The starting line-up for the 64th running of the Daytona 500 is official after the Thursday night Duel races, and the field will be led by the Hendrick Motorsports pair of Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman (pictured above).
Larson and Bowman locked in their starting spots in qualifying and then avoided issues in the Duel races. The two Duel winners, RFK Racing teammates Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher, will make up the second row of the Daytona 500 in the third and fourth starting positions.
Team Penske rookie Austin Cindric starts fifth. Defending Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell starts sixth.
Ryan Blaney starts eighth, and Wood Brothers Racing rookie Harrison Burton starts ninth. Fortunately for Burton, the contact with Joey Logano during the last-lap crash in the second Duel race was repairable, and he will stay in his primary car.
Kyle Busch rounds out the top 10 starters.
After his wreck in the second Duel race, Joey Logano will have to go a backup car and will drop to the rear of the field Sunday afternoon. Logano was slotted to start 20th.
Greg Biffle starts 28th for the NY Racing Team. Kaz Grala starts 35th for The Money Team Racing.
The final two starts are Noah Gragson for Beard Motorsports in 39th and Jacques Villeneuve in 40th for Team Hezeberg.
There are 18 Chevrolet drivers, 16 Ford drivers, and six Toyota drivers in the field. Denny Hamlin is the only driver in the field with multiple Daytona 500 wins. Hamlin chases a fourth victory Sunday.
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