We knew last weekend that Jeff Gordon will lead the field to the green for this year’s Daytona 500, his final full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series. Alongside him will be teammate Jimmie Johnson, as those two posted the fastest speeds in qualifying last Sunday. However, the rest of the starting lineup was yet to be determined; we had to race Thursday night’s Budweiser Duels to figure that out.
From a racing perspective, the two Duel races were entertaining and full of great racing action–hopefully a good precursor for Sunday’s Great American Race. Fan-favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the first race over teammate Jeff Gordon, and the full results can be found here. In the second Duel, Hendrick patriarch Jimmie Johnson took the win, making it a night filled with Hendrick domination…much like last Sunday. Will we see much of the same in this year’s Daytona 500? Only time will tell.
2015 Daytona 500 Starting Lineup:
- Jeff Gordon
- Jimmie Johnson
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
- Kyle Busch
- Joey Logano
- Carl Edwards
- Tony Stewart
- Greg Biffle
- Clint Bowyer
- Martin Truex, Jr.
- Kevin Harvick
- Reed Sorenson
- Kasey Kahne
- Ryan Blaney
- Jamie McMurray
- Justin Allgaier
- Landon Cassill
- Mike Wallace
- Cole Whitt
- Danica Patrick
- Paul Menard
- Ryan Newman
- Michael McDowell
- Kurt Busch
- J.J. Yeley
- David Gilliland
- Michael Annett
- David Ragan
- Kyle Larson
- Austin Dillon
- Ty Dillon
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
- Aric Almirola
- Michael Waltrip
- Matt Kenseth
- Johnny Sauter
- Denny Hamlin
- Brad Keselowski
- Trevor Bayne
- A.J. Allmendinger
- Sam Hornish, Jr.
- Casey Mears
- Bobby Labonte
