DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kaz Grala saw his hopes of racing in the 63rd Daytona 500 flash before his eyes when he was collected in a multi-car crash with four laps to go in Thursday night’s second Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying race at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
Grala’s No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet sustained damage after Garrett Smithley got into Brad Keselowski’s Ford entering turn one, with Keselowski spinning into the pack and Grala collected in the aftermath.
Significant rear-end damage to the car meant Grala’s chances of being the highest-finishing non-chartered driver in the Duel were slim. But Grala had another path forward, and he knew it.
David Ragan finishing as the best of the non-chartered entries would allow Grala to fall back on his qualifying speed to make The Great American Race. It wasn’t a guarantee, but it was hope for Grala.
“I’m an eternal optimist; that’s just how I am, even right till the last second,” said Grala after the race. “I knew we still had a shot. I knew things needed to come our way a little bit, but I certainly didn’t count us out.”
In the end, that’s exactly the situation that played out. Ragan finished eighth and raced his way into the Daytona 500, while Grala used his qualifying speed to earn the 40th and final starting spot on the grid, putting Matt Kaulig’s team in the field for its second Daytona 500.
Was it a roller-coaster of emotions?
“Absolutely,” Grala noted. “I tried to keep my emotions as checked as possible. I like to think of myself as a pretty calm driver, but I’ll tell you, that was the most stressed I’ve ever been in a race. I think as a driver, naturally you’re most calm when you feel like you have something in your control, but superspeedways are already stretching that as far as what all is in your control. Then when you’re a lap down and we had got damage from an incident that started behind us, then I was really out of control and hoping for something to work out in your favor.
“I knew who we were racing against. I knew what happened was possible, so I tried to keep everybody boosted up in high spirits to know we weren’t out of it yet, and evidently that was in fact the case,” Grala continued. “I’m really proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing. They brought an excellent car that has gotten a little bit beat up tonight, but I’m sure we’ll be able to either get it fixed or pull out an equally good car for Sunday. The car did everything I asked it to do early in the race before the incident. I’m really optimistic about our chances for the Daytona 500.
“This wasn’t how we wanted to get into the race. Obviously, we wanted to be able to go up there, finish up front, and do it that way, but we’ll take it however we can get it.”
Surprisingly, Thursday night marked the first time Grala had been involved in a crash at the World Center of Racing in any of NASCAR’s three national series.
“What was going through my mind was, literally, to just try not to hit anything,” Grala recalled. “I didn’t really know what walls were going to be coming at me from where. I was focused on locking down the brake pedal and trying to minimize the damage.
“We had a lot of flat tires; we limped it to pit road and went a lap down, but that’s just part of it.”
Much like Austin Cindric was pulling for Ryan Preece in the first Duel Thursday night, Grala admitted he was rooting for Ragan to finish well in the second Duel once his own chances became slim.
“I always have been a David Ragan fan actually,” Grala said. “The very first NASCAR race that I was able to get into the infield for was back in … I want to say about 2011, in New Hampshire. David Ragan gave my parents and I pit passes. I actually got to sit on his No. 6 Roush Fenway (Racing pit) box. That was the coolest experience of my life. It was the first time I got to see a NASCAR race up close from the infield, so he and I have known each other for a long time. I talked to him before the race tonight. He kind of knew the situation, but obviously he had to do what’s best for his team and his manufacturer.
“I can tell you that, from behind the pack when I couldn’t hold the draft, I was rooting for David to get up there and see if he could make some waves and beat those other two guys. Ultimately, in a roundabout way and with some action in between, that’s exactly what ended up happening. I’m super pumped for David to be in the race, but I’m definitely thrilled for us and our team to be in. I think it’s an unbelievably strong group to race against on Sunday.
“This was probably the hardest year to make this race in recent history. I’m really proud to be a part of that and excited to see what we can do from here.”
Grala said he didn’t know what the plan was yet, as to whether he and his team would attempt to repair their primary car or move to a backup car for the Daytona 500.
“That’s a great question that I would love to know the answer to,” Grala said with a chuckle. “Honestly in the excitement, I got out of the car and talked to Chris Rice and Matt Kaulig, and I didn’t even go look at our car. I’m not quite sure what we’re working with. Either way, Kaulig Racing certainly brought a good backup car, and they are more than capable of fixing this car if that’s what they choose to do.
“I feel like we’re going to have a good piece on Sunday to be able to race with no matter what.”
Kaulig Racing confirmed Friday morning that Grala would go to a backup car for the rest of the weekend.
Coverage of the 63rd Daytona 500 begins Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET, live on FOX, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.