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Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney Top Daytona 500 Practices on Day 1

Michael McDowell and Ryan Blaney led Tuesday’s (Feb. 15) NASCAR Cup Series practices for the Daytona 500.

McDowell went 192.736 mph and 46.696 seconds in a single lap to lead the opening session, while Blaney was 192.588 mph and 46.732 seconds.

FIRST PRACTICE

McDowell led five Fords in practice, as David Ragan went 192.666 mph. McDowell’s Front Row Motorsports teammate Todd Gilliland was just under Ragan at 192.649 mph, while Brad Keselowski went 192.6 mph. Keselowski’s RFK Racing cohort Chris Buescher was 192.571 mph.

The Toyotas, which held the fastest laps until late in the session, went under 192 mph. Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch were sixth-10th, respectively.

Kaz Grala’s shifter came loose on the No. 50, fielded by The Money Team Racing.

Greg Biffle, driving for NY Racing Team, was the fastest open car in 17th.

Fifteen cars went 10 or more consecutive laps; Gilliland posted the quickest 10-lap average at 190.311 mph. McDowell, Keselowski, Buescher and Alex Bowman rounded out the top five in average speed.

See also
Greg Biffle Attempting Daytona 500 With NY Racing

SECOND PRACTICE

Fords filled up the top 10 in practice two. Blaney’s fastest lap came when he and his Team Penske cohorts (along with Wood Brothers Racing’s Harrison Burton) practiced in a drafting line. Joey Logano went 192.135 mph, the only other car above 192 mph. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer was third-quickest and went 191.103 mph, while Cody Ware went 191.099 mph. Buescher rounded out the top five at 191.087 mph.

Burton, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Keselowski and Aric Almirola completed the top 10 in session two.

Daytona 500 Practice 1 Results

Daytona 500 Practice 2 Results

Single car qualifying will run Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 8:05 p.m. ET. The Duels follow on Thursday, Feb. 17 starting at 7 p.m. Third practice is on Friday at 6 p.m. with final practice set for Saturday morning (Feb. 19) at 10:30 a.m. ET. The Daytona 500 runs Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET and airs on FOX.

Joy Tomlinson

Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised watching motorsports and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.

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DoninAjax

The top 10 cars in the second practice were FORDS. Does any one think that will carry over to qualifying? Blaney was 39th in the first.