Kevin Harvick wins first race in Gander RV Duel at Daytona

Kevin Harvick led the final 44 laps to take victory in the first race of Thursday night’s Gander RV Duel at Daytona International Speedway.

Harvick will unofficially start third in Sunday’s 61st annual Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), holding off fellow Ford Performance drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Paul Menard in the final circuits for the win.

Stenhouse Jr. finished second with Menard right behind in third. New Leavine Family Racing driver Matt DiBenedetto finished fourth, followed by Martin Truex Jr. in fifth.

RELATED: Duel No. 1 full results | Busch spins after contact with Johnson, gets fiery on radio

The biggest action of the night occurred on Lap 35 when Kyle Busch spun as a result of contact from Jimmie Johnson. The left-rear quarter panel of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota was clipped by the right-front bumper of the Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet coming out of Turn 2, sending Busch for a spin down the backstretch. Luckily, Busch was able to avoid damage and pitted for four fresh Goodyear tires.

Parker Kligerman raced his way into the Daytona 500 after a close final-lap battle with Tyler Reddick and Ryan Truex. Kligerman finished in 12th place, while Reddick and Truex finished 13th and 14th, respectively. Truex came up short of making the 40-car field.

VIDEO: Kligerman: Making Daytona 500 ‘means the world to me’

Daytona 500 pole winner William Byron started the race on pole position alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson, electing to lead the first 15 laps prior to the first round of pit stops. As the racing for position ramped up with 25 laps remaining, the 2018 Sunoco Rookie of the Year dropped to the back of the field to avoid any potential incidents and protect the No. 24 Chevrolet for Sunday.

Below are full results from Duel No. 1, which sets up the inside row for Sunday’s Daytona 500. The green flag in Duel race No. 2 — which will determine the outside row lineup — is set to fly at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

Finish	Driver	Team
1.	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing
2.	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Roush Fenway Racing
3.	Paul Menard	Wood Brothers Racing
4.	Matt DiBenedetto	Leavine Family Racing
5.	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing
6.	Bubba Wallace	Richard Petty Motorsports
7.	Chris Buescher	JTG Daugherty Racing
8.	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
9.	Ryan Newman	Roush Fenway Racing
10.	Ryan Preece	JTG Daugherty Racing
11.	Daniel Suarez	Stewart-Haas Racing
12.	Parker Kligerman	Gaunt Brothers Racing
13.	Tyler Reddick	Richard Childress Racing
14.	Ryan Truex	Tommy Baldwin Racing
15.	Landon Cassill	Starcom Racing
16.	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports
17.	Daniel Hemric	Richard Childress Racing
18.	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
19.	Matt Tifft	Front Row Motorsports
20.	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske
21.	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing

 

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