DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Most of the cars in the starting field for the 64th Daytona 500 hit the track for a Friday evening practice at Daytona International Speedway, with defending Daytona 500 leader Michael McDowell topping the charts.
McDowell paced the field with a draft aided speed of 190.049 mph in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford. His teammate, Todd Gilliland, was second at 192.361 mph in the No. 38 Ford as both drivers worked together during the frantic practice session.
McDowell has been the fastest in two of the three NASCAR Cup Series practices for the Daytona 500 this week.
RESULTS: Friday Daytona 500 Practice
Thirty-four of the 40 cars in the starting lineup took practice laps.
David Ragan was third in the No. 15 Ford, followed by the two drivers that won Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel races from RFK Racing. Chris Buescher was fourth fastest at 191.664 mph in the No. 17 Ford and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-five at 191.66 mph in the No. 6 Ford.
Cody Ware, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Aric Almirola and rookie Noah Gragson completed the top-10 in practice.
Although Kurt Busch was 34th on the speed chart, just ahead of B.J. McLeod, the driver for 23XI Racing was happy with the way his car handled on the race track.
“We’re ready to go,” Busch said. “We’re not even going to go out to practice tomorrow. We’re ready to go for the Daytona 500.”
The final practice session for the 64th Daytona 500 is scheduled for Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
