s Daytona Duels.
Duel 1
| Pos. Starting | Driver | Team |
| 1. | Alex bowman | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2. | Aric almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 3. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 4. | Christopher bell | Joe gibbs racing |
| 5. | Ryan preece | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 6. | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| seven. | Denny hamlin | Joe gibbs racing |
| 8. | Kyle larson | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 9. | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood brothers racing |
| ten. | Austin Cindric | Penske team |
| 11. | Joey logano | Penske team |
| 12. | Ryan newman | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 13. | Cole custer | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 14. | Michael mcdowell | Motorsport in the front row |
| 15. | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 16. | Tyler reddick | Richard Childress Racing |
| 17. | Ty dillon | Gaunt Brothers Racing |
| 18. | Jamie mcmurray | Spire Motorsports |
| 19. | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing |
| 20. | Timmy hill | Motorsport business management |
| 21. | Cody ware | Rick ware racing |
| 22. | Josh bilicki | Rick ware racing |
Duel 2
| Pos. Starting | Driver | Team |
| 1. | William byron | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2. | Bubba wallace | 23XI Race |
| 3. | Kevin harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 4. | Austin dillon | Richard Childress Racing |
| 5. | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6. | David ragan | Motorsport in the front row |
| seven. | Kurt busch | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 8. | Kyle busch | Joe gibbs racing |
| 9. | Ryan blaney | Penske team |
| ten. | Kaz grala | Kaulig Racing |
| 11. | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 12. | Ross chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 13. | Brad Keselowski | Penske team |
| 14. | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe gibbs racing |
| 15. | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 16. | Anthony Alfredo | Motorsport in the front row |
| 17. | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports |
| 18. | Garrett smithley | Motorsport business management |
| 19. | BJ McLeod | Fast live motorsport |
| 20. | Joey Gase | Rick ware racing |
| 21. | Derrike Cope | Rick ware racing |
| 22. | Noah gragson | Beard Motorsports |
Daytona TV program 2021
Below is the TV schedule of what remains of the Daytona Speedweeks in 2021, including Duels, Daytona 500 series workouts, and Truck, Xfinity and ARCA series events, all leading up to the Daytona 500 of Sunday.
| Time | Event | TV | Radio |
| 5:35 p.m. | Practice of Camping World Truck Series | FS1 | No radio |
| 7 p.m. | NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona | FS1 / TSN | MRN |
| 8:45 p.m. | NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona | FS1 / TSN | MRN |
| Time | Event | TV | Radio |
| 13 hours | Practice of the ARCA Menards series | No tv | No radio |
| 3:10 p.m. | Camping World Truck Series qualification | FS1 | No radio |
| 4:35 p.m. | Practice of the Xfinity series | FS1 / TSN.ca application | No radio |
| 7:30 p.m. | Camping World Truck Series, NextEra Energy 250 | FS1 | MRN |
| Time | Event | TV | Radio |
| 8:30 | ARCA Menards Series Qualifications | No tv | No radio |
| 9:30 am | NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 second practice | FS2 / TSN | MRN |
| 10:40 a.m. | Xfinity Series Qualification | FS2 / TSN3 | No radio |
| 12:05 p.m. | NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 final practice | FS1 / TSN | MRN |
| 1:30 p.m. | ARCA Menards series, Lucas Oil 200 | FS1 | MRN |
| 5 p.m. | Xfinity series, beef. What is it for dinner. 300 | FS1 / TSN | MRN |
| Time | Event | TV | Radio |
| 2:30 p.m. | NASCAR Cup Series, 63rd edition of the Daytona 500 | Fox / TSN | MRN |
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