Tyler Reddick and Casey Mears Lock Positions in Daytona 500; Four Drivers will Battle for Remaining Two Spots in Duels

2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion Tyler Reddick and Casey Mears were the two fastest open cars during Sunday's (Feb. 10th) qualifying session for the Daytona 500 qualifying 16th and 26th. The Gander RV Duels on Thursday will be less stressful for the two drivers as they will race in the 61st Daytona 500.

Since NASCAR's Charter Program was implemented in 2016, two open drivers have locked their position in the Daytona 500 via qualifying if more than 40 cars are entered. Last seasons race saw 40 cars entered meaning all 40 drivers qualified. 2017 was the last time two drivers locked their spot into the Daytona 500 via speed with Brendan Gaughan and Elliott Sadler punching their tickets.

Both Reddick and Mears will compete in the second Gander RV Duels. Reddick starts eighth while Mears starts 13th. Mears just edged Ryan Truex by .028-seconds during qualifying leaving Truex's fate of qualifying for his first Daytona 500 in the hands of his performance in Thursday's duel.

Truex will have to race against Brendan Gaughan in the first Gander RV Duel on Thursday for his spot in the Daytona 500. Gaughan, racing with part-time Beard Motorsports, has qualified for the last two Daytona 500's while Truex is looking to make his first Daytona 500.

Parker Kligerman will face off against Joey Gase for the second and final position in the Daytona 500 during the second Gander RV Duel. Kligerman will attempt to land Gaunt Brothers Racing in their third straight Daytona 500 while Gase is seeking to put MBM Motorsports in their second straight Daytona 500.

The first of two Gander RV Duels kicks off at 7:00 p.m ET on FOX Sports 1 while the second duel kicks off shortly after. The 61st Annual Daytona 500 will be shown live on FOX next Sunday (Feb. 17th).

Photo Credit:  Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images/NASCAR Media