Two teams without charters won’t have to sweat out the Can-Am Duel races to know they will take part in the Great American Race.
The Daytona 500 qualifying process has always been a bit of a byzantine affair. You’ve got regular qualifying, though that only sets the front row. The twin 125-mile races (currently known as the Can-Am Duel) set the rest of the field, but the importance of those races has lessened somewhat with the introduction of the NASCAR Charter teams.
With 40 spots in the Daytona 500 field and 36 Charter teams guaranteed to be in the show even if they crash out of a Can-Am Duel race on Lap 1, only four spots are left for the Open teams — otherwise known as the ones without charters. For them, Sunday was particularly important, as the two fastest Open cars during qualifying are also assured a Daytona 500 starting spot.
As it turns out, Brendan Gaughan and Elliott Sadler are the lucky winners. Gaughan turned in the 33rd fastest time on Sunday and Sadler was just three spots down the speed chart. Not impressive by any means, but faster than the other four Open teams.
Both Gaughan, who is driving the No. 75 Chevy for Beard Motorsports, and Sadler, who will pilot the No. 7 Chevy for Tommy Baldwin Racing, will ply their trade full time in the XFINITY Series this season. Yet both will have at least a puncher’s chance of a Daytona 500 victory thanks to their qualifying times.
The four remaining Open teams — the No. 51 Chevy (Timmy Hill), No. 55 Toyota (Reed Sorensen), #83 Toyota (Corey LaJoie) and #96 Toyota (D.J. Kennington) — will essentially be racing against each other on Thursday to make it to Sunday. However, there’s one more wrinkle, because if either Gaughan or Sadler are the highest finishing Open cars in their duels, Sorensen will make the Daytona 500 on speed, and if both Gaughan and Sadler beat all the other Open cars, Sorensen and Kennington are both in.
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That means the onus is really on Hill and LaJoie, who need to ensure they beat all the other Open cars in their respective Duels to really feel safe. Of course the twin 125-milers have always been tense for and high stakes no matter how the qualifying has changed over the years, so for Gaughan and Sadler, a little less stress during Speedweeks is a good thing.