Gatorade Duel 2012 Results: Reaction, Leaders and Post-Race Analysis

The 2012 Daytona 500 kicks off this weekend, and Thursday's Gatorade Duel is a great start for all the race festivities.

Two 150-mile qualifying races determine the starting lineup for the 54th annual Daytona 500 will be very fun to watch. It will definitely get you in racing mode and pumped up for the Sunday's big show. 

It's a perfect chance to prepare for the actual Daytona 500, but some drivers will be taking a more cautious route. Some will be aggressive and race like it were the main event, while others will try to avoid big packs to play it safe. 

Drivers such as Michael Waltrip and Kenny Wallace don't have a spot in the field yet, so they'll be going all out in the Gatorade Duel to try to get one of the two transfer spots available in each Duel. 

With that said, let's look at some specifics leading up to the two duels. 

*Don't forget to check back here to see who wins and what all happened.

Gatorade Duel 1 

Update: Thursday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. ET 

Tony Stewart won Gatorade Duel 1, which now puts him in the third position behind Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle. Stewart recorded an average speed of 192.460 while leading for 21 of the 60 laps. 

This was the third time Stewart won the Gatorade Duel, with his other wins coming in 2005 and 2007. Unfortunately, Stewart's teammate Danica Patrick crashed on lap 59. Hopefully she doesn't suffer the same fate in the big race on Sunday. 

Robby Gordon and Michael McDowell also qualified for Sunday's race. 

The race is scheduled to start shortly after 2 p.m. ET, but fans can tune into the SPEED channel starting at 1 p.m. for all things racing. 

Drivers (car number in parenthesis) that have qualified for Gatorade Duel 1 in order of their speed are: 

Carl Edwards (99)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88)

Marcos Ambrose (9)

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (6) 

Trevor Bayne (21)

Tony Stewart (14)

Aric Almirola (43)

Paul Menard (27)

David Ragan (34)

A.J. Allmendinger (22) 

Brad Keselowski (2)

Kevin Harvick (29)

Jeff Burton (31)

Juan Pablo Montoya (42) 

David Stremme (30)

Jamie McMurray (1)

Danica Patrick (10)

Terry Labonte (32)

Michael Waltrip (140)

Denny Hamlin (11)

Michael McDowell (98)

Landon Cassill (83)

David Gilliland (38) 

Mike Wallace (37)

Robby Gordon (7)

Gatorade Duel 2

Update: Thursday, February 23rd at 6:15 p.m. EST

Matt Kenseth came out on top in Gatorade Duel 2, placing him in the fourth position for Sunday's Daytona 500 behind Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart. Kenseth registered an average speed of 194.923 and led for 10 of the 60 laps, including the all-important final one.

Joe Nemecheck and Dave Blaney both earned transfer spots in The Great American Race thanks to their respective 17th- and 12th-place finishes on Thursday.

This race is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET. Keep watching on he SPEED channel starting at 1 p.m. for all the coverage. 

Drivers (car number in parenthesis) that have qualified for Gatorade Duel 2 in order of their speed are: 

Greg Biffle (16)

Casey Mears (13) 

Jeff Gordon (24)

Martin Truex Jr. (56)

Mark Martin (55)

Jimmie Johnson (48)

Matt Kenseth (17)

Ryan Newman (39)

Joey Logano (20)

Kasey Kahne (5)

Tony Raines (26)

Kyle Busch (18)

Kenny Wallace (109)

Dave Blaney (36)

Kurt Busch (51)

Elliott Sadler (33)

Joe Nemechek (87)

Regan Smith (78)

Bobby Labonte (47

Bill Elliott (97)

David Reutimann (93)

Robert Richardson Jr. (23)

J.J. Yeley (249)

Clint Bowyer (15)