Truex and Wallace fastest in first two Daytona 500 practices

Bubba Wallace was fastest during second practice. 

Bubba Wallace topped the speed chart in Saturday’s second Daytona 500 practice session with a top speed of 195.020 mph.

The session, scheduled to run for 50 minutes, was shortened to roughly 25 minutes due to rain.

Ty Dillon followed Wallace with a speed of 195.008 mph. The two drivers ran near each other during the session.

The top five was completed by David Ragan (194.940 mph), Ricky Stenhouse Jr.(194.574) and Paul Menard (193.586).

There were no incidents in the session.

Martin Truex Jr. was fastest in the day’s first Daytona 500 practice session.

READ MORE HERE....NBC SPORTS

Logano fastest in first Clash practice; Hamlin, Elliott, Harvick and Newman involved in wreck

Chase Elliott got loose Saturday in the Clash practice causing wreck.

A four-car wreck took place with 45 minutes left in Saturday’s practice for the Advance Auto Parts Clash, and involved Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman.

The incident, which resulted in a red flag, occurred on the backstretch and began when Elliott tried to move in front of Newman’s No. 6 Ford.

Contact between them sent Elliott into the wall and back into Newman.

After being hit from behind by Harvick, Hamlin spun into the outside wall before sliding down the track and plowing through the backstretch grass.

Elliott will go to a backup car.

“I know that Aric (Almirola) and I were trying to get up to speed,” Elliott told Fox Sports 1. “He got to the bottom and I thought, ‘Alright, I’ll go to the bottom.’ Well, that hole closed up. Was just going to kind of ride it out in the middle (lane) and fall to the back. Then I guess the 6 (Newman), I don’t know if I crowded him up. I kind of went up as he was coming down. Kind of hard to tell. I knew I got hit in the rear rear. Felt bad. If it was my fault I apologize. Yeah, it looks like I crowded him. Certainly not a good way to start the week.”

Said Newman: “It looked like the 9 car (Elliott) either washed up in front of me or drove up in front of me. I’m not sure if he was driving or his spotter cleared him and he just didn’t have a chance to react, but he filled a hole that wasn’t there and kind of caused a mess.”

Hamlin, who will also go to a backup for the exhibition race, wasn’t too upset by the incident.

“It’s just part of it,” Hamlin told FS1. “Last I saw (Newman) was crossing over my nose there and I felt a tag from somebody behind us. …This is what practice is for, to feel your car out and feel things you need to work on.”

Both Hamlin and Elliott will have to start from the rear of the field tomorrow.

It took nearly 30 minutes for crews to get Newman and Harvick’s cars removed from the backstretch grass so they could be driven to the garage.

“They’re probably mad, but I didn’t want them to haul the car back because they would have had to have lifted it up and tore the whole back of the car off and caused a lot of unnecessary work for the guys,” Harvick told FS1. “Saved us about three hundred grand.”

The only other incident in the session was Daniel Suarez spinning unharmed as he tried to enter pit road.

Joey Logano was fastest in the session with a speed of 196.785 mph.

He was followed by Jimmie Johnson (196.674 mph), Austin Dillon (196.622), Elliott (196.579) and Harvick (196.51).

READ MORE HERE....NBC SPORTS

CLASH PRACTICE SPEEDS

2013 Sprint Unlimited Practices: Nothing Gained by Crew Chiefs, Drivers or Bettors

Kurt Busch was part of the five car wreck in practice Friday (Getty)

By Micah Roberts

All 19 drivers participating in Friday’s first practice session in preparation for Saturday's Sprint Unlimited at Daytona came in with hopes of finding out more about how their new Gen-6 cars would handle in the draft. But within the first 10 minutes of the session, a small pack of cars racing together got tangled up in an accident. Matt Kenseth lost control of his car and wrecked four other cars making it look similar to what happened in the preseason test session at Daytona in January.

The learning curve will carry on into the second practice session, and then all 45 drivers attempting to qualify for the Daytona 500 will get some practice time on Saturday. Drivers were left with many of their questions coming into Friday’s practices without any answers. When they resumed the session, every driver either ran laps alone or were in a very cautious pack of five cars.

Joey Logano mentioned that the Gen-6 car didn’t open the hole in the draft as well as the older cars and that it pushed like an ARCA car.

Some drivers like Martin Truex Jr. packed it up and said they didn’t need anymore practice because its not worth risking a car. He didn’t run in the second session. Neither did six other drivers.

Read More Here...........

Practice 1 Speeds

Practice 2 Speeds (Final)

Edwards and Logano Pace Fastest Laps in Final Daytona 500 Practices

By Fred C.

There is one more practice session scheduled for Saturday morning at 10:30 est and if today's two practices are any indication, there won't be much to expect at all.  At this point in the week, most of all teams pretty much know what they have for Sunday's Great American Race and over half the field chose to not take any chances with their cars today.

Carl Edwards is 15/1 to win Daytona 500 (Getty)

Only 16 cars took to the track in today's first practice (Practice 5 speeds)  with all that can possibly be taken away from it is that the Fords continue to show great speed and remain the favorites to capture the Harley J. Earl Trophy on Sunday.  Juan Pablo Montoya's #42 Chevrolet logged the most laps of the session with 26 (10 more than any other driver) which is perfectly understandable since that is a backup car after Thursday's crash took out his primary. 

The 99 of Carl Edwards continued to lead the Ford charge with front row teammate Greg Biffle clocking in with the 5th fastest time.  Is it finally time for Edwards to catch a break at a superspeedway? It is looking better and better as we get closer to race time, even though the last Daytona 500 pole sitter to go to Victory Lane was over 10 years ago, when Dale Jarrett grabbed his 2nd 500 win in 2000.

Needless to say, Edwards and practically all of his Ford teammates chose to stay on the sidelines for Friday's 2nd practice session (Practice 6 speeds).  Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) took over the reigns with drivers Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin clocking in 1st, 2nd, and 4th respectively.

Surprisingly, defending Sprint Cup Champ and 17 time Daytona winner (no 500's however) Tony Stewart showed up and logged 14 laps, clocking in with the 5th fastest time.

If any driver can stop the Brigade, Stewart is surely one of those drivers.  He has to be a very strong consideration at odds of 10-1 or better and has arguably shown to be the best car this week in race trim.  Oh, and the 17 Daytona wins just resonates over and over again...that kind of Daytona record remind you of anyone?

Fords Lead the Way in Daytona's First Practice Session Wednesday

by Frederic Crespi

PRACTICE 3

Fords were fastest in the first Daytona practice session Wednesday (Getty) 

Wednesday's first practice session saw the bulk of the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage out on the track shaking down their pieces for Thursday's Gatorade Duel races. If Saturday Night's Bud Shootout was any sort of indication of the type of racing we are expected to see in the Duels and on Sunday, let's just say, we shouldn't take much time away from the broadcast. Get your snacks and beverage selections prepared ahead of time.

Pack racing is back in full force and it manifested itself once again during the first practice. With the reduced spoiler, these machines are even more aero sensitive then they have been at Daytona in a few years. Will we see any NASCAR "adjustments" prior to tomorrow? Doubtful....but if the Duels turn into another wreck fest, be prepared for it.

A lot of laps were logged by many of the elite teams in this practice, but it was the 21 of the defending Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne who led the charge with 46 times around the 2.5 mile circuit. Bayne finished the practice with and only 8 one-hundreth of a second off the top spot of the 17 of Matt Kenseth.

The Blue Brigade Fords made up the top four practice time spots, with Nationwide Champion Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Marcos Ambrose rounding it up. While Daytona practice times don't mean much at all in terms of Daytona 500 performance, we have to take into effect the horsepower that has been represented by the Ford gang (Front row in single car qualifying on last Sunday). They will be a factor come Sunday for sure.

Among other notable drivers, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson finished practice with spots of 41, 42, and 43. Anyone want to wager that these three cars will not finish there on Sunday? Speaking of notable drivers, the 10 car of Danica Patrick clocked in 16th with 30 laps run and 3rd in the best overall best ten lap average.

Top-5 Practice Times:
#17-Kenseth 200.853
#21-Bayne 200.817
#6-Stenhouse Jr., 200.673
#9-Ambrose 200.280
#55-Martin 200.196

Practice 3 Times


PRACTICE 4

Aric Almirola led the way in the afternoon (Getty)

Today’s 2nd practice was a pretty non-entity even though it did occur. Sure, a few of the top teams showed up, but for the most part, all the teams figured out what they wanted to work on in the first practice, both for the Duels and for Sunday’s race.

You can easily see that by the top four speeds for the teams involved: #1 Aric Almirola in the the 43, David Stremme in the 30, Regan Smith in the 78 (an actual “Watch out for this driver on Sunday”) and okay…come on….Alright, Robert Richardson, Jr. in the 23. If that doesn’t show that these practice times are pretty much irrelevant, I don’t know what does.

Now that the “Pack is Back” (easy now Green Bay fans!), this upcoming combo of Duel races tomorrow and Sunday’s 500 will be decided by a lot of luck, a lot of luck, and after that, a lot more luck. With that said, we should still focus on the Ford entries, (especially those backed by Roush-Fenway), and the Hendrick cars. Outside of their horsepower, that stable of drivers is all so adapt at understanding and knowing what to and not to do during a 200 lap race of this magnitude, you know one or two will be there. 200 wins for Mr. Hendrick would be quite accomplishment at the “Great American Race”!

Top-5 Practice Times:
#43-Almirola 199.712
#30-Stremme 199.331
#78-Smith 198.360
#23-Richardson Jr., 197.972
#16-Biffle 197.655

Practice 4 Times


DAYTONA SCHEDULE

Thursday, Febuary 23
7:00 am NSCS Garage Opens
7:00 am NNS & NCWTS Garage Opens
8:00 am NNS, NSCS & NCWTS Mandatory Spotters Meetings
9:00 am 9:50 am NNS Practice
10:15 am 11:50 am NNS Final Practice
12:00 pm NSCS Driver / Crew Chief Meeting
12:10 pm 1:00 pm NCWTS Practice
1:40 pm NSCS Driver Intros
2:00 pm NSCS Gatorade 150 Mile Qualifying Races
5:00 pm NNS Garage Closes
6:00 pm NSCS Garage Closes
6:00 pm 7:20 pm NCWTS Final Practice
9:00 pm NCWTS Garage Closes

Friday, Febuary 24
7:00 am NNS & NSCS Garage Opens
10:00 am NCWTS Garage Opens
11:00 am 12:00 pm NSCS Practice
12:30 pm 1:30 pm NSCS Practice
2:05 pm NNS Qualifying
4:00 pm NSCS Garage Closes
4:05 pm NCWTS Qualifying
6:30 pm NNS Garage Closes
7:00 pm NCWTS Driver Intros
7:30 pm NCWTS Race

Saturday, Febuary 25
9:00 am NNS Garage Opens-Access to Haulers Only
9:00 am NSCS Garage Opens
10:30 am 12:00 pm NSCS Final Practice
12:45 pm NNS Driver Intros
1:15 pm NNS Race
5:00 pm NSCS Garage Closes

Sunday, Febuary 26
7:00 am NSCS Garage Opens
11:00 am NSCS Driver / Crew Chief Meeting
12:15 pm NSCS Driver Intros
1:00 pm NSCS Daytona 500

- all times eastern

Greg Biffle Rips Fastest Lap Late in First Texas Practice Session

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series has kicked off their weekend with practice session one for Sunday's Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. For the first two-thirds of practice most teams were using race trim set-ups with Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kevin Harvick all showing good times. Once the qualifying trim came on, there was a mad shuffle of changes with all the leaders until ultimately Greg Biffle finished on top in the closing moments.

Fastest during the opening practice was Biffle with a lap at 190.813 mph. Second quick was Tony Stewart with a lap at 190.201 mph. Third fastest was Earnhardt Jr. at 189.567 mph. Earnhardt Jr was just .186 off the pace set by Biffle. Bowyer was fourth fastest at 189.394 mph while Jimmie Johnson turned a lap at 189.235 mph.

The fast lap by Biffle is a good sign for the Fenway-Roush program who had struggled collectively during last months Charlotte testing on the new spoiler. This will be the first major down-force track used with the new spoiler. The new spoiler is expected to slow cars down on the straightaways slightly, but allow for more grip entering the turns. This week is also the debut of Goodyear's new tire compound. Saturday's practices -- with the longer runs -- should give more information to how the tire's durability will perform in race conditions.  

Complete List of First Practice Speeds

Daytona 500 First Practice Shortened Due to Rain, Junior Runs Fastest

Friday's first practice for next weeks Daytona 500 was shut down due to rain after only 46 minutes of the scheduled 80 were completed. Only 46 of the 54 cars entered were able to run laps.

Every team was using the session in qualifying set-up and were on the track one or two cars at a time to avoid any draft enhanced speeds.

The fastest of the day was Dale Earnhardt Jr, a good sign for the Junior Nation and a nice way to start the season with some kind of positive. All the Hendrick cars looked fast.

Top 5 Daytona 500 Practice Times 
1) Dale Earnhardt Jr. 188.679
2) MarkMartin 188.616
3) Jeff Gordon 187.950
4) Bill Elliott 187.884
5) Robby Gordon 187.872

See link for full practice results