Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series would take to the track for the first practice for the Daytona 500 on Saturday morning. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would post the quickest speed with a lap of 202.643 mph as he looks to improve on last year’s finish of 27th in the series points standings.
Sam Hornish Jr. and Trevor Bayne would tie for second quickest at 202.193mph, as Hornish makes the move from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Petty Motorsports, while Bayne makes the move from the XFINITY Series to the Sprint Cup Series. Aric Almirola and Dale Earnhardt Jr. would round out the top-five.
Greg Biffle was sixth quickest, followed by Denny Hamlin, David Gilliland, Danica Patrick and Carl Edwards.
The Sprint Cup Series would return to the track on Saturday afternoon, with qualifying scheduled for 1 p.m. EST on Sunday. Group qualifying will take place for the first time in a Daytona 500 qualifying session, with the session locking in the front row and setting up the starting line-ups for the Budweiser Duels.
2015 NSCS Daytona 500 First Practice Session Speeds
| Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Lap # | # Laps | -Fastest | -Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Fastenal Ford | 44.413 | 202.643 | 2 | 19 | —.— | —.— |
| 2 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Twisted Tea Ford | 44.512 | 202.193 | 2 | 20 | -0.099 | -0.099 |
| 3 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | AdvoCare Ford | 44.512 | 202.193 | 2 | 11 | -0.099 | 0 |
| 4 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 44.559 | 201.979 | 2 | 18 | -0.146 | -0.047 |
| 5 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Nationwide Chevrolet | 44.606 | 201.767 | 11 | 29 | -0.193 | -0.047 |
| 6 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ortho Ford | 44.607 | 201.762 | 2 | 11 | -0.194 | -0.001 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Express Toyota | 44.678 | 201.441 | 5 | 26 | -0.265 | -0.071 |
| 8 | 38 | David Gilliland | Love’s Travel Stops Ford | 44.856 | 200.642 | 3 | 15 | -0.443 | -0.178 |
| 9 | 10 | Danica Patrick | GoDaddy Chevrolet | 44.92 | 200.356 | 3 | 31 | -0.507 | -0.064 |
| 10 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Arris Toyota | 44.93 | 200.312 | 7 | 24 | -0.517 | -0.01 |
| 11 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Farmers Insurance Chevrolet | 45.004 | 199.982 | 10 | 30 | -0.591 | -0.074 |
| 12 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 5-hour Energy Toyota | 45.076 | 199.663 | 5 | 18 | -0.663 | -0.072 |
| 13 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet | 45.193 | 199.146 | 26 | 28 | -0.78 | -0.117 |
| 14 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Brandt Chevrolet | 45.203 | 199.102 | 39 | 40 | -0.79 | -0.01 |
| 15 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet | 45.205 | 199.093 | 20 | 22 | -0.792 | -0.002 |
| 16 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Haas Automation Chevrolet | 45.206 | 199.089 | 33 | 35 | -0.793 | -0.001 |
| 17 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Cessna/McDonald’s Chevrolet | 45.219 | 199.031 | 4 | 24 | -0.806 | -0.013 |
| 18 | 46 | Michael Annett | Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet | 45.246 | 198.913 | 37 | 38 | -0.833 | -0.027 |
| 19 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M’s Crispy Toyota | 45.259 | 198.855 | 4 | 29 | -0.846 | -0.013 |
| 20 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Target Chevrolet | 45.268 | 198.816 | 15 | 39 | -0.855 | -0.009 |
| 21 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Dollar General Toyota | 45.324 | 198.57 | 7 | 24 | -0.911 | -0.056 |
| 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | DOW Chevrolet | 45.338 | 198.509 | 5 | 26 | -0.925 | -0.014 |
| 23 | 27 | Paul Menard | Peak/Menards Chevrolet | 45.364 | 198.395 | 5 | 10 | -0.951 | -0.026 |
| 24 | 62 | Brian Scott(i) | Shore Lodge Chevrolet | 45.367 | 198.382 | 5 | 10 | -0.954 | -0.003 |
| 25 | 33 | Ty Dillon(i) | Cheerios Chevrolet | 45.379 | 198.33 | 5 | 5 | -0.966 | -0.012 |
| 26 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Caterpillar Chevrolet | 45.391 | 198.277 | 5 | 5 | -0.978 | -0.012 |
| 27 | 34 | David Ragan | Kentucky Fried Chicken Ford | 45.404 | 198.22 | 12 | 16 | -0.991 | -0.013 |
| 28 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Thrivent Financial Ford | 45.425 | 198.129 | 21 | 22 | -1.012 | -0.021 |
| 29 | 21 | Ryan Blaney(i) | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford | 45.535 | 197.65 | 2 | 17 | -1.122 | -0.11 |
| 30 | 13 | Casey Mears | GEICO Chevrolet | 45.559 | 197.546 | 5 | 17 | -1.146 | -0.024 |
| 31 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 45.621 | 197.278 | 4 | 18 | -1.208 | -0.062 |
| 32 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Miller Lite Ford | 45.626 | 197.256 | 4 | 25 | -1.213 | -0.005 |
| 33 | 29 | Justin Marks(i) | American Born Moonshine Toyota | 45.638 | 197.204 | 12 | 31 | -1.225 | -0.012 |
| 34 | 40 | Landon Cassill | CarsForSale.com Chevrolet | 45.721 | 196.846 | 17 | 17 | -1.308 | -0.083 |
| 35 | 7 | Alex Bowman | Toy State/Nikko Chevrolet | 45.761 | 196.674 | 8 | 12 | -1.348 | -0.04 |
| 36 | 35 | Cole Whitt | Speed Stick Ford | 45.796 | 196.524 | 11 | 17 | -1.383 | -0.035 |
| 37 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Kroger/USO Chevrolet | 45.919 | 195.997 | 14 | 16 | -1.506 | -0.123 |
| 38 | 66 | Mike Wallace | Crazy Vapors/X8 Energy Gum Toyota | 45.948 | 195.874 | 3 | 5 | -1.535 | -0.029 |
| 39 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe’s Chevrolet | 46.192 | 194.839 | 28 | 28 | -1.779 | -0.244 |
| 40 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet | 46.231 | 194.675 | 24 | 24 | -1.818 | -0.039 |
| 41 | 26 | Jeb Burton | LiveDeal.com Download the App Toyota | 46.315 | 194.321 | 14 | 20 | -1.902 | -0.084 |
| 42 | 83 | Johnny Sauter(i) | Dustless Blasting Toyota | 46.329 | 194.263 | 2 | 7 | -1.916 | -0.014 |
| 43 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota | 46.535 | 193.403 | 15 | 19 | -2.122 | -0.206 |
| 44 | 23 | JJ Yeley(i) | MAXIM Fantasy App/Dr. Pepper Toyota | 46.939 | 191.738 | 11 | 13 | -2.526 | -0.404 |
| 45 | 32 | Bobby Labonte | C & J Energy Services Ford | 47.114 | 191.026 | 12 | 12 | -2.701 | -0.175 |
| 46 | 98 | Josh Wise | Phoenix Construction Ford | 47.521 | 189.39 | 3 | 3 | -3.108 | -0.407 |
| 47 | 30 | Ron Hornaday Jr. | Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff Chevrolet | 47.546 | 189.29 | 7 | 11 | -3.133 | -0.025 |
| 48 | 44 | Reed Sorenson | Golden Corral Chevrolet | 48.172 | 186.831 | 9 | 13 | -3.759 | -0.626 |
RT @OnPitRoad_: NSCS: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Leads First Daytona 500 Practice by @ladybug388 http://t.co/C7tZT76LoR