The wait is over: D.J. Kennington qualifies for his first Daytona 500 — by four-hundredths of a second

Can a journeyman driver from small-town Ontario make history at the Daytona 500?

When D.J. Kennington debuted in NASCAR’s Cup Series in November, it was seen as a late-career coronation, a hurrah for a minor-league lifer who topped out just shy of his sport’s highest level.

Until this week, that is, when he goes to the Daytona 500.

“It’s the biggest stock car race there is in the world,” Kennington said. “It’s still hard to believe I’m going to get a shot to try to qualify.”

Unbelievable is an apt description, given that his attempt has no precedent in Canadian history.

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D.J. Kennington is the Iron Man of Canadian stock car driving, a veteran of 204 straight races who won 26 of them for good measure. He is a two-time national champion and a regular in NASCAR’s American minor leagues.

Now, he can tack another accolade to his resume: Daytona 500 qualifier.

Kennington outgunned the drivers he needed to beat in the Can-Am Duel at Daytona International Speedway Thursday night, securing the last of 40 starting positions in NASCAR’s biggest race. The 39-year-old from St. Thomas, Ont., finished ahead of Elliott Sadler and Timmy Hill, the two other racers in his heat who arrived at Daytona without a guaranteed spot in the main field.

Kennington lined up 19th of 21 drivers to start the second of the Duel’s two heats, behind Sadler in 18th and ahead of Hill in 21st. Hill was lapped and pulled out midway through the 150-mile race.

Sadler, who assured himself a spot in the 500 through his performance in a time trial last Sunday, would have eliminated Kennington by topping him in the Duel. Instead, Kennington slipped past Sadler on the final lap and beat him to the line by four-hundredths of a second.

He becomes the first Canadian to make the Daytona 500 since 1988, when Trevor Boys of Calgary qualified for the fifth and final time in his career. The race will be Kennington’s second in NASCAR’s top-tier Monster Energy Cup Series, following a 35^th-place finish at the Can-Am 500 in Phoenix last November.

Kennington nearly earned himself a spot in the 500 before the Duel, but fell 0.445 seconds off the mark Sunday in the one-lap time trial. His time of 48.175 seconds slotted him back of Sadler (47.730) and Brendan Gaughan (47.545), who were the first two drivers without a confirmed spot to advance to the main race.

Corey LaJoie claimed the second-last spot in the field in the first Duel Thursday. He appeared to bump his direct opponent, Reed Sorenson, from behind with 12 laps to go, spinning Sorenson off the track and into an infield wall.

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Sorenson, who was 0.092 seconds faster than Kennington in the time trial, would have qualified anyway if Sadler held off the Canadian in the second heat. But it wasn’t to be.

“It’s the most amazing feeling in the world,” Kennington told Fox Sports after the race. “This is one of the biggest moments of my life.”

The 500 is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday; Kennington will line up 30^th of 40 drivers. Chase Elliott, the prodigious 21-year-old who won the time trial and the first Duel heat, has pole position for the second straight year.

The defending champion is Denny Hamlin, who won the second Duel and will start in fourth.