Ford, Chevrolet Split Uneventful Xfinity Practice Sessions at Daytona

Friday’s (Feb. 15) NASCAR Xfinity Series practices at the Daytona International Speedway saw few surprises, with Ford driver Chase Briscoe and Chevrolet driver Justin Haley topping the morning and afternoon sessions, respectively.

The first practice session proved most eventful in the first 10-15 minutes, with a large pack of cars immediately starting practice in the draft. Briscoe, along with Tyler Reddick and John Hunter Nemechek posted the three fastest speeds running in this pack.

Of note, two-wide pack racing was seen possible during the first practice session. 37 of the 38 cars took time during this session — the only driver not to make a lap was Jeremy Clements.

The afternoon session saw only 22 cars take time, with only three drivers making more than 10 laps. A number of teams planned to skip final practice, while others made only single-car mock qualifying runs to simulate tomorrow morning’s time trials and to practice pit road entry and pit road speed.

Chevrolets posted the top five speeds in the second session, though a number of those times were posted with assistance from the draft pack.

These practices marked the first time on track for Toyota’s new Supra race car, and the reviews were mixed. The Supra failed to crack the top five in either session.

Toyota driver Christopher Bell had one of the more confounding takes on Toyota’s new car, telling the FOX Sports 1 broadcast team after first practice that he was concerned the new Supra wasn’t as competitive on the superspeedways as last year’s Camry. Bell then went on to say during final practice (during which his No. 20 car didn’t make a lap) that the Supra was a big step forward from last season’s machines. 

NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice #1 Results

NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice #2 Results

With only 38 cars entered, all teams are guaranteed a spot in Saturday’s (Feb. 16) NASCAR Racing Experience 300.