Alex Bowman was the fastest car in Daytona 500 qualifying on Wednesday night–by a significant margin.
Him and his teammate, William Byron, will lead the field to the green on Sunday for The Great American Race–that much we know. We also know that Ryan Preece and David Ragan–two of the eight “open drivers” trying to make the show–will race on Sunday.
As far as how the rest of the field will line up? To be determined.
There will be two Duel races on Thursday night to figure out the starters from 3rd through 40th, and we will also then determine which other two “open” drivers will make it. The highest-finishing “open” drivers in each Duel will be locked into Sunday’s Daytona 500, and then the final two will be determined by who were the two fastest in qualifying on Wednesday night. That’s why Cindric and Ragan are locked in; if they don’t race their way in on Thursday, they’ll get in on speed.
The “open” drivers for this year’s Daytona 500 are: Ryan Preece, David Ragan, Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, Kaz Grala, Ty Dillon, Timmy Hill, and Garrett Smithley.
To clarify even more on what has to happen for some to get in, Bob Pockrass tweeted this:
