Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin win Cam-Am Duels at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Denny Hamlin is making noise again at Daytona International Speedway.

He won the second Can-Am Duel at Daytona, getting a run on the high outside line in the closing laps to spoil leader Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s bid for the victory. Hamlin also won a qualifying race last year en route to his first Daytona 500 title.

Chase Elliott, who already has the Daytona 500 pole, won the first  Duel. The two qualifying races set the lineup for the Daytona 500 (Sunday, 2 p.m., ET).

D.J. Kennington will start his 30th Daytona 500 after racing his way into the field. He'll be joined by Corey LaJoie, who got a little help from Jimmie Johnson.

In the second Duel, Earnhardt, who led most of the race, took the lead after a caution for Jimmie Johnson’s flat. Denny Hamlin, who recovered from a pit road penalty early, moved up to second. He got a push on the outside from Austin Dillon and was able to pass Earnhardt, who will start second Sunday.

“I don’t know what I could have done better to defend that,” Earnhardt said. “Denny’s smart. He’s one of the great plate racers out there.”

It was Hamlin’s third career Duel win and came the same day Joe Gibbs Racing announced a contract extension with the driver and sponsor FedEx. Hamlin will line up in the fourth position in the Daytona 500.

“I had some concerns about how my car drove tonight,” said Hamlin, who started from the rear of the field. “We gotta go to work and make sure we have a car that can win on Sunday.”

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Clint Bowyer was second, followed by Kurt Busch, A.J. Allmendinger, Dillon, Earnhardt, Danica Patrick, Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson and rookie Ty Dillon.

Bowyer was in his first start for Stewart-Haas Racing and said he was pleasantly surprised at the speed and handling of his Ford in the pack.

Ryan Blaney won the race off pit road after the competition caution on Lap 25 and restarted the field. Earnhardt restarted second. Blaney’s Wood Brothers Ford showed speed and Earnhardt, Blaney and Kasey Kahne ran in the top three.

With 21 laps to go, Johnson caught up to the Hendrick clan. A couple laps later, David Ragan tapped Johnson, who drifted up and tapped Blaney, who got damaged rubbing the wall, ending his bid. On Lap 14, Johnson’s bid was ended when he suffered a right front flat. He will go to a backup car for the 500.

PHOTOS: 2017 Can-Am Duel races

Elliott couldn’t have made a louder statement if he tried in the first duel.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver retained the lead on a restart with eight laps to go. Ford created a line on the top, with Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing and Brad Keselowski of Team Penske trying to push past.

But Elliott was able to run the needed blocks, holding off Harvick and Chip Ganassi Racing's Jamie McMurray in the 60-lap, 150-mile showdown.

“We had some steam tonight, and it was apparent,” said Elliott, who became the first driver to win the pole and a Duel in the same season since Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 1996. Davey Allison is the only other driver to accomplish the feat, in 1991.

McMurray was second, Harvick third, Keselowski fourth and Matt Kenseth fifth. Trevor Bayne was sixth, followed by Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Joey Logano and Cole Whitt.

Elliott, who swerved back and forth on the track in the closing laps trying to hold off both lines, probably won’t have as easy a time of it in the closing laps Sunday. While teammates and manufacturer alliances were apparent Thursday, there were not as many aggressive moves or blocks that surely will come for the Great American Race.

Under NASCAR’s new points system, the top 10 drivers earned points on a sliding scale from 10 to 1.

McMurray’s finish secures him the third starting spot in Sunday’s race.

“I would say that everyone raced as hard as they could,” McMurray, the 2010 Daytona 500 champion said. “I did.”

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PHOTOS: History of the Daytona 500

CAN-AM DUEL

Thursday's results from Daytona International Speedway:

Duel No. 1

1. (1) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 60.

2. (12) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 60.

3. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 60.

4. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 60.

5. (5) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 60.

6. (10) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 60.

7. (3) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 60.

8. (13) Aric Almirola, Ford, 60.

9. (9) Joey Logano, Ford, 60.

10. (18) Cole Whitt, Ford, 60.

11. (8) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 60.

12. (6) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 60.

13. (7) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 60.

14. (15) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 60.

15. (14) Landon Cassill, Ford, 60.

16. (16) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 60.

17. (20) Joey Gase, Toyota, 60.

18. (21) Corey LaJoie, Toyota, 60.

19. (17) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 60.

20. (11) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 59.

21. (19) Reed Sorenson, Toyota, Accident, 48.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 160.095 mph.

Time of Race: 56 minutes, 13 seconds. Margin of Victory: 0.156 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 2 for 7 laps.

Lead Changes: 6 among 3 drivers.

Lap Leaders: C. Elliott 1; B. Keselowski 2-11; Kyle Busch 12; B. Keselowski 13-24; Kyle Busch 25-30; B. Keselowski 31-36; C. Elliott 37-60.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): B. Keselowski 3 times for 28 laps; C. Elliott 2 times for 25 laps; Kyle Busch 2 times for 7 laps.

*********************

Duel No. 2

1. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 60.

2. (2) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 60.

3. (11) Kurt Busch, Ford, 60.

4. (14) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 60.

5. (13) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 60.

6. (1) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 60.

7. (12) Danica Patrick, Ford, 60.

8. (5) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 60.

9. (8) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 60.

10. (6) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 60.

11. (16) David Ragan, Ford, 60.

12. (15) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 60.

13. (7) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 60.

14. (4) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 60.

15. (19) DJ Kennington, Toyota, 60.

16. (18) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 60.

17. (17) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 60.

18. (20) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 60.

19. (10) Erik Jones, Toyota, 59.

20. (9) Ryan Blaney, Ford, Accident, 55.

21. (21) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, Engine, 29.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 156.977 mph.

Time of Race: 57 minutes, 20 seconds. Margin of Victory: 0.214 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 2 for 8 laps.

Lead Changes: 5 among 3 drivers.

Lap Leaders: D. Earnhardt Jr. 1-2; D. Hamlin 3-4; D. Earnhardt Jr. 5-27; R. Blaney 28-30; D. Earnhardt Jr. 31-58; D. Hamlin 59-60.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): D. Earnhardt Jr. 3 times for 53 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 4 laps; R. Blaney 1 time for 3 laps.