Joey Logano, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion, got his title defense off to a good start by beating Christopher Bell to win the first Bluegreen Vacation Duel at Daytona Thursday night, Feb. 16.
Logano is coming off a season where he scored four wins, 11 top fives and 17 top 10s en route to his second Cup championship.
His duel one win gives him the third place starting spot for the Daytona 500 this Sunday (Feb. 19).
“We knew most likely there wouldn’t be a caution, so he had to do a good job on pit road,” Logano said after the race, speaking to FOX Sports 1. “Then there I was as the leader and a sitting duck. It’s not where you want to be. The [No.] 20 made a run on the outside, but the [No.] 12 was there to push me.”
The narrowly beaten Bell made a hard charge on the final lap but ultimately came up short.
Logano’s Penske teammate Ryan Blaney finished third. Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell took fourth and fifth, respectively.
Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson made his return to NASCAR in duel one, taking home 14th. This marks Johnson’s first Cup action since 2020, and the first time he has raced for the team that he now co-owns, Legacy Motor Club.
Duel one polesitter Alex Bowman dropped to the rear of the field after the opening lap to ensure that he remains on the pole for the Daytona 500. The rest of the field stayed side-by-side for only a handful of laps until they went single file.
The race was quiet until lap 22, when the Chevrolets decided to pit early as a group. While there were no accidents on pit road, the endeavor was still costly for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chandler Smith, who were both given penalties for speeding on pit road and went a lap down.
Pit strategy benefited the Fords and Toyotas, which stayed out longer than the Chevrolets, as they waited until lap 31 to come down pit road. When they exited, the group of mixed manufacturers had a significant lead on the group of Chevrolets, which pitted early.
The entire race went without a caution.
While Johnson was locked into the Daytona 500 on speed after he posted the fastest qualifying lap of the six open cars, Zane and Chandler Smith were left to battle for a second spot in the Daytona 500. Chandler Smith’s speeding penalty was the decisive moment between the two, leading to an 18th-place finish. Zane Smith finished eighth. The former will not race in the Daytona 500.
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