DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Stock car fans got half of what they wanted Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway in the twin 150-mile "Duel" qualifying races for the Daytona 500.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series' youth movement got a boost as second-generation racer Chase Elliott won the first Duel with relative ease. But the second Duel ended in disappointment for "Junior Nation" as Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s hopes of making a victorious comeback to the sport in his first action after a seven-month absence fell short as Denny Hamlin made a late pass for the win.
Elliott, the 21-year-old son of popular NASCAR star Bill Elliott, had already secured pole position for Sunday's 500 by pacing single-lap qualifying on Feb. 19. He led the final 24 laps of his 60-lap Duel to eclipse Jeff Gordon as the youngest winner of a Daytona qualifying race.
After winning Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2016, Elliott is still searching for his first official race win at the Cup level. Thursday's Duel victory provided some consolation, especially since the Daytona qualifying races paid championship points for the first time since 1971.
"We didn't say one word about points before the race, but we took some chances and it worked out," Elliott said. "I know it's just a Duel win and you obviously wish it was Sunday so it counts for the playoffs. But it still means a lot to me, means a lot to our team.
"Had some big steam under the hood tonight, which was a huge factor in keeping us out front."
Elliott dropped back to sixth place early in his Duel as Brad Keselowski led a race-high 28 laps in his Team Penske Ford. But after a competition caution that came at Lap 25, the NAPA Chevrolet was the car to beat.
He aggressively weaved his Hendrick Motorsports machine at the front of the pack to keep his pursuers behind. Jamie McMurray, also in a Chevrolet, finished second, with Kevin Harvick taking third in Stewart-Haas Racing's first event racing Fords.
"You've heard people say it before, but I was definitely looking in the mirror more than I was going straight," Elliott said. "I got some great experience being able to stay out front in those final laps. I know it wasn't for a 500 win, but I feel like those guys were still trying to get some runs. I'm sure that will be amped up a lot more on Sunday.
"I feel like really one of the biggest things I picked up on is who the players were tonight, who is going to be good on Sunday, which cars to look out for."
It looked like a Hendrick Chevrolet would also take the honors in the nightcap, but Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota got a huge run on the penultimate lap and steamed past Earnhardt heading into Turn 3.
Earnhardt dropped to sixth at the checkered flag, but will still start Sunday's race from the front row based on his qualifying speed. He led 53 of the 60 laps in his Duel.
"I don't know what I could have done differently to defend that," Earnhardt said. "Once I heard the 3 [Austin Dillon, who finished fifth] was clear on the outside, I knew they were going to have a big run. Denny is so smart; he knows what he's doing out there. He's one of the better [restrictor-]plate racers out there.
"Any which way I would have went, he was going to go the other way and probably get by me," Junior continued. "I was just hoping Austin might push us a little bit, since he drives a Chevy. But I don't know that I would have done anything different than he did either."
The Gibbs Toyotas dominated the 2016 Daytona 500 by lining up single file at the front of the field. Hamlin didn't have any JGR teammates Thursday in his Duel, but he didn't need their help.
He won despite having to come from the back of the field after incurring a penalty during his mid-race tire stop for running through too many pit boxes.
"It was tough for us because a lot of guys were content to run single file throughout the race and we were trying to buck that trend," Hamlin said. "I'm not sure what [his win] means or what it says. I had concerns about how my car drove tonight; I was not overly excited and I think we still need to work on it in practice to make it do the things I need to do.
"I'm pretty happy with the result nonetheless."
Hamlin showed no remorse at spoiling Earnhardt's comeback story.
"Not at all," he said, laughing. "He's won a lot and he's going to win a lot more."
In general, it was an uneventful evening by restrictor-plate standards, with few passes for the lead and only a couple small wrecks.
Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson's miserable Speedweeks continued. His Hendrick Chevrolet hit the wall when it blew a tire after earlier contact and he had to rally to finish 13th in his Duel.
In fact, the biggest drama of the evening came in the battle for the two starting positions in the field available to non-charter entries.
In the first Duel, Corey Lajoie wrecked Reed Sorensen with a little more than 10 laps to go, with Sorenson making hard impact with a wall inside Turn 1 that is now protected with SAFER Barrier as a result of Kyle Busch's 2015 Xfinity Series accident in the same place.
Sorensen was furious.
"I guess he did what he felt like he had to do to make the race," he fumed. "I hope he's proud of it. You hate to miss the race by being taken out like that. I'm just disappointed somebody would do something like that. It was a hard hit."
However Lajoie, who has been helping build seats over the winter for his father Randy Lajoie's company until his ride with BK Racing came together at the last minute, was unrepentant.
"Obviously wrecking Reed wasn't how I drew it up and it certainly wasn't on purpose," Lajoie commented. "I was just trying to fill a hole and he didn't think I should be there. I just had to beat him.
"I didn't want to be sipping margaritas on a beach on Sunday -- I wanted to be out there racing," Lajoie added. "If that was my mom, I'd probably spin her out to make the Daytona 500, too. That's just frank. I'm not going to be on Reed's Christmas card list this year, but that's all right."
Canadian D.J. Kennington outraced Elliott Sadler for the open transfer spot available in the second Duel, but Sadler made the 500 field based on his qualifying speed.