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Related Story - KYLE BUSCH WINS DUEL NO. 2

Heading into Thursday night's first of two Can-Am Twin 150's from Daytona International Speedway, the "Pied Piper of Daytona" Dale Earnhardt, Jr, lived up to his moniker once again.

Leading 43 of 60 laps and making a power move to pass Sprint Unlimited winner Denny Hamlin with just five laps to go, Earnhardt displayed a dominant performance. Earnhardt was overjoyed about the famed "Amelia" car which has been the anchor of his recent restrictor plate dominance.

"The car is awesome," Earnhardt, Jr, said. "I don't really get too confident. I don't want to get overly confident in what I'm doing. But the car really does everything I ask it to do. When you have a car that you know can do the things that this car can do, you're willing to take those gambles and risks to pull out and pass and not worry about getting shuffled to the back because you feel like the car is really capable of doing what you're going to ask it to do every time you make a move.
 
"It's just a fun car to drive. Really special car. (Car owner) Rick (Hendrick) leaned into the window. I told him, 'Whatever happens to this thing from here on out, he needs to keep track of it.' Might be one he wants to put in a museum one day because it's done a lot of good things."

Earnhardt, Jr, had to hold off a furious charge from last season's Daytona 500 champion Joey Logano and his alliance-mate Ryan Blaney who finished in second and third, respectively. Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Sunday's pole winner Chase Elliott rounded out the top five finishers.

Logano thought he could challenge Earnhardt for the win late but admits the veteran manuevers of the two-time Daytona 500 champion were too much to overcome.

"It was so close," Logano said. "I was behind Earnhardt and taking notes seeing what he was doing and I thought I had a good run at the end with Blaney behind me, giving me a good push. He did a great job, too. I almost had enough to get to the outside of him but he threw the block and that was the end of that."

The duel was especially important for drivers who attempted to qualify for Sunday's race without a charter. With his 14th place finish, Michael McDowell was able to qualify his No. 59 Thrivent Financial Chevrolet for the 500-mile affair. Cole Whitt, who spun after near contact with McDowell, was forced from the race early and joined Josh Wise as the only drivers in the dual to fail to qualify. 

"You all know what it means to be in the 500," McDowell said. "I've been on the other side, too, where I've been loading up and going home on a Thursday night. I definitely appreciate it when we make the races. It's definitely a big thing for our team, Circle Sport and Leavine Family Racing, we're going to have two cars in the Daytona 500, especially for a small team. To really start out the year we'll, it's very important. This is such a huge race.

"It was nerve-wracking. It wasn't an easy one by any means. Pretty much how it goes, you have a plan, you make a plan, then it all changes when you get out there. Tonight was no different than that."

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 0
Unofficial Race Results for the Can-Am Duel #1 - Thursday, February 18, 2016
Daytona International Speedway - Daytona Beach, FL - 2.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 60 Laps - 150 Miles

Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Status    Tms    Laps
1    2    88    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Nationwide Chevrolet    60    45    5        Running    2    43
2    7    22    Joey Logano    Shell Pennzoil Ford    60    39            Running        
3    4    21    * Ryan Blaney #    Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford    60    38            Running        
4    22    4    Kevin Harvick    Jimmy John's Chevrolet    60    37            Running        
5    6    11    Denny Hamlin    FedEx Express Toyota    60    37    1        Running    1    13
6    1    24    Chase Elliott    NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet    60    36    1        Running    1    2
7    8    5    Kasey Kahne    Farmers Insurance Chevrolet    60    35    1        Running    1    2
8    11    16    Greg Biffle    KFC Nashville Hot Ford    60    33            Running        
9    15    34    Chris Buescher #    Love's Travel Stops Ford    60    32            Running        
10    3    17    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    Fastenal Ford    60    31            Running        
11    5    3    Austin Dillon    DOW Chevrolet    60    30            Running        
12    17    6    Trevor Bayne    AdvoCare Ford    60    29            Running        
13    10    2    Brad Keselowski    Miller Lite Ford    60    28            Running        
14    13    59    * Michael McDowell    Thrivent Financial Chevrolet    60    27            Running        
15    14    7    Regan Smith    Golden Corral/Nikko Chevrolet    60    26            Running        
16    20    23    David Ragan    Dr Pepper Toyota    60    25            Running        
17    21    30    * Josh Wise    Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet    60    24            Running        
18    18    15    Clint Bowyer    5-hour Energy Chevrolet    60    23            Running        
19    16    32    Bobby Labonte    Can-Am Ford    60    22            Running        
20    12    44    Brian Scott #    Albertsons Co./Shore Lodge Ford    59    21            Accident        
21    9    27    Paul Menard    Peak Antifreeze/Menards Chevrolet    58    20            Accident        
22    19    98    * Cole Whitt     Toyota    47    19            Accident        
 Race Comments:    Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Can-Am Duel #1 at Daytona International Speedway, his fifth victory in the qualifying event. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: Nos. 6, 16, 17 (Change Rear Gear); 4 (Qualifying Time Disallowed).
 Failed to Qualify:    N/A
 Time of Race:    00 Hrs, 52 Mins, 03 Secs.    Average Speed:    172.911 MPH    Margin of Victory:    0.183 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    1 for 4 laps: Laps: 44-47 (#98 Spin Turn 2 [21]).
 Lead Changes:    4 among 4 drivers: C. Elliott # 1-2; D. Earnhardt Jr. 3-39; K. Kahne 40-41; D. Hamlin 42-54; D. Earnhardt Jr. 55-60.
Chase Grid Outlook:     1.D. Earnhardt Jr. 45 (1 wins);2.J. Logano 39 (0);3.*. Blaney # 38 (0);4.K. Harvick 37 (0);5.D. Hamlin 37 (0);6.C. Elliott 36 (0);7.K. Kahne 35 (0);8.G. Biffle 33 (0);9.C. Buescher # 32 (0);10.R. Stenhouse Jr. 31 (0);11.A. Dillon 30 (0);12.T. Bayne 29 (0);13.B. Keselowski 28 (0);14.*. Mcdowell 27 (0);15.R. Smith 26 (0);16.D. Ragan 25 (0).
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Feb. 28, 2016 - Atlanta Motor Speedway
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