By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
A daring block Thursday night by Ty Dillon nearly ended the first Duel 150 in chaos.
It was a confident move by a driver operating a quick racecar.
Dillon ran second on the final lap driving his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. He ran up front often in the 60-lapper and attempted to block teammate AJ Allmendinger to scoot by leader Bubba Wallace. The contact, however, popped Dillon into the wall, slowing his momentum and settling for third.
Still, for a driver making a Cup comeback in 2025 (his first full-time season since 2023), Speedweek in Daytona is so far setting a standard.
“I think if we had been running in the back, we probably would have made a couple different moves to be a little bit smoother at the end,” Dillon said. “This is the first time working with the team here at Kaulig Racing and I’m really proud of what we accomplished tonight. We’ll go back, get in the notebook and get a little bit better.”
Qualifying ninth in single-car runs Wednesday night, the third-place Duel finish will elevate Dillon to the seventh starting spot for Sunday.
“The raw speed has been quite obvious all weekend,” Dillon said. “That’s a great thing and a great start for our team. Our goal is to let everyone know we are here early in the season and we’re happy about that finish.”
In eight Daytona 500 starts, Dillon’s best result is a sixth in 2019 while Kaulig Racing will start their sixth Daytona 500 on Sunday as an organization.
“You can’t ask for a better start to the season,” he said. “Our team is determined and focused, and in the second race of the year to get a top three is nice. The biggest thing on Sunday is to make it to the end and get our year started on the right track. We’ll go to the 500 and have some fun.”