“I want to race. I want to battle. I want to shoot through the middle. I want to go to the bottom and the top. But I couldn’t because the field’s jammed up. Everyone’s trying to just save gas because that’s the type of racing that we have now.” That was Denny Hamlin’s frustrated message after the 2024 Daytona 500. Then, Hamlin had similar thoughts to share the next year, calling the 2025 event a “f—— crapshoot.” Now, Hamlin wasn’t upset about aggression or wrecks. Instead, he was fed up with inaction, with packs tiptoeing around to conserve fuel instead of actually racing. But fast-forward to this year’s Duels, and suddenly Hamlin’s tone has shifted. The same driver who blasted the superspeedway formula is now offering rare praise. Now, the question is what changed… and why Hamlin is suddenly speaking a very different tune.

Denny Hamlin sees a different kind of Daytona Duel in 2026

“Our duel was aggressive, especially after the pit stop, and it really had a few moments before the pit stop. But yeah. I thought we were just as aggressive as what I saw on TV. From the first group, we just didn’t wreck. I don’t know, it feels faster this year.” Denny Hamlin didn’t hold back when breaking down Daytona Duel No. 2 2026. And for once, his takeaway wasn’t a complaint. The intensity was real, even if the caution flag never flew.

While the race stayed green, it wasn’t lacking drama. The undercard story of Anthony Alfredo vs. JJ Yeley vs. BJ McLeod, battling for the final Daytona 500 transfer spot, added genuine stakes. McLeod initially lost out after finishing behind Alfredo, only to be vaulted into the big show when Alfredo’s car failed post-race inspection. It was one of the most consequential technical rulings of Speedweek.

Once the field cycled through pit stops, things ramped up. A slow stop for Chase Briscoe disrupted the Toyota group (plus Chase Elliott), scattering their strategy and briefly shuffling the order. Carson Hocevar and Tyler Reddick emerged at the front, but Elliott and Hamlin muscled their way back quickly, reigniting the push-heavy superspeedway chess match.

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With five laps to go, Denny Hamlin attempted a move toward the lead but slipped backward when the outside lane led by Elliott and Hocevar locked in tight formation. It set the stage for a controlled, tactical finish. Kyle Larson took a look to the inside on the final lap, and Christopher Bell dove low exiting Turn 4 to snag fifth, but neither move changed the outcome. Chase Elliott held firm to win Duel No. 2.

For Hamlin, it wasn’t the wild wreckfest some expected, but it was racing. As it should be. Real, elbows-out racing. And after 2024’s fuel-saving frustration, that alone marks a major win in his eyes.

Whereas Logano warns of a “wreckfest”

Joey Logano didn’t sugarcoat it when asked by John Newby whether the Duels help drivers “knock off the rust” before the Daytona 500. He said the races absolutely matter because they expose what teams are working with, and what everyone learned on Thursday was simple: the pushes are sketchy. So sketchy, in fact, that Logano openly predicted the 500 could turn into a full-blown wreckfest. His final warning? “Say your prayers.”

Logano’s words carried extra weight because he had just survived the mayhem firsthand, winning the America 250 Florida Duel 1 in an overtime finish that ended under caution. When the white flag waved, the field was stacked tightly behind him. Blaney glued to his bumper, Keselowski mounting a charge, and a swarm of Dillon, Nemechek, and Allmendinger pushing from behind as the pack blasted down the backstretch.

But superspeedway chaos only needs one spark. Racing toward the front, Corey LaJoie was bumped sideways by Daniel Suarez after getting into the rear of Keselowski. The contact triggered a violent chain reaction: LaJoie ricocheted into Allmendinger, snapped right into the outside wall, and Suarez was sent straight into the fence before being clobbered by Casey Mears. Behind them, Allmendinger and Chastain spun toward the infield as the wreck piled up entering Turn 3.

Moments earlier, another major incident struck on lap 57 when Bubba Wallace (who had just taken the lead) was turned by Austin Dillon, collecting William Byron and Chris Buescher in one of the night’s biggest stacks. Through all of it, Logano stayed clean, powered by what he called “a lot of teamwork, all the way through.”

From sharp pit execution to tight coordination with spotter Coleman Pressley and teammate Ryan Blaney, everything clicked. And in a Duel defined by chaos, that was enough to put the No. 22 in Victory Lane and reinforce Logano’s belief that Sunday could be even wilder.