{"id":37012,"date":"2022-02-17T23:15:59","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T05:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=37012"},"modified":"2022-02-18T07:44:30","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T13:44:30","slug":"brad-keselowski-chris-buescher-complete-rfk-racing-sweep-of-daytona-duels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/17\/brad-keselowski-chris-buescher-complete-rfk-racing-sweep-of-daytona-duels\/","title":{"rendered":"Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher complete RFK Racing sweep of Daytona Duels"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Kohler Generators Ford, celebrates in the Ruoff Mortgage victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #1 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer and Holly Cain<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Roush Fenway Keselowski teammates Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher swept Thursday nights Bluegreen Vacation Duels, but a last-lap collision in the second race wiped out then-frontrunner Joey Logano and spoiled a perfect night for the Ford Performance entries.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Fastenal Ford, celebrates in the Ruoff Mortgage victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #2 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Running second to Logano, Buescher made a move to the inside on the backstretch on Lap 60. Logano moved down to block, and contact between the cars sent Logano\u2019s No. 22 Team Penske Ford into the outside wall, crippling the car.<\/p>\n

The accident caused the only caution of the night, with Buescher in the lead when the fields was frozen at the moment of the yellow flag. Defending Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell was second and Harrison Burton was credited with third after nosing into Logano\u2019s Ford.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the first Duel\u2014the first points-paying event with the NASCAR Cup Series\u2019 new Next Gen race car\u2014ran without incident, and Keselowski led a 1-2-3-4 Ford sweep with a pass of Ryan Blaney with four laps left. Austin Cindric was second, followed by Blaney and Chase Briscoe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Kohler Generators Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #1 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

In that race, Kaz Grala rallied from a pit road speeding penalty and advanced to the Daytona 500 with a pass of JJ Yeley on the final lap. In the second Duel, Greg Biffle claimed the final spot in Sunday\u2019s race with a 13th-place finish, eliminating Timmy Hill, who ran 20th.<\/p>\n

Biffle, 52, was competing in his first Cup event since 2016.<\/p>\n

But the excitement was reserved for the final lap of the final race, with Logano acknowledging the mistake that broke up another 1-2-3-4 Ford finish.<\/p>\n

The beneficiary was Buescher, who finished off the first sweep of the Duels by one organization since Hendrick Motorsports accomplished the feat in 2015 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Fastenal Ford, takes the checkered flag under caution to win the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #2 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cYeah, what a way to start Speedweeks out here, to put both RFK Ford Mustangs in Victory Lane, give Fastenal their first win on a Cup car,\u201d Buescher said. \u201cIt’s not the big show, but we’ve got a really good hotrod here.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust hats off to everybody back at the shop. I know it’s been a hectic off season for everybody in our sport, but we’ve had a lot of changes going on, and it’s cool to see it play out.\u201d<\/p>\n

A rueful Logano gave a succinct post-mortem of the wreck that will force him to a backup car for the Daytona 500.<\/p>\n

\u201cDriver screwed up,\u201d Logano said. \u201cThat\u2019s really all there is to it. \u201cI thought I was still clear, and the run (from Buescher) came a lot quicker than I thought it would.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Kohler Generators Ford, Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\/Blue DEF\/PEAK Ford, and Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Discount Tire Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #1 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI tried to block it a little bit and just got a tag in the left rear, and off it went. It\u2019s my fault. It stinks, because it tore up our car and kind of puts us in a spot as a race team. It\u2019s just a dumb mistake.<\/p>\n

In the first Duel, new team co-owner Brad Keselowski passed his former teammate Ryan Blaney to notch his first victory as a principle at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. NASCAR Hall of Fame owner Jack Roush joined Keselowski in Victory Lane after the race with smiles all around at the newly-reorganized Ford team\u2019s first points-paying outing.<\/p>\n

Cindric, Blaney and Stewart-Haas Racing\u2019s Briscoe crossed the line three-wide .264-seconds behind Keselowski, giving Ford the four-car sweep.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sure is (a great start),” said Keselowski, who will now start third in the Daytona 500. \u201cI felt pretty good about our car in practice on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light #BUSCHRACETEAM Ford, and Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Fastenal Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #2 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to give credit to the other Fords. We worked really well together, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe. We had great strategy\u2026 Austin Cindric\u2026 and we stuck together and drove away and got ourselves in position where we could control the finish of this race, and I\u2019m happy to see all those Fords up front.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood job to all those guys\u2019\u2019 said Keselowski, whose No. 6 Ford carried a sticker honoring his father Bob, a former NASCAR competitor who passed away Dec. 2, 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is special,” Keselowski said.<\/p>\n

Daytona 500 polesitter and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson led a race best 34 of the 60 laps in Duel #1 but lost the lead when he and his Chevrolet teammates took four tires on the race\u2019s only pit stop. The Ford teams took only two tires.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Greg Biffle, driver of the #44 Grambling State University Chevrolet, and Ty Dillon, driver of the #42 Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #2 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The first Duel set the inside line of the 40-car Daytona 500\u2014with cars lining up on the inside of the grid behind pole winner Larson according to their finish in the qualifying race. Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 driver Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Larson, Tyler Reddick, Kurt Busch and Ross Chastain rounded out the top 10 from the opening Duel.<\/p>\n

The second Duel determined the order of the outside row, with drivers lining up according to finishing order behind Alex Bowman, who secured the second starting spot in Wednesday night\u2019s qualifying session. Kyle Busch finished fourth behind the three Fords, with Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. behind him.<\/p>\n

Bubba Wallace ran seventh and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. eighth. Logano was credited with a lead-lap finish in ninth but will start from the rear on Sunday in his backup car.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kaz Grala, driver of the #50 Pit Viper Sunglasses Chevrolet, reacts after the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #1 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Grala earned the transfer position from Duel 1 with a stunning last-lap pass of J.J. Yeley to put the No. 50 TMT Racing Chevrolet in the big show\u2014much to the delight of Grala and his new The Money Team Racing team owner, boxer Floyd Mayweather.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a relief I can tell you that,” Grala said. \u201cI thought we weren\u2019t going to make it for a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut got the hiccups out the way, and hopefully will have a smooth Sunday,” he added, thanking Kurt Busch for allowing him to re-join the field\u2019s established racing line after receiving a pit road speeding penalty with 24 laps to go.<\/p>\n

After the penalty, Grala ran behind Yeley but said he never gave up hope and never got off the gas. He was able to make the pass coming out of Turn 2 on the final lap.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Greg Biffle, driver of the #44 Grambling State University Chevrolet, waves to fans onstage during driver intros the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #1 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cRight down to that last lap, there was no relief,” Grala said. \u201cThe key was our line staying formed up and being able to roll by him and him not having a chance to hop down in front of anybody. <\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely took years off my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biffle had a much easier time than Grala, given that Hill fell off the lead lap early.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels really good,\u201d said Biffle, who returned to the Cup Series to drive for the NY Racing Team headed by John Cohen. \u201cI’ll tell you, I have not slept much in the last couple days just trying to keep a cool composure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been nervous about this race because there’s so many things that can happen and so many ways it can go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notes: Already locked into the Daytona 500 on speed, the Open car of Jacques Villeneuve had an issue with its throttle cable and was late to the pace laps for the second Duel. Villeneuve quickly lost the draft and fell behind, then retired from the race in 21st place on Lap 39.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

Brad Keselowski (No. 6 RFK Racing Ford)- Post Duel 1 <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/D500PostDuel1KeselowskiNCS021722.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kaz Grala (No. 50 TMT Racing Chevrolet) – Post Duel 1 <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/D500PostDuel1GralaNCS021722.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chris Buescher (No. 17 RFK Racing Ford) -Post Duel 2<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/D500PostDuel2BuescherNCS021722.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Greg Biffle (No. 44 NY Racing Chevrolet)- Post Duel 2<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/D500PostDuel2BiffleNCS021722.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1<\/b><\/p>\n

Daytona International Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Daytona Beach, Florida<\/b><\/p>\n

Thursday, February 17, 2022<\/b><\/p>\n

                1. (9)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 60.<\/p>\n

                2. (11)  Austin Cindric #, Ford, 60.<\/p>\n

                3. (7)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 60.<\/p>\n

                4. (10)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 60.<\/p>\n

                5. (3)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 60.<\/p>\n

                6. (12)  Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 60.<\/p>\n

                7. (1)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 60.<\/p>\n

                8. (8)  Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 60.<\/p>\n

                9. (13)  Kurt Busch, Toyota, 60.<\/p>\n

                10. (4)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 60.<\/p>\n

                11. (5)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 60.<\/p>\n

                12. (2)  William Byron Jr., Chevrolet, 60.<\/p>\n

                13. (14)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 60.<\/p>\n

                14. (18)  Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 60.<\/p>\n

                15. (16)  Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 60.<\/p>\n

                16. (15)  Cole Custer, Ford, 59.<\/p>\n

                17. (6)  Daniel Hemric(i), Chevrolet, 59.<\/p>\n

                18. (19)  Kaz Grala(i), Chevrolet, 58.<\/p>\n

                19. (21)  JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 58.<\/p>\n

                20. (20)  BJ McLeod, Ford, 58.<\/p>\n

                21. (17)  Noah Gragson(i), Chevrolet, 57.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  185.185 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  0 Hrs, 48 Mins, 36 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .264 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  0 for  laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  2 among 3 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   K. Larson 1-34;R. Blaney 35-56;B. Keselowski 57-60.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Kyle Larson 1 time for 34 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 22 laps; Brad Keselowski 1 time for 4 laps.<\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2<\/b><\/p>\n

Daytona International Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Daytona Beach, Florida<\/b><\/p>\n

Thursday, February 17, 2022<\/b><\/p>\n

                1. (14)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 60.<\/p>\n

                2. (11)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 60.<\/p>\n

                3. (5)  Harrison Burton #, Ford, 60.<\/p>\n

                4. (9)  Kyle Busch, Toyota, 60.<\/p>\n

                5. (7)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 60.<\/p>\n

                6. (3)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 60.<\/p>\n

                7. (8)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 60.<\/p>\n

                8. (16)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 60.<\/p>\n

                9. (6)  Joey Logano, Ford, Accident, 59.<\/p>\n

                10. (13)  Kevin Harvick, Ford, 59.<\/p>\n

                11. (15)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 59.<\/p>\n

                12. (12)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 59.<\/p>\n

                13. (19)  Greg Biffle(i), Chevrolet, 59.<\/p>\n

                14. (1)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 59.<\/p>\n

                15. (4)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 59.<\/p>\n

                16. (17)  Cody Ware, Ford, 59.<\/p>\n

                17. (20)  David Ragan, Ford, 58.<\/p>\n

                18. (10)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 58.<\/p>\n

                19. (2)  Aric Almirola, Ford, 58.<\/p>\n

                20. (21)  Timmy Hill(i), Ford, 56.<\/p>\n

                21. (18)  Jacques Villeneuve, Ford, Electrical, 34.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  185.98 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  0 Hrs, 48 Mins, 24 Secs. Margin of Victory:  Under Caution Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  1 for 1 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  11 among 5 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   A. Bowman 1;J. Logano 2;A. Bowman 3-7;J. Logano 8-9;A. Bowman 10;J. Logano 11-14;A. Dillon 15-16;C. Buescher 17;R. Stenhouse Jr. 18;C. Buescher 19-33;J. Logano 34-59;C. Buescher 60.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Joey Logano 4 times for 33 laps; Chris Buescher 3 times for 17 laps; Alex Bowman 3 times for 7 laps; Austin Dillon 1 time for 2 laps; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer and Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Roush Fenway Keselowski teammates Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher swept Thursday nights Bluegreen Vacation Duels, but a last-lap collision in the second race wiped out then-frontrunner Joey Logano and spoiled a perfect night for the Ford Performance entries. Running second to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":37019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[79,166,287,16],"class_list":["post-37012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-brad-keselowski","tag-chris-buescher","tag-daytona-international-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1371208137-scaled-e1645191368398.jpg?fit=640%2C427","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-9CY","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37012"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37030,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37012\/revisions\/37030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}