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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — If “lovebug” racing is the new world order, then Kurt Busch is king.

Busch and his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge will be on the inside pole for Sunday’s Daytona 500, trying to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win the Budweiser Shootout, a Gatorade Duel and the 500.

“It’s the double-deuce power right now,” Busch said after winning the first race of the Duels on Thursday afternoon.

Perhaps it is serendipity. It’s all about the power of two in Daytona this week. Despite the technological tweaks that the NASCAR gurus have ordained, racing in pairs is irresistible. Cars go faster when they hook up, bumper to bumper, and the new restrictions on how teams cool their engines has forced some adjustments. The sight of 30 cars clustered together, racing along Daytona’s famed tri-oval, is yesterday’s memory.

“It don’t compare to anything,” said NASCAR veteran Bill Elliott, who qualified for Sunday’s race in the first scrum of the Gatorade Duels.

Jeff Burton won the second Duel race, beating Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer to the finish line. Michael Waltrip was third.

It will mark a poignant run for Waltrip, who will race in Daytona for the 25th consecutive time. He was the winner a decade ago when team owner and friend Dale Earnhardt crashed and died on the last lap. Earnhardt was blocking for Waltrip — and son Dale Jr. — when he crashed.

“Most of the time, I’m all right,” Waltrip said, when asked to reflect on Dale’s memory. “(Ken) Schrader and I can’t look at each other without crying. ... It’s hard. I’m an emotional person, and I don’t mind people knowing that l’m not altogether right about this.”

The two Duel races set the starting position for the Daytona 500, with the exception of the first two positions. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon captured the top two slots during qualifying last Sunday, but Earnhardt will be forced to give up his inside pole to Busch after the ceremonial first lap because of a crash in practice Wednesday that forced him to a backup car.

Earnhardt drove to a 13th-place finish in the first Duel race, driving in his third car of the week, and without taking a practice lap in that car before starting the race. Regan Smith placed second in the first Duel, followed by Kevin Harvick.

No such worries for Busch, who has embraced the new style of racing that is all the rage — one way or the other when it comes to reaction from drivers and fans.

But it is here to stay. Everybody will just have to adjust on the fly — literally. Drivers will have to “make deals,” as they say in the garage, with other drivers willing to go along for the ride, locked in, bumper to bumper, for as many laps as possible.

Thursday, drivers in drafting duos switched spots after a handful of laps so the driver doing the pushing could take a turn in front and get more air to his engine’s radiator. That requires cooperation between the drivers and their spotters.

If a pushing car stays in back for too long, it could overheat.

“I don’t know what the breaking point is,” said Steve Addington, Kurt Busch’s crew chief. “I’m afraid that some of these guys are going to find out.”

Prep work helps, but things can get scrambled in a hurry when you’re driving close to 200 mph and looking for a friend to run with you.

“You’re kind of flying by the seat of your pants,” Busch said.

“We’re all learning as we go,” Burton said. “... If you’re not learning, you’re going to be left behind.”

“It’s fun and it’s crazy and it’s going to be a wild 500,” Waltrip said.

“That was nuts,” AJ Allmendinger said.

“It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” Elliott said. “Like a bunch of kids playing leapfrog.”

Call it what you want. It is the new world order in restrictor-plate racing, and it’s not going anywhere.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.