By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor
Teams went into Thursday’s Can-Am Duels with one central goal – survival.
In the end, eight drivers in the field were unable to accomplish it.
Handling woes in the draft and an untimely flat tire led eight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams pulling out backup cars after the conclusion of the two 60-lap Daytona 500 qualifying race.
The first to fall victim to Thursday’s high attrition were seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and Aric Almirola.
Johnson was riding around during the early stages of the first Duel when a flat left-rear tire sent his No. 48 Chevrolet around. Almirola and Daniel Suarez were caught in the crossfire, and while Suarez was able to spin to the inside to avoid major damage, Almirola was left with nowhere to go. The Stewart-Haas Racing newcomer plowed his No. 10 Ford into Johnson’s machine, ending the night for both drivers.
“I just had a flat tire,” Johnson said. “As I was coming into the tri-oval I could feel the car starting to shake, there is kind of a shake when you have a soft tire and I knew what it was and tried to pull out of line and I thought I had it under control, but as I exited the tri-oval, it finally went flat and turned me sideways and unfortunately, I collected Aric (Almirola) in the process.”
Two additional retirements came in the first Duel, both at the expense of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Looking to move his way through the field, Stenhouse was one of the few drivers willing to risk daring moves throughout the evening. The July Daytona winner dove under his competitors, coming close to their left-rear quarter panels and spinning two drivers around.
The first to go for a spin was William Byron, the defending NASCAR XFINITY Series champion and newest driver to take over the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports made famous by four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon.
“That was kind of the worst possible spot to get on my quarter panel and I just lost it,” Byron said. “I just got sucked around-the air moved me around.”
Laps later a similar move from Stenhouse led to a spin for David Gilliland, who suffered heavy damage to his No. 92 Ricky Benton Racing Ford.
“It felt like the 17 car just got in the back of us and spun us around,” Gilliland said. “It’s unfortunate. That’s not what we wanted out of the Duel tonight, but I think he got in the 24 too, so I don’t know — a little aggressive.”
Stenhouse defended his moves after finishing fourth in the race, saying a focus on qualifying over race pace costed the spinners more than his move.
“Their cars weren’t driving good and we worked on our car in drafting practice and got it driving good,” Stenhouse said. “We opted to get it driving good rather than qualify on the front row. I think that paid off so I could do whatever I wanted and maneuver as quick as I wanted left and right.
“That is what I was doing out there, just trying to work my way to the front and pull them back so I could get a hole to fill in. I just kept timing it a little wrong to be able to slide up in front of them.”
The final car claimed in the opening Duel was also arguably the most notable. Brad Keselowski – the winningest active driver on restrictor-plate tracks – was sent into the outside wall after contact with Jamie McMurray.
TROUBLE! @Keselowski crashes out of third. #CanAmDuel pic.twitter.com/LFXriJM8i4
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 16, 2018
The crash was the lone moment of weakness for Team Penske. Keselowski’s teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano combined to finish 1-2 in the race.
The majority of Duel 2 played out without the wrecks that plagued the opening race, but one large mid-race crash took out a handful of contenders.
Erik Jones and Chase Elliott were battling for position on the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway oval when Elliott got close to Jones’ left-rear quarter panel, sending the sophomore around in a move similar to the one made by Stenhouse in the first Duel.
Tough break for @KyleLarsonRacin and @mattdracing, who are left with heavy damage after that incident. #CanAmDuel pic.twitter.com/rCEgINQPww
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 16, 2018
“The cars here are just really hard to drive right now,” Jones said. “It’s not even that, it’s just anybody can put anybody in a really bad aero situation. I felt like I could’ve probably got people in those situations to spin out too if I was to force the issue. It’s kind of dependent on the guy behind you.
Jones sustained little damage in the incident, and rebounded to finish fourth. But in the chain reaction both Kyle Larson and Matt DiBenedetto crashed, slamming the outside wall and forcing both teams to utilize a backup car.
“I just hate that we tore up another car and my guys are going to have to get another Credit One Bank Chevy prepared before tomorrow morning practice,” Larson said. “We just didn’t really want to crash today. That stinks.”
“It’s just superspeedway racing at its finest, unfortunately,” DiBenedetto said. “I couldn’t really see much. It looked like the 20 and the 9 got together.”
Damage in his No. 3 Chevrolet’s nose also led Austin Dillon to revert to a backup car for the event.
Their Duels complete, the eight crashed drivers will have three hours of practice time to dial in their backup cars for the Daytona 500.