Ryan Blaney celebrates on his car after winning the first of two qualifying auto races for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Roger Penske has a car capable of winning the Daytona 500.
Maybe even three of them.
Team Penske again went 1-2 at Daytona International Speedway for its second sweep of the top two spots in an event at this year's Speedweeks. This time, Ryan Blaney went to victory lane after winning the first of two Thursday night qualifying races that are used to set the field for Sunday's Daytona 500, which will kick off the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
Chase Elliott won the second race in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to put a temporary halt on the Penske dominance.
Joey Logano finished second to Penske teammate Blaney for the Ford sweep in the first race. Kevin Harvick was second to Elliott in the second race, and Harvick was also in a Ford - proving the automaker has the same advantage it did a year ago, when it swept all four restrictor-plate races.
"There's no doubt we have the speed," Harvick said of Ford's dominance.
Logano has finished second twice in this year's Speedweeks. He was beaten by teammate Brad Keselowski in the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the all-star race that opened activity at Daytona International Speedway this past Sunday.
Keselowski is the Vegas odds favorite to win the Daytona 500, but he wrecked with two laps remaining in his qualifying race Thursday and will have to drive a backup in the main event. Either way, it looks like Team Penske should be a factor Sunday.
"There's no question - we're going to get it done," Logano said.
The three Penske drivers dominated the Clash and were at the front of the field for their entire race Thursday night. Blaney won in overtime after Keselowski's accident brought out the caution.
What was interesting was that Blaney did it with a pass that didn't work last week. When he tried to pass Keselowski in the Clash, he pulled out of traffic and didn't get the help needed to complete the move. This time he was able to get past leader Logano before Keselowski's wreck brought out the caution.
"I didn't make a good move, and I kind of lost that race," Blaney said in reference to the Clash. "I learned a little bit, and I thought about that forever. I thought we learned a little bit from our mistakes. Hopefully we can make it another one here on Sunday. That would be the one that counts."
On the restart in overtime, Blaney got a huge push from best friend Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. and pulled away for the win.
"I saw (he) was third, and I'd figure he'd give me a good push," Blaney said.
Wallace finished third and was congratulated with a huge hug from team owner Richard Petty, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Jimmie Johnson was in his second accident of these Speedweeks. The seven-time season champ dropped out of line just minutes after his race began with an apparent tire problem, and his car took an unexpected hard right into traffic. The contact wrecked Johnson, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez, sending Almirola and Johnson to backup cars.
Johnson also wrecked in the Clash.
"Tough way to start Speedweeks," he said. "The car started to shake a little bit entering the tri-oval; that's why I pulled down. It finally went flat and hooked me around and into Aric. We will pull out that next bullet and get ready."
The second qualifying race began with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers watching from the top of girlfriend Danica Patrick's pit box. The Daytona 500 will be her final NASCAR race, and Rodgers arrived in Daytona on Wednesday, Valentine's Day, to support her.