Tyler Reddick went fifth to first in the final lap of the Bluegreen Vacations Duel race at Daytona to earn the victory and put his Toyota into the Daytona 500.
At the white flag, Reddick was fifth and running in the outside lane. But off Turn 2, the picture changed as Chase Elliott and Carson Hocevar dropped to the bottom, which gave way to Reddick pushing Kyle Larson clear of the field. Quickly after doing so, Reddick moved inside Larson to take the lead and drove to victory.
“Great way to start the weekend,” Reddick said. “This thing is a beast.”
The victory was Reddick’s first in a Daytona qualifying race. It will put Reddick third on the starting grid for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
Reddick held off Elliott, Alex Bowman, Hocevar and Erik Jones at the finish. Daniel Suarez finished sixth, Joey Logano finished seventh, Ty Gibbs eighth, Larson ninth, and Chris Buescher 10th.
The final lap was the only lap Reddick led in the 60-lap event. Larson led a race-high 14 laps. There were 15 lead changes among nine drivers.
Jimmie Johnson raced his way into the Daytona 500, but not without adversity. It was a battle between Johnson and J.J. Yeley for the transfer spot.
Johnson outran Yeley for much of the race, putting his Legacy Motor Club Toyota inside the top five before coming to pit road. It was after the field made their only pit stop that Johnson and Yeley were put within striking distance of each other.