DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Last Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports swept the front row in Daytona 500 qualifying.
Thursday night, the organization made it a clean sweep of the Duel at Daytona, as well.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 21 laps to find Victory Lane in the first Duel of the evening, and teammate Jimmie Johnson followed that up with a dominant performance in the second Duel, leading 41 laps en route to the win.
"It's huge. To have the week we've had with the front row being secured, the wins tonight, it's been a great start to Speedweeks," Johnson said. "I just have to say thank you to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for their hard work."
Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne saw success in the first Duel along with Earnhardt. Gordon finished just behind his teammate in second place, and Kahne -- who was in third just behind Earnhardt and Gordon with five laps to go -- took home a seventh-place finish.
"That's exactly what we needed to come out of this race with -- other than the win -- is a really good session like that where we're dicing it up, running three-wide and seeing what we're driving like even though it's a little cooler conditions than what we'll see Sunday," Gordon said.
Below is a detailed look at how all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway.
DUEL NO. 1
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS
STARTED: 3rd
FINISHED: 7th
RECAP: Kahne started near the front of the field, but got one step closer by the Lap 2, moving into second place. He settled into the outside lane and ran between third and fourth position for the next few laps, but found himself out of the top 10 at Lap 10. When the first caution flag waved, Kahne was back in 15th, but told his crew over the radio that the "car feels pretty good." He headed to pit road for a fuel-only stop and returned to the track in 12th. When the green flag waved once again, he found himself right behind teammate Earnhardt, and sped into the top five when the next caution flag waved. He stayed off of pit road to maintain that position, and got as high as second place before he lost position and fell back to eighth place with 18 laps to go. But he kept battling and made it back to third place behind teammates Earnhardt and Gordon, where he remained until there were nine laps to go and a competitor caused another caution. With five laps to go, the race returned to green and Kahne stayed inside the top 10 for the remainder of the Duel, finishing seventh.
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS
STARTED: 1st
FINISHED: 2nd
RECAP: With his position as the pole-sitter for the Daytona 500 secured, Gordon said that while he would race to win, his main concern was keeping his car out of harm's way. So when he found himself in the middle lane in three-wide racing on Lap 6, it wasn't the ideal position. He found his way out of the middle into single-file race on the inside in 10th position at Lap 10. But he quickly moved back into the top five in time for the first caution flag. He headed to pit road in fourth for only fuel and utilized a quick stop to return to the track in first place. He lost one position when the next caution flag waved, and elected to stay off of pit road. He remained in the top five from the green flag on Lap 32 until the final caution of the race with nine laps to go, at which point he was in second, sandwiched by Hendrick Motorsports teammates Earnhardt in first and Kahne in third. When the green flag waved with five to go, Gordon fought to hold on to his position, and though he fell to third at one point in the final stages of the race, he recovered to finish second.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS
STARTED: 25th
FINISHED: 1st
RECAP: Just as he did in the Sprint Unlimited, Earnhardt wasted little time moving up the field. Starting the race from the back, Earnhardt took the inside lane to move up to 17th position just a lap into the event. He found his way to 12th by Lap 4, and on Lap 7 he had already cracked the top 10. Earnhardt continued his move up the pack, moving into the top five at Lap 12, at which point he was already the biggest mover in the field – and he wasn't close to finished. When the first caution flag flew, he, along with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, headed to pit road for a fuel-only stop. He returned to the track in eighth, and once again sped past competitors to settle into third just behind Gordon before the next caution flag waved at Lap 28. All three Hendrick Motorsports drivers stayed off pit road, and by Lap 35, Earnhardt used the inside lane to lead his first lap. He alternated between first and second until there were 17 laps to go, when he used a slingshot maneuver to jump into first, where he stayed for the remainder of the race. He led a total of 21 laps as he held off competitors down the stretch to win the first Duel of the evening, completing his journey from the back of the field to the front.
DUEL NO. 2
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET SS
STARTED: 1st
FINISHED: 1st
RECAP: Starting from the front, Johnson lost the lead but stayed near the front of the pack as the second Duel began. For the first six laps of the race, he alternated between second and third position, and then until the first caution of the race, he jockeyed back and forth between third and fourth place. But thanks to a quick, fuel-only pit stop during the caution, Johnson returned to the track in second. And when the competitor in first was called for a pit-road penalty, Johnson led the field to the green flag at Lap 24. He briefly lost the lead, but quickly gained it back and proceeded to hold onto it until a multi-car incident with 24 laps to go brought a red flag. When he returned to the track with 20 laps to go, he continued to hold on to the lead until one more multi-car incident forced a green-white-checkered finish. The pressure was on as Johnson led the field to the green flag, and he kept the rest of the field at bay through the white flag and all the way to the checkered for the win.