DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The storyline of Thursday’s Gatorade Duel at Daytona qualifying races included the “usual suspects” up front, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. going two-for-two in his Hendrick Motorsports debut and Toyota scoring its first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory with Denny Hamlin.
But it was also an opportunity for the oddball team and the single-car entry to get some of the spotlight as Furniture Row Racing got both of its drivers into the race and John Andretti made the show for Sunday’s 50th Daytona 500.
And three-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Jarrett was able to make the race, ending what could have been a brutal disappointment if he had failed to make the field.
On the downside, two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott failed to get the Wood Brothers Ford into the race, marking the first time in the 62-year history of the team it will not compete at Daytona, dating all the way back to the old Beach Course that preceded the opening of Daytona Int’l Speedway in 1959.
Ken Schrader’s streak of 23-straight Daytona 500 starts also came to an end while the impressive Canadian contingent of 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1997 Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve and former Champ Car and IndyCar driver Patrick Carpentier both crashed out of the second race.
Earnhardt won his second-straight race at Daytona this week, scoring his third Gatorade Duel at Daytona victory in Thursday’s first qualifying race for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
“I feel like we got a shot,” Earnhardt said. “Nobody is boastful enough to come in here and claim that. I wouldn’t expect anybody to do that, but I thought we had a great shot today. We’ve won some races down here, so we have to be in that group (for Sunday).
“We got to remember we’re at Daytona, too. We’ve had a lot of wins here. We can’t really sing a lot of praise just yet because we’ve got a lot of racing left to do. We should be fine.”

TOYOTA TRIUMPH: Denny Hamlin celebrates his victory in the second Gatorade Duel qualifying race, the first win for Toyota in the Sprint Cup Series. (HHP/Harold Hinson Photo)

Brian Vickers, who spun his Toyota Camry after contact with Paul Menard early in the race and had to pit for another tire issue later, was able to finish 11th and take the final transfer position into Sunday’s race.
Kenny Wallace finished eighth and took the other transfer spot in the race, which meant that Joe Nemechek made the  Daytona 500 starting lineup based on his single-lap time trial speed last  Sunday.
While Earnhardt was one of seven drivers dropping to the rear of the field after changing engines, his drive to the front was steady, if not spectacular.
It only took Earnhardt 18 laps to drive from the rear to the front of the field when he put his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in front, ahead of Ryan Newman’s Dodge.
“This was pretty interesting with those old tires back there through the race, spinning tires and carrying on,” Earnhardt said. “I came in front of the 12 (Newman) and it must have been by inches. Old tires were fun, man. We were about wrecking back there, but it was fun.
“This has to look great on TV, but the car is hard to drive. It sure is a handful on the car and it reminds me a lot of the old style of race cars.  I think it’s all right and so far, the car has a good grade from me.”
Reed Sorenson’s Dodge was second, followed by Newman’s Dodge, Casey Mears’s Chevrolet and Carl Edwards’s Ford.
Kurt Busch’s engine blew up on the 10th lap, dropping him off the track. Busch took the former champion’s provisional starting position  because he is the most recent Cup champion (2004).
Busch’s seventh-place points from last season were transferred to teammate and rookie Sam Hornish, Jr., the 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner and three-time IndyCar champion.
“We’ve got the champion’s provisional to fall back on, so we’re not worrying about it,” Busch said.
With three to go, Earnhardt led the field while Sorenson took second. Further back in the pack, Vickers passed Nemechek for the final transfer position. Nemechek was safe because he was the third-fastest driver in Sunday’s qualifications so he was first in the list to make it on time.
A.J. Allmendinger finished 13th and missed making the field.
“It pretty much sucks,” said Allmendinger, who missed the Daytona 500 starting lineup for the second year in a row.
Hamlin blew by his teammate, Tony Stewart, on a green-white-checkered flag restart to give Toyota its first victory in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition in the second Gatorade Duel.
It was the first time a foreign manufacturer has won a NASCAR Cup Series races since Al Keller drove a Jaguar to victory at Linden, N.J., in 1954.
Hamlin finished 0.091 second ahead of Stewart’s Toyota to lock up the victory while Jarrett and Andretti were able to finish ninth and 10th to take the two automatic transfer positions.
“It’s great, especially with this back up engine and it’s great to be back in victory lane at Daytona and get Toyota its first win,” Hamlin said.
Jeff Gordon’s Chevrolet was third, followed by Kasey Kahne’s Dodge and Martin Truex, Jr.’s  Chevrolet.
The finishes:
Race One
Showing driver, car, laps completed and money won: 1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevrolet, 60, $53,970; 2. Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 60, $38,970; 3. Ryan Newman, Dodge, 60, $33,970; 4. Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 60, $28,970; 5. Carl Edwards, Ford, 60, $26,970; 6. Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 60, $24,570; 7. Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 60, $23,470; 8. Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 60, $22,470; 9. Sam Hornish, Jr., Dodge, 60, $22,445; 10. Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 60, $22,395; 11. Brian Vickers, Toyota, 60, $22,395; 12. Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 60, $22,370; 13. A.J. Allmendinger, Toyota, 60, $22,345; 14. Martin Truex, Jr., Chevrolet, 60, $22,320; 15. Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 60, $22,320; 16. Bill Elliott, Ford, 60, $22,270; 17. Regan Smith, 60, $22,245; 18. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 60, $22,195; 19. Boris Said, Ford, 60, $22,170; 20. Jeremy Mayfield, Chevrolet, 60, $22,145; 21. Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet, 60, $22,095; 22. Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 60, $22,070; 23. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 60, $22,145; 24. J.J. Yeley, Toyota, 59, $21,995; 25. Kyle Petty, Dodge, 59, $21,970; 26. Kurt Busch, Dodge, 9, $21,945; 27. Carl Long, Dodge, 59, $21,920.
Race Two
Showing driver, car, laps completed and money won: 1. Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 64, $54,825; 2. Tony Stewart, Toyota, 64, $39,813; 3. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 64, $34,813; 4. Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 64, $29,813; 5. Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 64, $27,813; 6. David Ragan, Ford, 64, $25,413; 7. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 64, $24,313; 8. Greg Biffle, Ford, 64, $23,313; 9. Dale Jarrett, Toyota, 64, $23,288; 10. John Andretti, Chevrolet, 64, $23,263; 11. Kyle Busch, Toyota, 64, $23,238; 12. David Reutimann, Toyota, 64, $23,213; 13. Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 64, $23,188; 14. Robby Gordon, Dodge, 64, $23,163; 15. Matt Kenseth, Ford, 64, $23,138; 16. Travis Kvapil, Ford, 64, $23,113; 17. David Gilliland, Ford, 64, $23,088; 18. Ken Schrader, Dodge, 64, $23,038; 19. Patrick Carpentier, Dodge, 57, $23,013; 20. Eric McClure, Chevrolet, 43, $22,988; 21. Dave Blaney, Toyota, 24, $22,938; 22. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 16, $22,913; 23. Jacques Villeneuve, Toyota, 14, $22,863; 24. Jamie McMurray, Ford, 14, $22,838; 25. Stanton Barrett, Chevrolet, 14, $22,813; 26. Dario Franchitti, Dodge, 14, $22,788.