Floyd Mayweather’s NASCAR team in Daytona 500, RFK Racing sweeps Duels. Full results

With a final lap surge, NASCAR driver Kaz Grala locked himself and his new team co-owned by boxing legend Floyd Mayweather into Sunday’s Daytona 500. That was during the first of two Duels, won by Brad Keselowski, on Thursday night that set the starting order and final field for the 500.

The second Duel of the evening was won by Keselowski’s teammate Chris Buescher for an RFK sweep.

“Really cool night,” Buescher said. “Proud of everyone back at the shop and all the effort after a rough trip out to LA.”

Grala’s last-lap move proved to be the surprise of Duel 1, while Buescher’s win came under a similar move to the front of the pack on the final lap after a run-in with Joey Logano.

Grala was caught speeding on pit road racing in the first Duel had to serve a pass-through penalty that sent him back in the running order and behind J.J. Yeley, who he was battling for the final transfer spot.

But Grala, running the No. 50 Chevrolet for The Money Team Racing, picked up speed with Kurt Busch on his tail and was able to catch Yeley’s No. 55 with a surge through Turns 1 and 2. He slid by Yeley on the final lap to lock himself into the main race.

“We squeaked in by the skin of our teeth,” Grala said.

Grala said that he plans to run a part-time schedule for the new team, likely appearing at road courses and other to-be-announced tracks.

Veteran Brad Keselowski won the first Duel debuting as the driver-owner of Roush-Fenway-Keselowski Racing, and said that he considered the win a “great offset” from what he called a “poor showing at the Clash.” His No. 6 team failed to qualify for the main race during the exhibition event. Buescher’s Duel win provided a follow-up highlight moment for the team.

“It’s really important to get (those) winning habits built up,” Keselowski said. “And the only way you can really do that is winning, so you know, that builds confidence in each other and builds expectations...(and) builds a reality that those expectations can happen.”

After an early Chevrolet pit stop in Duel 1 for four tires led by Kyle Larson, the manufacturer-separated packs split up on strategy, with the Fords taking two tires. By the final laps, Keselowski led drivers for his former Penske team Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney through the finish line.

Fords also led the charge late in the second Duel with Penske driver Joey Logano out front in the final 10 laps and Buescher trailing him. As Buescher made a move to go low after rounding a turn, Logano moved down on the track to block. Buescher made contact and Logano spun out. He called the maneuver a “mistake” after the race.

“I was trying to win the race,” Logano said. “Bad timing.”

Buescher said he was trying to make the move earlier, but didn’t have an opportunity and it ended up coming down to the white flag lap.

Logano’s crash was not the result he was hoping for after winning the Clash, but it did provide an opportunity to see NASCAR’s Next Gen car in a crash setting after prior questions circulated around the industry about the new car’s crash durability while it was in the testing phase.

“I feel fine, so that’s a good sign,” Logano said after the race. “I hit the wall fairly hard. No problem...I don’t want to be the crash test dummy, but definitely was today.”

With open car drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Noah Gragson securing their place in the Daytona 500 field by posting the top two qualifying times and speeds of the open cars on Wednesday night, four drivers, including Grala and Yeley, as well as Greg Biffle and Timmy Hill aimed to race into the main lineup. Biffle secured that final spot during the second Duel.

Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman earned front row starting positions, with Larson on the pole, by posting the best qualifying laps on Wednesday. The Daytona 500 is Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Duel 1 Results

Duel 2 Results