Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
The first Daytona 500 practice session kicked off this morning, and last year’s champion Kyle Busch was the first driver on track, but he wasn’t the fastest.
Two-time Daytona 500 Champion Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had the top speed in the early morning practice with a fast speed of 194.116 MPH. None of the 44 drivers entered in the race elected to draft, as all were preparing for single-car qualifying tomorrow.
Last year’s Daytona 500 race winner Joey Logano was second in practice, closely followed by Matt Kenseth and rookie Chase Elliott in car No. 24 and Kasey Kahne rounding out the top-five.
Brian Vickers is running the No. 14 for Speedweeks as Tony Stewart, who will retire at the end of the year, is out with a non-racing related injury. Vickers, who was sidelined with blood clotting issues for most of the 2015 season, hadn’t stepped foot into a Sprint Cup car since Las Vegas last year where he finished 41st, placed 17th in today’s first practice session.
Single-car qualifying tomorrow will only be one-lap runs. Greg Biffle had the fastest one-lap speed, followed by Martin Truex, Jr. in second.
The two fastest non-charter cars in practice were the No. 21 of Ryan Blaney in 13th, and the No. 93 of Matt DiBenedetto in 29th. The top-two non-charter cars in time trials will secure their spots in the Daytona 500 tomorrow afternoon.
Full practice results can be seen below.
2016 NSCS Daytona 500 First Practice Session Speeds
| Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Lap # | # Laps | -Fastest | -Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Nationwide Chevrolet | 46.364 | 194.116 | 11 | 11 | —.— | —.— |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 46.427 | 193.853 | 19 | 19 | -0.063 | -0.063 |
| 3 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Dollar General Toyota | 46.444 | 193.782 | 15 | 15 | -0.08 | -0.017 |
| 4 | 24 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 46.491 | 193.586 | 8 | 8 | -0.127 | -0.047 |
| 5 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Farmers Insurance Chevrolet | 46.492 | 193.582 | 13 | 13 | -0.128 | -0.001 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Miller Lite Ford | 46.527 | 193.436 | 14 | 14 | -0.163 | -0.035 |
| 7 | 16 | Greg Biffle | KFC Nashville Hot Ford | 46.534 | 193.407 | 9 | 9 | -0.17 | -0.007 |
| 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Haas Automation/Monster Energy | 46.579 | 193.22 | 5 | 5 | -0.215 | -0.045 |
| 9 | 19 | Carl Edwards | ARRIS Toyota | 46.584 | 193.199 | 14 | 14 | -0.22 | -0.005 |
| 10 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota | 46.608 | 193.1 | 3 | 3 | -0.244 | -0.024 |
| 11 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M’s 75 Toyota | 46.611 | 193.087 | 15 | 15 | -0.247 | -0.003 |
| 12 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | AdvoCare Ford | 46.641 | 192.963 | 12 | 12 | -0.277 | -0.03 |
| 13 | *21 | Ryan Blaney | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford | 46.653 | 192.914 | 11 | 11 | -0.289 | -0.012 |
| 14 | 3 | Austin Dillon | DOW Chevrolet | 46.678 | 192.81 | 6 | 6 | -0.314 | -0.025 |
| 15 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Fastenal Ford | 46.684 | 192.786 | 17 | 18 | -0.32 | -0.006 |
| 16 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Express Toyota | 46.708 | 192.686 | 5 | 13 | -0.344 | -0.024 |
| 17 | 14 | Brian Vickers | Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet | 46.713 | 192.666 | 5 | 7 | -0.349 | -0.005 |
| 18 | 31 | Ryan Newman | CAT Chevrolet | 46.722 | 192.629 | 12 | 12 | -0.358 | -0.009 |
| 19 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe’s Chevrolet | 46.733 | 192.583 | 16 | 16 | -0.369 | -0.011 |
| 20 | 95 | Ty Dillon(i) | Cheerios Chevrolet | 46.742 | 192.546 | 5 | 5 | -0.378 | -0.009 |
| 21 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet | 46.768 | 192.439 | 14 | 14 | -0.404 | -0.026 |
| 22 | 13 | Casey Mears | GEICO Chevrolet | 46.792 | 192.341 | 5 | 5 | -0.428 | -0.024 |
| 23 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Jimmy John’s Chevrolet | 46.836 | 192.16 | 5 | 5 | -0.472 | -0.044 |
| 24 | 7 | Regan Smith | Nikko RC/Golden Corral Chevrolet | 46.848 | 192.111 | 13 | 13 | -0.484 | -0.012 |
| 25 | 44 | Brian Scott | Albertsons Co./Shore Lodge Ford | 46.882 | 191.971 | 12 | 12 | -0.518 | -0.034 |
| 26 | 27 | Paul Menard | Peak Antifreeze/Menards Chevrolet | 46.901 | 191.894 | 5 | 5 | -0.537 | -0.019 |
| 27 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Target Chevrolet | 46.906 | 191.873 | 15 | 15 | -0.542 | -0.005 |
| 28 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 46.945 | 191.714 | 8 | 8 | -0.581 | -0.039 |
| 29 | *93 | Matt DiBenedetto | Dustless Blasting Toyota | 47.024 | 191.392 | 6 | 6 | -0.66 | -0.079 |
| 30 | 83 | Michael Waltrip | Maxwell House Toyota | 47.035 | 191.347 | 3 | 3 | -0.671 | -0.011 |
| 31 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet | 47.098 | 191.091 | 5 | 8 | -0.734 | -0.063 |
| 32 | *59 | Michael McDowell | Thirvent Financial Chevrolet | 47.126 | 190.977 | 5 | 5 | -0.762 | -0.028 |
| 33 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Kroger/Scott Products Chevrolet | 47.187 | 190.73 | 10 | 10 | -0.823 | -0.061 |
| 34 | 34 | Chris Buescher | Love’s Travel Stops Ford | 47.196 | 190.694 | 2 | 6 | -0.832 | -0.009 |
| 35 | 38 | Landon Cassill | Florida Lottery Ford | 47.248 | 190.484 | 5 | 8 | -0.884 | -0.052 |
| 36 | 46 | Michael Annett | Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet | 47.259 | 190.44 | 7 | 7 | -0.895 | -0.011 |
| 37 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 5-hour Energy Chevrolet | 47.54 | 189.314 | 8 | 8 | -1.176 | -0.281 |
| 38 | 23 | David Ragan | Dr Pepper Toyota | 47.613 | 189.024 | 12 | 12 | -1.249 | -0.073 |
| 39 | 32 | Bobby Labonte | C&J Energy Services Ford | 47.633 | 188.945 | 8 | 8 | -1.269 | -0.02 |
| 40 | *98 | Cole Whitt | Toyota | 47.711 | 188.636 | 2 | 6 | -1.347 | -0.078 |
| 41 | *35 | David Gilliland | Ford | 47.868 | 188.017 | 7 | 7 | -1.504 | -0.157 |
| 42 | *26 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Stalk It Toyota | 47.927 | 187.786 | 5 | 5 | -1.563 | -0.059 |
| 43 | *30 | Josh Wise | Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet | 48.264 | 186.474 | 8 | 8 | -1.9 | -0.337 |
| 44 | *40 | Reed Sorenson | CRC Brakleen Chevrolet | 48.339 | 186.185 | 3 | 3 | -1.975 | -0.075 |
(i) Ineligible for Driver Points in this Series
# Denotes Rookie
* Required to Qualify on Time
