Did the Daytona 500 duel keep up the tradition? The duel races are always a time for celebration for NASCAR fans. It’s the first real race of the year on the high banks of Daytona. Add in the drama of the go-or-go-homers and what’s not to love? The highest open car finishers of each duel race were the ones who raced their way in. The opening laps of the race were neck-and-neck for the race lead with the likes of Briscoe and teammate Ty Gibbs duking it out. However, Alfredo Anthony encountered an unfortunate turn of events on the track.

Anthony Alfredo participated in Daytona 500 Duel Race No. 2 as an open entry for Beard Motorsports and their No. 62 Chevrolet. With Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson securing the two spots in the time lap qualifiers, the pressure was on Alfredo and other open entries to come in clutch in the Duels. Despite a strong display of racing and a P13 finish. Alfredo couldn’t make the cut.

Anthony Alfredo caught up in a wreck loses sight of the Daytona 500 at the duels

The Connecticut native has two appearances competing in the Great American Race. The first one was in 2021 with Front Row Motorsports where he finished 32nd, but he didn’t have to go through the trouble of qualifying because of the chartered entry. In 2024, he linked up with Beard Motorsports and advanced to the main event, finishing 27th. Later in the year, he bagged a P6 result at Talladega which was his personal best in the Cup Series. So expectations were high coming into 2025 Daytona weekend, but things didn’t exactly go to plan for the #62 team.

“Story of my life, I’ve been trying to win these kinds of races for a long time and obviously it’s not just about winning, it’s about making the Daytona 500 and at least I could say I did everything I could…  I only saw three other Chevrolets the entire night, especially after that wreck. So it was really hard to do anything. I drove to the front by myself and put myself in good for the green flag stop but we just got leapfrogged at 0-1. At the end there it looked like every single car in front of me was a Ford. So it comes down to a manufacturer battle.” Alfredo said this in an interview with Bob Pockrass.

Alfredo had little to cheer for in the early going as he was stacked up on the tail end of the field in P20 position. As the field cycled out, he did make some gains and found himself in the midpack and even made it to the front in P4 with 19 laps to go. However, the pit window changed the dynamics completely and Ford teams seemed to have cracked the code. Alfredo was able to dodge the crash on Lap 48, but he just couldn’t find an extra gear or two in the final moments of the race.

My Chevy teammates did all they could at times to help, we were just outnumbered. At the end there, if I stayed in line I certainly wasn’t going to make the race so I tried to do something. Nobody went with me. It is what it is. At least I can go to sleep tonight saying that I made the Daytona 500 and ended up in a wreck anyway but it’s just part of racing here. Unfortunately wanted to be racing on Sunday. This was a disappointing moment in my career for sure.” He added. 

His only hope was to outpace the No. 1 Ford Mustang driven by Corey LaJoie. He was his direct rival as the #1 RWR entry was also an open car, but the Ford cars dominated the late race proceedings, allowing LaJoie to be in a favorable position. As the last lap chaos ensued the former Spire Motorsports driver was able to thread the needle and bag himself a P6 finish in the Duel 2 at Daytona. And just like that, Anthony Alfredo’s dream to compete in the Daytona 500 came to an end.

On the flip side of the story, Justin Allgaier and JRM were able to power through a thrilling race and book their ticket to their first-ever Cup Series race.

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JR Motorsports destined for more history

23XI drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace surged ahead of 2024 Daytona 500 winner William Byron to win Duel at Daytona 150-mile qualifying race and earn the third starting position for Sunday’s 67th running of the “Great American Race”. Working as a team with coordination and tactics they protected and supported each other from the pack and made their way to the qualifiers. Bubba Wallace edged Byron by 0.082 seconds, as intense drama unfolded behind the two frontrunners.

During the final two laps, Justin Allgaier finished highest among the unchartered cars in the first Duel, ensuring that a JR Motorsports No. 40 Chevy would compete in a NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time. Allgaier made a three-wide move to the top on the next-to-last lap and surged forward to earn the transfer spot into the Daytona 500. With a ninth-place finish to Yeley’s 17th, Allgaier earned the 17th starting position in Sunday’s race.

Team co-owner and two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was emotionally drained after a nail-biting encounter. “And so (I’ve) just been sitting here all day thinking about how badly I wanted this for all of us. And we asked Justin to go on this journey with us. And he as the driver has to shoulder a lot of the pressure, more pressure than anyone. (Crew chief) Greg Ives agreed to do this with us, and he has had to handle so much pressure to try to put this thing in the field, and I wanted it for everybody that was feeling all of that. And Kelley said it. We race. We love to race, and racing is hard, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This was rough emotionally, but damn it, it’s fun when it works out.”

With Helio Castroneves unable to lock himself in on Duels and qualifying, the field will be stretched to 41 cars for the big race on Sunday. We might see a surprise Toyota win at the Daytona, or the Ford teams might conjure up new tactics to build on their Duels momentum. Who are you rooting for this weekend, let us know your picks in the comments.