Green flag approaching for tonight's Budweiser Duel 150s at Daytona - MotorSportsTalk

The clock is ticking down for tonight’s Budweiser Twin 150 Duels at Daytona International Speedway.

The first Duel takes the green flag at 7 pm ET. The second Duel will follow shortly after the completion of the first race.

Each race is 60 laps and each contains a 24-car field.

This year’s Duels is noteworthy as it will mark the first time in the history of the twin exhibition races that they will be held under the lights at night, making three events during this year’s Speedweeks that have or will be in prime time. The others were last Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited, won by Denny Hamlin, and Friday’s Camping World Trucks Series season opener.

Five drivers will ultimately not make the 43-car field for Sunday’s 56th Daytona 500. Dave Blaney withdrew earlier Thursday and will not make this year’s 500.

Here’s the field breakdown and starting positions:

Budweiser Duel No. 1

1. Austin Dillon

2. Greg Biffle

3. Ryan Newman

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

6. Marcos Ambrose

7. Aric Almirola

8. Joey Logano

9. Matt Kenseth

10. Kasey Kahne

11. Kyle Busch

12. Kevin Harvick

13. Danica Patrick

14. AJ Allmendinger

15. Reed Sorenson

16. David Gilliland

17. Parker Kligerman

18. Tony Stewart

19. Brian Vickers

20. Cole Whitt

21. Michael McDowell

22. Josh Wise

23. Joe Nemechek

24. Alex Bowman

Budweiser Duel No. 2

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. Carl Edwards

3. Brad Keselowski

4. Jeff Gordon
5. Paul Menard

6. Brian Scott

7. Jimmie Johnson

8. Casey Mears

9. Michael Annett

10. Clint Bowyer

11. Denny Hamlin

12. Kyle Larson

13. Trevor Bayne

14. Kurt Busch

15. Justin Allgaier

16. Landon Cassill

17. Michael Waltrip

18. Eric McClure

19. Jamie McMurray

20. David Ragan

21. Terry Labonte

22. Bobby Labonte

23. Ryan Truex

24. Morgan Shepherd

Auto racing safety has continued to improve through the decades, but the sport remains inherently dangerous, according to a new survey.

At the close of 2018, a new organization called Racing Safety United emerged with the intention of reducing drivers’ risk of being harmed.

RSU is made up of more than 30 members including former NASCAR Cup Series competitor Jerry Nadeau, two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Randy LaJoie, NHRA team owner Don Schumacher and motorsports journalist Dick Berggren.

One of RSU’s first initiatives was to determine what current drivers thought of racing safety. The organization developed a 14-question survey and promoted it on select motorsports websites and forums.

Participants were given the opportunity to disclose their identity or remain anonymous, and those who provided contact information were entered to win a $500 prize (for anonymous participants, the prize funds would be donated to a motorsports charity).

More than 140 individuals participated in the survey over the course of 12 months. Below are the results of the survey:

Driver status

The vast majority of survey participants (60%) were amateur racers, while 26% of the participants were classified as Semi-Pro/Professional racers. The remaining 14% consisted of other individuals involved in the sport such as team owners and crew chiefs.

When asked how frequently they race, 58% of driver respondents averaged 10 or more times per year on track, while 42% averaged 10 times or less.

The top five tracks respondents said they raced most often: Road Atlanta (21 votes), Watkins Glen (17 votes), Virginia International Raceway (16 votes), Mid-Ohio (16 votes), and Road America (13 votes).

Vehicular damage, injuries common

Over a third of respondents said they had been injured while racing, and almost two-thirds sasid they had suffered severe vehicle damage while racing

Driver error was cited as the top cause of vehicle damage (42 mentions), followed by concrete walls (26 mentions), mechanical failures (24 mentions), and other drivers (19 mentions). The study concluded those results indicated a need for better driver training/coaching, energy absorbing walls, and more technical inspections.

Almost a quarter of drivers said they had experienced racing-related concussions, and nearly half the respondents said one or multiple concussions would affect their decision to race in the future.

Drivers primarily influenced by peers

Roughly half the drivers said they would consider adopting new safety equipment if influenced by another driver (51 total mentions) and/or if recommended by a sanctioning body (47 total mentions). The study concluded those results indicated a need for drivers to become safety advocates and educate other drivers and for sanctioning bodies to mandate safety equipment.

Drivers concerned with concrete walls

Approximately three-quarters of the drivers surveyed said they believed certain race tracks were more dangerous than others. Nearly half the drivers surveyed believe that concrete walls were the primary cause of damage to drivers and vehicles.

Drivers willing to help

Just more than three-quarters of the drivers surveyed said that they would be willing to join a safety alliance to advocate for safer tracks. Two-thirds of drivers said that they also would be willing to contribute to a motorsports safety fund.

Click here for the full results of RSU’s survey

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Green flag approaching for tonight’s Budweiser Duel 150s at Daytona

New study surveys drivers’ opinions on crashes, concussions, more