Reigning Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin won the second Can-Am Duel on Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway, passing Dale Earnhardt Jr. with two laps remaining. Hamlin, who signed a contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing before the race, will start fourth in Sunday's Daytona 500.
Hamlin becomes the third active driver with three or more Daytona 500 qualifying race wins, joining Earnhardt (six) and Kyle Busch (three).
MORE: Starting grid finalized for Daytona 500
“We definitely had a strong car, but so much of that race was single file, and so it was really tough to show what we could do in the pack once we got two and three wide,” said Hamlin, who worked his way back to the front after a penalty for rolling through too many pit boxes under a competition caution on Lap 27. “But it looked like our car could make some really good moves and got a great push from the 3 (Austin Dillon) there at the end.
“It looked like our cars worked really, really well together there, so we’ll keep that in mind when I need somebody to draft with in the 500. Great job by the team. The car was great.”
Earnhardt, who qualified second for the Daytona 500 last Sunday, finished sixth in his first race since last July, when he was sidelined by a concussion and missed the entire second half of the NASCAR Cup season.
“I don’t know what I could have done differently to defend that,” said Earnhardt, who was denied a third straight Duel victory. "Once I heard the No. 3 (Dillon) was clear on the outside, I knew they was going to have a big run. Denny is so smart, and he knows what he’s doing out there. He’s one of the better plate racers out there.
“Any which way I would have went, he was going to go the other way and probably get by me. I was hoping Austin might push us a little bit since he drives a Chevy; but I don’t know if I would have done it any different than he did, either."
DJ Kennington joined Elliott Sadler, Brendan Gaughan and Corey LaJoie as the four drivers from "open" teams to fill the Daytona 500 field. Kennington is the first Canadian to qualify for the Daytona 500 since Trevor Boys in 1988.
Reigning Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson finished 13th after a flat tire led to a crash into the outside wall.
MORE: Daytona 500 schedule and info
The results from Can-Am Duel No. 2:
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Clint Bowyer
3. Kurt Busch
4. AJ Allmendinger
5. Austin Dillon
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Danica Patrick
8. Ryan Newman
9. Kyle Larson
10. Ty Dillon
11. David Ragan
12. Michael McDowell
13. Jimmie Johnson
14. Kasey Kahne
15. DJ Kennington
16. Elliott Sadler
17. Michael Waltrip
18. Jeffrey Earnhardt
19. Erik Jones
20. Ryan Blaney
21. Timmy Hill
Earnhardt and Chase Elliott knew heading into Thursday's races that they would start in the front row for the Great American Race, but the Duels determined the rest of the 40-car field with two 150-mile qualifying races. Thirty-six positions went to teams under NASCAR's charter system. Kennington, LaJoie, Sadler, Gaughan took the four open spots. Elliott won the first Duel.
Drivers who qualified Feb. 19 in odd-numbered positions competed in the first duel Thursday. Drivers qualifying in the even-numbered positions competed in the second duel.
Reid Spencer of the NASCAR Wire Service contributed to this report.