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