How the Daytona 500 qualifying races will work

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Welcome to the first Duel qualifying races with NASCAR’s new charter system. How different are things for the races with NASCAR’s new ownership structure? Let’s explain it for you:

• There are 44 cars racing for 40 spots in the Daytona 500. With a 43-car field, only one driver would miss the race. Now, with three fewer spots, two cars in each Duel race will miss Sunday’s race.

• 36 of the 40 cars are already locked in to the race via the charter system. That leaves four spots available for the eight remaining cars.

• Ryan Blaney (in Duel 1) and Matt DiBenedetto (in Duel 2) were the two fastest cars of the eight non-charter cars during front-row qualifying for the 500. They are guaranteed to race in the Daytona 500. Their inclusion means six drivers are racing for two spots.

• One spot is available in each Duel. Michael McDowell, Cole Whitt and Josh Wise are in the first Duel, along with Blaney. If McDowell, Whitt or Wise is the highest finishing of those four, he earns a spot in the 500. DiBenedetto is in the second Duel with Robert Richardson Jr., David Gilliland and Reed Sorenson. If Richardson, Gilliland or Sorenson is the highest finishing of those four, he’s in the 500.

• If Blaney or DiBenedetto is the highest finishing driver in his Duel, the open spots are determined by front-row qualifying. If one of Blaney or DiBenedetto is the top open car in a Duel, McDowell gets into the 500. If both are the top open car in each race, Richardson gets in too.

Pretty simple, right?

The first Duel decides the inside line for the 500 starting grid. The second duel decides the outside row. Here are the Duel lineups.

Duel 1
1. Chase Elliott
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Austin Dillon
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Joey Logano
8. Kasey Kahne
9. Paul Menard
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Greg Biffle
12. Brian Scott
13. Michael McDowell
14. Regan Smith
15. Chris Buescher
16. Bobby Labonte
17. Trevor Bayne
18. Clint Bowyer
19. Cole Whitt
20. David Ragan
21. Josh Wise
22. Kevin Harvick

Duel 2
1. Matt Kenseth
2. Kyle Busch
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Carl Edwards
5. Kurt Busch
6. Casey Mears
7. Ryan Newman
8. Ty Dillon
9. Aric Almirola
10. Jamie McMurray
11. Kyle Larson
12. Matt DiBenedetto
13. Michael Waltrip
14. Danica Patrick
15. AJ Allmendinger
16. Michael Annett
17. Landon Cassill
18. Robert Richardson
19. David Gilliland
20. Reed Sorenson
21. Martin Truex Jr.
22. Brian Vickers