02/12/26 07:54:00
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02/12 19:53 CST Joey Logano wins the first Daytona 500 qualifying race; Casey
Mears grabs a transfer spot
Joey Logano wins the first Daytona 500 qualifying race; Casey Mears grabs a
transfer spot
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) --- Joey Logano won the first Daytona 500 qualifying
race Thursday night under caution when a crash in overtime cost Corey LaJoie a
spot in "The Great American Race" and gave Casey Mears a coveted spot in
NASCAR's opener.
Logano in a Ford for Team Penske had control of the race when a caution for a
five-car accident with four laps remaining brought out the caution. Austin
Dillon got too big of a push from Chris Buescher and it caused him to run into
Bubba Wallace and spin Wallace in an incident that sent the race into overtime
at Daytona International Speedway.
Logano had the lead on the restart for the two-lap sprint to the finish with
LaJoie in position to claim the one open spot in the 41-car field. But LaJoie
was spun on the final lap and Mears missed hitting him by mere inches.
By ducking through, Mears beat out LaJoie and Chandler Smith for the transfer
spot from the first 150-mile qualifying race. Mears recovered to make the
Daytona 500 from an earlier incident on pit road.
"I just know that we made it, the car is damaged, but we got it in," Mears
said. "I can't believe we are here based on our night and the way that it went.
I didn't know who was in and whether or not we made it and then the guys
started going nuts on the radio."
Mears is driving for Garage 66, a team owned by former driver Carl Long with
just 10 employees in Daytona. He's in pursuit of making 500 career Cup Series
starts and received financial assistance from former NASCAR team owner Bob
Germain to enter Daytona.
Mears, a veteran who last competed full-time in 2016, will make his 495th start
Sunday.
"Everything was completely stacked against us," Mears said. "I can't believe
we're here. It feels good to be here."
He said he's targeting superspeedways and road courses for the five starts he
needs to hit 500 this season.
Logano, a three-time Cup champion, won the qualifier for the fourth time in his
career. He won the Daytona 500 in 2015.
"I do think we have a strong race car, obviously a fast race car, we proved
that," Logano said.
Ryan Blaney, teammates with Logano at Penske, finished second. Dillon was third.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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