What to know about Daytona 500 field ahead of Thursday's duel races

The front row is set for Sunday's Daytona 500, but there are still two spots in the field that will be claimed in Thursday's duel qualifying races. 

Corey LaJoie, Chandler Smith and Casey Mears will race for a spot in the "Great American Race" in Duel 1, while Anthony Alfredo, BJ McLeod and JJ Yeley will battle for a spot in Duel 2. The highest-finishing open car in each race will make the Daytona 500. 

Corey Heim and Justin Allgaier earned spots in the Daytona 500 in Wednesday's qualifying session.

Which open cars have the best shot? 

Busch and Briscoe will start on the pole for their respective duel races. The winners of Duels 1 and 2 will start third and fourth in the Daytona 500, respectively, and so forth throughout the field. 

The winner of each Duel race will also receive 10 championship points, with second-place earning nine and on down through the rest of the top-10. 

Corey LaJoie is the favorite to make the Daytona 500 of the open cars in Duel 1. Not only does he have the fastest car of those who didn't lock in on Wednesday, but he'll also have all three of his RFK Racing teammates in Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher in his duel race. 

Chandler Smith will have one Front Row Motorsports teammate in Noah Gragson in Duel 1, while Mears, McLeod, Yeley and Alfredo will be without teammates for their duel races. 

However, Alfredo is likely the favorite to make the race out of the three open drivers in Duel 2 thanks to his strong Chevrolet ties. 

Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric won the duel races at Daytona in 2025. Coverage of the duel races will begin at 7 p.m. ET Thursday on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.