The final laps of the Gatorade Duel 150 proved racing is going to be exciting and tense once again at the Daytona International Speedway. Scoring his first victory since October of 2007, Jeff Gordon made the move on Tony Stewart with two laps to go. Taking the checkered flag, Gordon earned his fifth victory in the Gatorade Duels and ensured a third-place starting spot in Sunday's Daytona 500.

"It feels fantastic," Gordon told the media. "We talked before the race. Doesn't matter if it's a qualifying race, the Daytona 500, you know, any confidence builder and momentum that we can get is a positive."

Climbing from his No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet in victory lane, Gordon quickly took his young daughter up in his arms. The three-time Daytona 500 champion appears more confident than ever and will surely be a threat come Sunday.

"I'm just really excited about this race team this year," Gordon added. "Not only do we have a new paint scheme, I think Steve Letarte here did a fantastic job over the off-season just fine tuning the cars, the team, personnel, engineering. I think we got some neat things in store for ourselves, not just here at Daytona, but moving forward, as well."

Owner/driver Tony Stewart came up just a bit short in his effort to take his No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet to victory lane. Swapping the lead with Gordon in the closing laps of the race, Stewart could not get the help from behind to make a move on the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet.

"Just kind of picked up where we left off the other night," Stewart explained. "This car a little better than the Shootout cars, it drove really great today."

"Jeff and I had a great battle there at the end," Stewart added. "It wasn't one of those deals where, you know,everybody's trying to run each other all over the racetrack at the end, which makes it a little more enjoyable. But I think that's part of knowing we're in a qualifying race where we got to bring these cars back on Sunday, and you just have to take care of them is part of it."

In his first outing for Stewart-Haas Racing, the Daytona Speedweeks have gone better than most expected, including Stewart.

"I guess I came into it with an open mind, not knowing what it was going to be," the new owner/driver explained. "I didn't come here saying, We're going to struggle, or, We've got a shot to win every race every time. It was more taking a step back and saying, Let's just see what happens."

Rookie of the Year contender Joey Logano impressed many by charging through the pack late in the run to come home third. After a rough week at the Daytona International Speedway, Logano was able to survive his first true test in the Cup car.

"I learned a lot," Logano explained. "Just, you know, the handling of the car, what to do to keep your run going, drafting. Just learned a lot about all that stuff.

"Once we got up there, only a few to go, I made a last-ditch effort there at the end going into three, hoping someone would go with me," Logano added. "Figured I'm that close, might as well go for a win. Overall, I think it was a good day."

Scott Riggs raced his way into the Daytona 500 by bringing his No. 36 Red Bank Outfitters Tommy Baldwin Racing Toyota home in the eighth-spot.

"It feels like a win for us, considering all we've been through," Riggs explained. "These guys - they all came together at the last minute. What really sold me on Tommy when I talked to him on the phone a couple times, just to hear his passion. He is so positive and so passionate about what he does and he puts 110 percent into it. I'm just thankful to be here."

With Stewart racing his way into the show, Furniture Row Racing's Regan Smith was locked into Sunday's Daytona 500 field. Racing in the second Gatorade Duel, Smith was able to be a bit more conservative knowing he had a spot locked up.

Under the second caution of the day, Bill Elliott's No. 21 locked up his transmission and turned into outside wall going down the backstretch. Elliott took his car behindwill make the field based on his qualifying time.

Terry Labonte will also transfer into the Daytona 500, utilizing the past champion provisional.

During yellow flag pit stops crew member Kyle Roland was hit on pit road while servicing Kirk Shelmerdine. The jackman on Jeremy Mayfield's team was helping service Shelmerdine's car and was hit by the No. 27 as he was pulling into the pit. He was alert and communicating with rescue workers on pit road, however Rowland was transferred to a local hospital for further evaluation.

On Lap 48, Daytona 500 pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr. spun coming off Turn 2. The 1 car got loose through Turn 2 and drifted up the track. David Ragan made slight contact with the No. 1, sending him down onto the apron. Truex Jr. suffered slight damage to the right rear bumper and broke braces on the splitter.

The first Duel of the afternoon was full of action, especially in the closing laps. When the cars bunched up in the draft, the driver at the front of the pack seemed to be a sitting duck. Those running behind the leader were able to hang back a little and get a run to the front.

Race winner Jeff Gordon pointed out, "I have not seen two better races than last Saturday night's race and today's race in a long time here at Daytona, so I can't wait for Sunday."