While Jimmie Johnson and Michael Waltrip held their nerve to ensure that remained intact and on course to start Sunday's
Daytona 500 from the front row, 51 other hopefuls endured a fraught pair of Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying races in an effort to make the field.
Each of the key sprints had a fairytale ending as Dale Earnhardt Jr continued his perfect start to life with Hendrick Motorsports with a second win in as many races, and Denny Hamlin finally guided Toyota to Victory Lane as a result of Joe Gibbs Racing's winter switch to the Japanese marque.
Having clinched the honours in last weekend's Bud Shootout at the same track, Earnhardt returned to Daytona to come through an take the lead with nine laps remaining in Thursday's first Gatorade qualifier, fending off Reed Sorenson in a green-white-chequered-flag finish after Elliott Sadler punctured and hit the wall on lap 55 of 60. Ryan Newman - who Earnhardt had deprived of the lead four laps before the caution - finished third, with Casey Mears and Carl Edwards claiming the other leading positions on the inside row for Sunday's blue riband event.
Hamlin, meanwhile, accepted a push from JGR team-mate Tony Stewart to claim the second race in another green-white-chequered-flag finish that saw the race run four laps longer than its scheduled distance. While Hamlin has been to Victory Lane before, the result was notable for Toyota taking its first win in NASCAR's senior category as it enters its second year. Stewart completed a 1-2 for the Japanese marque, coming home ahead of Hendrick's Jeff Gordon, new Budweiser poster boy Kasey Kahne and veteran Mark Martin.
As usual, however, the night was littered with stories of those who made the field or missed the cut, with some notable veterans getting in to the field and some of the high-profile newcomers to NASCAR missing out.
![Dale Earnhardt Jr, Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet. [Pic Credit image.net]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/405535.jpg)
