Chase Elliott celebrates historic Can-Am Duel victory at Daytona

After qualifying for the Daytona 500 pole on Sunday, Chase Elliott continued to impress on Thursday night as he won the first Can-Am Duel race.

If anyone was worried about Chase Elliott hitting a slump in his sophomore season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, then those concerns should be put aside swiftly. Eliott won the first Can-Am Duel race on Thursday, finishing the race in the same spot where he started.

With the addition of points to the Can-Am Duel in 2017, Elliott’s win is even more important. The win gives him 10 points and puts him atop of the points leaderboard, however briefly. He’ll end the night tied with whoever wins the second Can-Am Duel race. Elliott and crew celebrated after the No. 24 earned the first win of the night.

Elliott is the first NASCAR driver to win the Duel and earn the Daytona 500 pole since Dale Earnhardt Sr. accomplished the feat in 1996. Elliott and crew were understandably excited after finishing first on Thursday.

Thursday’s event isn’t the biggest of the year. Yet Elliott continues to build off a strong rookie 2016 season with his Can-Am Duel. Completing the Daytona trifecta, earning the Daytona 500 pole, winning a Duel race, and crossing the line first at the Daytona 500 doesn’t happen much.

However, Elliott has a chance to complete the historic feat on Sunday afternoon. Interestingly enough, the last NASCAR driver to achieve this trifecta was Elliott’s father, Bill Elliott, in 1985. It would be even more special if the younger Elliott could share an honor with his father in back-to-back occurrences.

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Elliott is definitely one of the drivers to watch on Sunday during the Daytona 500. He showed his qualifying laps weren’t a fluke by putting in another great performance during the Can-Am Duel. The No. 24 can’t get complacent ahead of Sunday’s Daytona 500 if they have any chance of completing the rare trifecta.