The Budweiser Duel formerly known as the Gatorade Duel, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series preliminary event to the Daytona 500 held annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. It consists of two 150-mile (240 km) races, and serves as a qualifying race for the Daytona 500. The finishing order in the two 150-mile (240 km) races, held on the Thursday before the Daytona 500, determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500 held on Sunday.

Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is unique in NASCAR. Only the two front row starters (the pole position and "outside pole") are determined by the ordinary qualifying process of timed laps. After the top two positions are locked in, the rest of the starting grid is set by the finishing order of these two races. All drivers participate in one of the two races, including the drivers who locked their positions on the front row from qualifying. The first duel includes the drivers who qualified in the odd positions. Where they finish in that Duel is how the inside lane will start during the Daytona 500 (with an exception that the winner of the pole will automatically start on the pole no matter where they finish n the first Duel unless they have to go to a backup car, change an engine, etc.). The second Duel includes the drivers who qualified in the even positions and where they finish will set the outside lane for the Daytona 500 (with an exception to the person who qualified 2nd as they are locked into that position also). Once the Duels are completed, the starting grid for the Daytona 500 would then be set.

Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart (born May 20, 1971) is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."

Stewart currently owns and drives the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1/Burger King Chevrolet Impala in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for his own team, Stewart-Haas Racing under crew chief Steve Addington. From 1999 until 2008, he drove the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing car, under crew chief Greg Zipadelli, with The Home Depot as the primary sponsor. His ten year tenure with the same team, sponsor, and crew chief is a NASCAR record. Stewart is also the only driver to win both the Winston Cup under the old points system and the Nextel Cup under the chase playoff format, winning those championships in 2002 and 2005 respectively. In 2011, Stewart became the first owner-driver since Alan Kulwicki to win the Cup Series championship, which ended Jimmie Johnson's streak of consecutive championships at five. He is the only driver to win the NASCAR championship under three different sponsorship titles (Winston in 2002, Sprint Nextel in 2005, and 2011) as well as being the only driver in history to win a championship in both IndyCar and NASCAR. He is also the first driver in Cup to win the championship by virtue of a tie breaker (number of wins during the season is the first level tie breaker, Stewart had 5 while eventual runner up Carl Edwards had 1).

Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983 in Thomasville, North Carolina) is a American NASCAR and sportscar driver. He was the 2003 Busch Series champion, and at age 20, became the youngest champion in any of NASCAR's three top-tier series. Vickers will drive the No. 55 Toyota in eight races for Michael Waltrip Racing and selected races for AF Waltrip in the #61 Ferrari at the World Endurance Championship in 2012.

Vickers began running go karts in 1994. Over the next three years, he won eighty races in the World Karting Association, and won three championships, including the 1995 championship against three-time winner Mike Schwartz. In 1998, he moved to the Allison Legacy Series, and won five races during the course of the season. After competing in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series in 1999, he moved to USAR ProCup; winning Rookie of the Year. He won two races in 2000. In 2001, he won five more races and finished 2nd in points.

Vickers made his Busch Series debut in the 2001 GNC Live Well 250 at Miwaukee in the #29 car; owned by his father Clyde. He qualified 30th and finished 37th after a crash. Vickers ran three more races that season; his best finish being 25th at North Carolina. In 2002, Vickers began running the Busch Series in his father's #40 Dodge Intrepid. He drove in 21 races, and his best finish was 7th in the Hardee's 250 at Richmond; his only top 10 of the season.

Matthew Roy "Matt" Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the No. 17 Ford Fusion in the Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing.

Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and he won track championships at Madison International Speedway, Slinger Super Speedway and Wisconsin International Raceway. He moved to the ARTGO, American Speed Association, and Hooters Late Model touring series before getting a full-time ride in the NASCAR Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) for his former Wisconsin short track rival Robbie Reiser. After finishing second and third in the Busch Series (now Nationwide Series), he moved up in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (later NEXTEL Cup Series and now Sprint Cup Series). He won the series' Rookie of the Year title in 2000 and the championship in 2003. The International Race of Champions invited Kenseth to race in their 2004 season as the reigning champion and he won the season championship. In 2009, he won a rain-shortened Daytona 500. He repeated as Daytona 500 winner in 2012.