High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Gatorade Duel is 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 Thursday, determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500 held on Sunday.