Daytona Beach, FL - It was a good night for Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano at Daytona International Speedway.
The drivers of the #4 Busch Beer Car2Can Ford and #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, respectively, won the two 150-mile Gander RV Duel at Daytona races Thursday night (February 14th), locking in second-row positions on the starting grid for Sunday's Daytona 500.
Harvick - who won the Daytona 500 in 2007 - will start the season-opening race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series on the inside of the second row after leading the final 44 laps of the first Duel race.
“Our Ford was fast,” Harvick added afterward, giving some credit to his 6-year-old son Keelan for the win after he handed his dad a four-leaf clover before he came to Daytona and told him to put it in his race car.
"He brought it home and said we should put it in the car for good luck. It worked out pretty well. Maybe it’s the lucky charm."
Harvick notched his eighth career win overall at Daytona, including his second in a Duel.
Logano - the reigning Monster Energy Series champion - will take the outside spot in Row 2, taking the win in the second Duel race after a final lap charge moving him past Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola.
"It’s great to see two Mustangs in [Gatorade] Victory Lane already," said Logano, who won the 2015 Daytona 500 champion. "Hopefully, we can keep that going on Sunday."
William Byron's #24 Axalta Chevrolet will be on the pole for the 61st running of the Great American Race thanks to his efforts in last Sunday's qualifying, followed by Alex Bowman #88 Nationwide Chevrolet.
Thursday's races determined
Most all the drivers in the duels were guaranteed a spot on Sunday, though two open spots were up for grabs. Those were snatched by Parker Kligerman in the #96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota and Brendan Gaughan in the #62 Beard Distributing/South Point Chevrolet.
Outside of the Daytona 500, this weekend's racing schedule features the openers of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Those will run Friday night and Saturday, respectively.
