NASCAR’s 2018 Can-Am Duels – Race Recap/Statistics (February 15, 2018)

Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott secured the third and fourth starting positions for this weekend’s Daytona 500 with their victories in Thursday’s Can-Am Duels at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Here are some statistics related to the race.

Can-Am Statistics

2018 Race #1

- Race #1 Winner (starting position): Ryan Blaney (8th)

- Race #1 Results: Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Darrell Wallace Jr., Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, David Ragan, Daniel Suarez, Jamie McMurray, Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, Brendan Gaughan, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Alex Bowman, Justin Marks, Brad Keselowski, David Gilliland, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson, Aric Almirola

- Race #1 Manufacturer Breakdown: Chevrolet (11), Ford (8), Toyota (1)

- Laps Led: Joey Logano (56), Ryan Blaney (6), Justin Marks (1)

- Hard Charger: David Ragan (+13, 20th to 7th)

- Running at Finish: 15 of 20

- Margin of Victory: .207 seconds

- Lead Changes: 4

2018 Race #2

- Race #2 Winner (starting position): Chase Elliott (5th)

- Race #2 Results: Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, Trevor Bayne, Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger, Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne, Danica Patrick, D.J. Kennington, Corey Lajoie, Gray Gaulding, Mark Thompson, Matt DiBenedetto, Kyle Larson

- Race #2 Manufacturer Breakdown: Chevrolet (7), Ford (7), Toyota (6)

- Laps Led: Chase Elliott (34), Denny Hamlin (18), Kevin Harvick (7), Gray Gaulding (1)

- Hard Charger: A.J. Allmendinger (+5, 15th to 10th)

- Running at Finish: 17 of 20

- Margin of Victory: .081 seconds

- Lead Changes: 6

Can-Am Duels Statistics – All-Time

- Races Contested: 128
- Race Winners: 63

- Most Victories: Dale Earnhardt – 12

- Most Laps, Single Race: 64 (four times)

Notes of Interest

- Ryan Blaney’s victory was his first Can-Am Duels win of his career. Chase Elliott’s win was his second in consecutive years and second overall. Elliott is the first driver to win a Can-Am Duel in consecutive years since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2015 and 2016, and one of 11 drivers to win in consecutive years.
- Other drivers, in addition to Elliott, to win in consecutive years include Dale Earnhardt (record 10 in a row), Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Junior Johnson (one of three drivers with at least three in a row), father Bill Elliott, Fireball Roberts, Jack Smith and Joe Weatherly,

- Blaney’s victory in the first race came in 63 laps, with three laps added to the original 60-lap distance after Brad Keselowski crashed. It marked the first time since the second race in 2015 that a Can-Am Duels race went to overtime.

- Hendricks Motorsports has tied Richard Childress Racing with most Can-Am Duels victories with 15 (Elliott). After a four-year stint without a victory in the Can-Am Duels (2011-2014), HMS has won at least one race in each of the last two years (two in 2015).

- With its sweep of the races, Chevrolet now has 53 Can-Am Duels wins, more than twice as many as second-place Ford (26).

- Blaney will start third in the Daytona 500, his best career start in the race. His previous best start was seventh in 2016.

- For Elliott, who will start fourth, it will mark his third consecutive start in the first two rows. In his first two races (2016 and 2017), Elliott started on the pole. In six career starts (including this year’s Daytona 500), Elliott has five starts in the front two rows, and his worst start was 24th (2016 Coke Zero 400).

- Jimmie Johnson was involved in an accident in the first race. He has now been involved in two accidents this week, having also been involved in a crash during the Advance Auto Parts Clash last Sunday.
- Matt Kenseth is the last driver to win a Can-Am Duel and then go on to win the Daytona 500.