Team Penske’s Joey Logano won the first of two Duels ahead of teammate Ryan Blaney.

The chaos began when Daniel Suarez in the #7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro got into the back of the #99 RFK Racing Ford Mustang of Corey LaJoie.

LaJoie’s car got spun the side of AJ Allmendinger’s #16 Kaulig Racing Camaro before secondary contact with Suarez shot the car up the road and into the SAFER Barrier.

Van Gisbergen, who was immediately behind Suarez, escaped with barely a scratch. Sparks flew from his front splitter as he dipped the #97 Camaro onto the apron to avoid the melee.

At the same time, open entry Casey Mears in the #66 Garage 66 Mustang kept his foot planted and rear-ended Suarez.

Having blazed by Lajoie, Mears qualified for the Daytona 500.

Casey Mears! What an effort! pic.twitter.com/MqwdrH3cjs

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 13, 2026

Asked post-race how he made it through the carnage, Mears replied: “Probably a little bit of power in prayer.

“There was a lot of that going on in the car. I got a run on the outside and I figured I would just stay in the gas, no matter what happened.

“When I saw them spinning and I missed the first guy, I thought, ‘Okay, good’.

“Then I hit [Suarez] square and I knew when I hit him flat and it didn’t tear up the car too much and I was going to be able to get back.

“I didn’t know who was in front of me still and whether or not we had made it. Then all the guys started going nuts on the radio.

“I can’t believe we’re here based on how our night went.”

It was a remarkable recovery for Mears, having earlier been involved in an incident with 15 laps to go.

He spun entering the pits and took Noah Gragson in the #4 Front Row Motorsports Mustang with him through the grass.

The race featured one other caution. WIith five laps to go, Bubba Wallace in the #23 23XI Racing Toyota Camry spun on the back straight, and the subsequent carnage took out Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher.

That set up a two-lap green-white-chequered, which was ultimately won by Logano.

Results: NASCAR Cup Series Duel at Daytona, Daytona International Speedway 

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