DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – William Byron won Duel 2 at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday night, securing the 4th place starting position for Sunday’s 62nd Daytona 500.
He started the duel in 4th and used most of the race to observe, patiently waiting to make his move. Then, with 3 laps to go, he struck, taking the lead from KEVIN Harvick.
“I was really trying to go with one to go, but I had enough momentum out of the tri-oval just watching old races; that’s just kind of where the momentum kind of lines up,” explained Byron. “So, I didn’t know if I’d get that same momentum, once everybody started pushing with one to go. So, just made it there. Got to second, I guess. And then, Kevin (Harvick) played really nice and didn’t pull a big block.”
After taking the lead, Byron held on to it. On the final lap, the cars behind him started to stack three wide, which diluted their momentum. As the field made their way around turn four, Byron had a 4+ car lead on the pack. He was able to ride the momentum fro the initial push that gave him the lead, all the way into victory lane. Something he hopes to take into the 500 on Sunday.
“Yeah, we’re going to use this momentum as it should be. I feel like we didn’t luck into this. We’ve built something over the last year working with Chad. He’s allowed me to grow up a lot. I think he’s held me accountable for a lot of things that are really good.”
Filling out the top five from duel two were as follows in order; Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick and rookie driver Cole Custer. They will start the Daytona 500 respectfully in 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th.
You can catch all the excitement from the 62nd Great American Race on Sunday, February 16th. The green flag is scheduled to drop shortly after 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, with President Donald J. Trump expected to give drivers the command to start their engines.
Written by: Adrian Beecher
