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Christopher Bell wins second Duel at Daytona, Kaz Grala locks into Daytona 500

JHby:Jonathan Howard•02/15/24•

Jondean25

Christopher Bell Bubba Wallace Daytona
Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Toyota made a statement in the Duels at Daytona. Christopher Bell won the second race of the night after Tyler Reddick took the win in the first. Denny Hamlin and John Hunter Nemechek finished P3 and P4, a big NASCAR debut for the Camry XSE.

Toyota comes in with a new body and walks out with both trophies from the Duels at Daytona. They didn’t qualify well, but when these Camrys were racing, they had a ton of speed. There were moves throughout the race and it really felt unpredictable.

Of course, the doors opened for these Toyotas after Ryan Blaney and others were involved in a massive wreck. Blaney took a violent hook into the wall and his car actually caught fire.

After the wreck, Christopher Bell bided his time and on the last lap took the lead. It was the only lap he led the entire race.

Christopher Bell was a Championship 4 driver last year and the year before. Now, he’s starting 2024 off with a win in the Duels at Daytona. Denny Hamlin was right there and he wanted to follow up his Busch Light Clash win with a Duels win.

Kaz Grala ended up being out BJ McLeod for the final open spot in the Daytona 500. A huge accomplishment after what happened earlier in the race. McLeod was affected by the wreck and just couldn’t keep up after it.

Christopher Bell has a Daytona 500 win in his eyes

When you run that good in the Duels, you start to think about Sunday. There is practice and all of that to get through. That just makes it even more exciting for the 20 team. Now they can get this thing dialed in even more.

Beating Denny Hamlin in a race of any length at Daytona is impressive. To do it in the way Bell did showed off just how skilled he really is. He forced Hamlin to make a bad block and lose momentum, and he was right there to make up for it.

While these Toyota Camry XSEs were slow in single lap qualifying, they showed again that they could find speed in the long run. Toyota had success tonight, even in little flashes. Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell took home the big trophies. Let’s not forget that Jimmie Johnson made the big show.

Sunday can’t get here soon enough. After watching the Duels at Daytona, I’m ready to see what else is in store this week. Especially when the Cup Series lines up for the 500.