Joey Logano wins Daytona Duel 1; Casey Mears makes Daytona 500

Corey LaJoie was in position to finish inside the top 10 and easily make the Daytona 500, but he was involved in the last-lap crash that took out several cars. Casey Mears, who was stuck in the back of the pack, got through the carnage, finished seventh and made the "Great American Race" as the highest-finishing of the three open cars in Duel 1. 

"Probably a little bit of power in prayer, there was a lot of that going on the car," Mears said. "I figured I'd just stay in the gas no matter what happened.

Along with LaJoie, Chandler Smith also failed to make the Daytona 500 based off his Duel 1 result.

Notable Duel 1 results

Blaney, Austin Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five, with Shane van Gisbergen, Mears, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece and Alex Bowman completing the top 10. 

The top 10 received championship points toward the 2026 Cup Series championship. 

Other notable finishers include Bubba Wallace in 13th, Corey Heim in 14th, Smith in 16th, Daytona 500 polesitter Kyle Busch in 18th and LaJoie in 19th. Two-time defending 500 winner William Byron finished 22nd after an earlier crash.