DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin were the official winners of Thursday’s Gatorade Duels at the Daytona International Speedway, but they weren’t the big winners.

Those were the six NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who earned spots in Sunday’s Daytona 500, including two from Denver-based Furniture Row Racing. Another was retiring two-time champion Dale Jarrett, who used a little help from his owner to ensure he made one last 500.

While Earnhardt was using a strong push from Reed Sorenson to complete a sweep of his first two races under the Hendrick Motorsports banner, Kenny Wallace, Brian Vickers and Joe Nemechek were getting into the season’s most prestigious — and lucrative — race. Wallace finished eighth in the first race after getting as high as fourth, while Vickers rallied from two potentially race-ending problems to finish 11th.

Nemechek, Wallace’s Furniture Row teammate, finished 12th and made the race via his qualifying time.

“Wow, I’m in the 50th running of the Daytona 500,” said Wallace, who was fired from the same team late last season. “I guess this was my payback for last year. The owners said to me, ‘Here’s a Hendrick motor, now go prove it.’ ... Outside of my kids and my wife, this is the greatest moment of my life. It’s unbelievable.”

Vickers, after a horrendous first year with Toyota’s Red Bull Racing team, saw his chances take a dive on lap three when he was squeezed into the wall and had to pit for new tires. On lap 30, after he rallied into the top 10, he pitted again with a tire down. Again, though, he was able to get back up to the lead pack and, with a little help from Nemechek, easily qualified for the other transfer spot.

“Talk about adversity — we went through it today, but it was worth it,” Vickers said. “I had a lot of friends who helped me. Joe took it easy on me because he was already in due to his time, so I want to thank him.”

Ryan Newman, Casey Mears, Carl Edwards, Bobby Labonte and Juan Pablo Montoya followed Earnhardt and Sorenson to the finish line in race one.

Earnhardt, 500 pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick teammate Mears had to start from the back of the pack because of engine changes following Wednesday’s practice.

The three were inside the top 10 before long, with Earnhardt taking his first lead on lap 18 and Johnson following on lap 38. Though Johnson would later fall off, Earnhardt stayed near the top, battling Newman for the lead through the final 20 laps. A late caution set up a two-lap shootout, and when Sorenson gave Earnhardt a strong push at the restart, the race was over.

“That was fun, especially racing on the old tires where we were just sliding around,” Earnhardt said. “Our guys worked hard overnight to ring on the replacement motors, and they obviously did a great job.”

Among the drivers who failed to race their way into the field was Bill Elliott. That left Wood Brothers Racing and the Little Debbie Ford Fusion out of the Daytona 500, only the third time in 50 years the Woods will have missed the race.

“I don’t think there are words to describe it, but that’s life,” Elliott said. “I’m just bummed out.”

An early electrical problem for Kurt Busch relegated him to 27th place in race one and will force him to use a past champion’s provisional in the 500. Busch’s 2007 points were given to Penske Racing teammate Sam Hornish Jr., who, ironically, would have qualified for the race anyway by virtue of finishing ninth.

Busch’s problems were potentially bad news for Jarrett, who knew he had to race his way into the field in the second duel since he could not use the provisional. He was fourth among go-or-go-home drivers until Waltrip, who was leading at lap 30, decided to drop back in the field to help Jarrett and teammate David Ruetimann.

In four laps Jarrett was up to 15th with Waltrip pushing him, and he got into one of the two transfer spots on lap 37 by passing Ken Schrader. He would get as high as third before settling for a ninth-place finish.

“Michael gave me a lot of good pushes to get me by some people, and that got me comfortably in the lead pack,” Jarrett said. “My car was good enough to get up there and do what I needed to do, but Michael did help me. We were good enough to make without his help, but it was a nice insurance policy.”

Even more surprising in dual two was the late surge by John Andretti to claim the other transfer spot. Andretti, who was out of the top 20 late in the race, pitted just before a two-lap shootout, and new tires helped him catch and pass Reutimann for 10th place. Reutimann will also start the 500 by virtue of his qualifying time.

Andretti’s pass knocked Boris Said out of the 500. Said would have made the field on his qualifying time if Reutimann had earned a transfer spot. Also missing the race will be Schrader, who had competed in the past 23 Daytona 500s.

Up front, Hamlin used a push from Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne to pass Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart for the lead on the final restart, then went low on the final lap to block Gordon and claim the second duel win. Stewart finished second, followed by Gordon, Kahne, Mark Martin, David Ragan, Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle.

Although the duels aren’t points-paying races, the win was Toyota’s first in NASCAR Cup racing, something Hamlin was happy to talk about afterward.

“I’m very proud,” he said. “I definitely liked the switch to Toyota because we know they had a lot of resources. It’s finally starting to pay off. I think they had some engine issues last year, but from my standpoint, they’ve got that fixed. This is a proud moment for myself and my team.”