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Kyle Busch gets some Ford help to lead first practice at Daytona

Toyota driver Kyle Busch got a lift from some Fords to lead the way in Thursday’s first abbreviated Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session.

Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Interstate Batteries

Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Interstate Batteries

Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images

Busch ran with a group of Ford drivers about 34 minutes into the first practice and posted the fastest average lap speed of 200.754 mph.

Ty Dillon ended up second (200.682 mph) and Chris Buescher was third (200.638 mph). Jimmie Johnson was fourth and Austin Dillon completed the top-five.

The practice session was called after about 37 minutes when lightning strikes were reported in the vicinity of Daytona International Speedway.

Rounding out the top-10 in practice were Ryan Newman, Daniel Hemric, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott.

In all, the top 13 drivers averaged more than 200 mph in their respective top practice laps.

There was one other caution during the session about six minutes in when fluid and debris were discovered on the track. Practice resumed shortly thereafter. 

Much like they did at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this season, drivers with the same manufacturer spent more of their drafting time with each other.

 
Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Mph
1 18 United States Kyle Busch  Toyota 18 44.831     200.754
2 13 United States Ty Dillon  Chevrolet 18 44.847 0.016 0.016 200.682
3 37 United States Chris Buescher  Chevrolet 21 44.857 0.026 0.010 200.638
4 48 United States Jimmie Johnson  Chevrolet 23 44.921 0.090 0.064 200.352
5 3 United States Austin Dillon  Chevrolet 17 44.922 0.091 0.001 200.347
6 6 United States Ryan Newman  Ford 15 44.926 0.095 0.004 200.329
7 8 United States Daniel Hemric  Chevrolet 20 44.931 0.100 0.005 200.307
8 42 United States Kyle Larson  Chevrolet 26 44.933 0.102 0.002 200.298
9 1 United States Kurt Busch  Chevrolet 22 44.934 0.103 0.001 200.294
10 9 United States Chase Elliott  Chevrolet 25 44.935 0.104 0.001 200.289
11 24 United States William Byron  Chevrolet 25 44.938 0.107 0.003 200.276
12 88 United States Alex Bowman  Chevrolet 20 44.941 0.110 0.003 200.263
13 38 United States David Ragan  Ford 21 44.992 0.161 0.051 200.036
14 2 United States Brad Keselowski  Ford 23 45.013 0.182 0.021 199.942
15 22 United States Joey Logano  Ford 28 45.020 0.189 0.007 199.911
16 12 United States Ryan Blaney  Ford 24 45.035 0.204 0.015 199.845
17 17 United States Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  Ford 22 45.040 0.209 0.005 199.822
18 21 United States Paul Menard  Ford 26 45.041 0.210 0.001 199.818
19 4 United States Kevin Harvick  Ford 17 45.044 0.213 0.003 199.805
20 20 United States Erik Jones  Toyota 19 45.046 0.215 0.002 199.796
21 10 United States Aric Almirola  Ford 24 45.050 0.219 0.004 199.778
22 41 Mexico Daniel Suarez  Ford 21 45.050 0.219 0.000 199.778
23 14 United States Clint Bowyer  Ford 17 45.097 0.266 0.047 199.570
24 47 United States Ryan Preece  Chevrolet 15 45.159 0.328 0.062 199.296
25 43 United States Darrell Wallace Jr.  Chevrolet 21 45.160 0.329 0.001 199.291
26 34 United States Michael McDowell  Ford 24 45.215 0.384 0.055 199.049
27 11 United States Denny Hamlin  Toyota 6 45.824 0.993 0.609 196.404
28 95 United States Matt DiBenedetto  Toyota 3 46.068 1.237 0.244 195.363
29 96 United States Parker Kligerman  Toyota 9 46.230 1.399 0.162 194.679
30 36 United States Matt Tifft  Ford 6 46.558 1.727 0.328 193.307
31 00 United States Landon Cassill  Chevrolet 7 46.671 1.840 0.113 192.839
32 19 United States Martin Truex Jr.  Toyota 5 47.373 2.542 0.702 189.982
33 32 United States Corey Lajoie  Ford 6 47.564 2.733 0.191 189.219
34 27 United States Ross Chastain  Chevrolet 1 57.736 12.905 10.172 155.882
35 62 United States Brendan Gaughan  Chevrolet        

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