Fords dominate both Daytona 500 practices

Daytona 500 practice on Tuesday gave teams and drivers the opportunity to figure out the new Next Gen car, as well as prepare for Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel and Sunday’s race by testing out drafting with their team-mates. As such, many of the fastest times in the two practices were of the same manufacturer. The Fords in particular enjoyed a strong practice as Michael McDowell and Ryan Blaney led contingents of Fords in each session.

McDowell, the defending Daytona 500 winner, led the way in Practice #1 with four other Fords behind him. David Ragan, his former team-mate at Front Row Motorsports and 2011 Daytona 2 winner, was second followed by rookie and FRM driver Todd Gilliland. RFK Racing‘s Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher followed.

The manufacturer drafting groups continued with Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing Toyotas rounding out the top ten followed by Hendrick Motorsports and JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolets. Greg Biffle, driving for NY Racing Team, was the fastest of the six non-chartered cars that must qualify or race their ways into the 500.

“We wanted to get out in that group and just kind of play around with the draft and not put ourselves in a bad situation where you’re two or three wide, but just kind of line up so it worked out well,” said McDowell. “We were lined up four or five of the Fords and then we were catching the Toyota pack, so lap time here is very situational on where you get the draft and where you get the runs, but I feel really good about our Ford Mustang. We had good speed and it drove pretty well. It did all the things you’re looking to do with minimal practice and not being in that three, four-wide crazy situation, so I feel good.”

Blaney continued the manufacturer split in Practice #2 as Team Penske team-mate Joey Logano tailed. Unlike the first session, the entire top ten was filled with Fords. Rick Ware Racing‘s Cody Ware, the beneficiary of a new alliance with Ford, was fourth quickest, and he raised eyebrows when fans noticed his lowered window net and raised helmet visor while running in the draft; while both are glaring safety concerns, Formula 4 United States Championship driver Cade McKee commented that the visor being up is not uncommon in sports car racing, and is done if a visor is tinted and the race has a day-to-night transition.

Kaz Grala of the new The Money Team Racing was twenty-second as the fastest Open car in Practice #2. Former IndyCar and Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve, aiming for his Daytona 500 début, was at the bottom of the charts in both sessions in fortieth and forty-first of forty-two drivers, and he along with those like MBM Motorsports‘ Timmy Hill and J.J. Yeley will need surprisingly fast paces in qualifying or the Duels if they hope to make the race.

Single-car qualifying will take place on Wednesday.

Practice #1 results

Position	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Best Time	Best Speed (mph)	Laps	Margin
1	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	46.696	192.736	25	Leader
2	15	David Ragan	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	46.713	192.666	18	+ 0.017
3	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	46.717	192.649	20	+ 0.021
4	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	46.729	192.600	21	+ 0.033
5	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	46.736	192.571	22	+ 0.040
6	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	47.075	191.184	19	+ 0.379
7	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	47.081	191.160	27	+ 0.385
8	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	47.083	191.152	22	+ 0.387
9	45	Kurt Busch	23XI Racing	Toyota	47.085	191.144	20	+ 0.389
10	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	47.089	191.127	27	+ 0.393
11	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	47.114	191.026	16	+ 0.418
12	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	47.121	190.998	13	+ 0.425
13	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	47.133	190.949	19	+ 0.437
14	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	47.386	189.930	15	+ 0.690
15	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	47.497	189.486	27	+ 0.801
16	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	47.552	189.266	16	+ 0.856
17	44	Greg Biffle*	NY Racing Team	Chevrolet	47.827	188.178	10	+ 1.131
18	62	Noah Gragson*	Beard Motorsports	Chevrolet	47.850	188.088	14	+ 1.154
19	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	48.496	185.582	15	+ 1.800
20	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	48.556	185.353	9	+ 1.860
21	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	48.661	184.953	13	+ 1.965
22	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing Team	Chevrolet	48.680	184.881	10	+ 1.984
23	8	Tyler Reddick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	48.788	184.472	16	+ 2.092
24	16	Daniel Hemric*	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	48.843	184.264	7	+ 2.147
25	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	49.043	183.512	7	+ 2.347
26	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	49.051	183.482	10	+ 2.355
27	66	Timmy Hill*	MBM Motorsports	Ford	49.202	182.919	8	+ 2.506
28	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.240	182.778	11	+ 2.544
29	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	49.280	182.630	11	+ 2.584
30	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing Team	Chevrolet	49.285	182.611	9	+ 2.589
31	42	Ty Dillon	Petty GMS Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.329	182.448	8	+ 2.633
32	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	49.403	182.175	13	+ 2.707
33	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	49.410	182.149	17	+ 2.714
34	55	J.J. Yeley*	MBM Motorsports	Ford	49.455	181.984	14	+ 2.759
35	43	Erik Jones	Petty GMS Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.505	181.800	6	+ 2.809
36	31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	49.646	181.283	7	+ 2.950
37	41	Cole Custer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	49.704	181.072	6	+ 3.008
38	77	Landon Cassill*	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.843	180.567	11	+ 3.147
39	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	49.848	180.549	3	+ 3.152
40	27	Jacques Villeneueve	Team Hezeberg	Ford	49.870	180.469	18	+ 3.174
41	50	Kaz Grala*	The Money Team Racing	Chevrolet	50.207	179.258	5	+ 3.511
42	78	B.J. McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Ford	50.671	177.616	1	+ 3.975

Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for Cup points
Underscore – Open car, have to qualify on time or Duel finish

Practice #2 results

Position	Number	Driver	Best Time	Best Speed (mph)	Laps	Margin
1	12	Ryan Blaney	46.732	192.588	24	Leader
2	22	Joey Logano	46.842	192.135	25	+ 0.110
3	41	Cole Custer	47.095	191.103	17	+ 0.363
4	51	Cody Ware	47.096	191.099	12	+ 0.364
5	17	Chris Buescher	47.099	191.087	16	+ 0.367
6	21	Harrison Burton	47.114	191.026	17	+ 0.382
7	14	Chase Briscoe	47.134	190.945	20	+ 0.402
8	2	Austin Cindric	47.135	190.941	18	+ 0.403
9	6	Brad Keselowski	47.146	190.896	13	+ 0.414
10	10	Aric Almirola	47.266	190.412	21	+ 0.534
11	99	Daniel Suárez	48.025	187.402	18	+ 1.293
12	4	Kevin Harvick	48.042	187.336	24	+ 1.310
13	77	Landon Cassill*	48.280	186.413	13	+ 1.548
14	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	48.358	186.112	10	+ 1.626
15	8	Tyler Reddick	48.401	185.947	22	+ 1.669
16	31	Justin Haley	48.621	185.105	14	+ 1.889
17	7	Corey LaJoie	48.626	185.086	5	+ 1.894
18	9	Chase Elliott	48.738	184.661	10	+ 2.006
19	5	Kyle Larson	48.976	183.763	5	+ 2.244
20	48	Alex Bowman	49.020	183.599	6	+ 2.288
21	16	Daniel Hemric*	49.190	182.964	6	+ 2.458
22	50	Kaz Grala*	49.270	182.667	11	+ 2.538
23	20	Christopher Bell	49.302	182.548	8	+ 2.570
24	19	Martin Truex Jr.	49.308	182.526	9	+ 2.576
25	1	Ross Chastain	49.453	181.991	2	+ 2.721
26	24	William Byron	49.468	181.936	8	+ 2.736
27	11	Denny Hamlin	49.482	181.884	9	+ 2.750
28	34	Michael McDowell	49.505	181.800	5	+ 2.773
29	45	Kurt Busch	49.518	181.752	7	+ 2.786
30	18	Kyle Busch	49.556	181.613	8	+ 2.824
31	23	Bubba Wallace	49.557	181.609	5	+ 2.825
32	62	Noah Gragson*	49.564	181.583	13	+ 2.832
33	3	Austin Dillon	49.628	181.349	12	+ 2.896
34	43	Erik Jones	49.713	181.039	2	+ 2.981
35	42	Ty Dillon	49.858	180.513	3	+ 3.126
36	44	Greg Biffle*	50.017	179.939	5	+ 3.285
37	38	Todd Gilliland	50.110	179.605	4	+ 3.378
38	15	David Ragan	50.167	179.401	4	+ 3.435
39	78	B.J. McLeod	50.342	178.777	4	+ 3.610
40	66	Timmy Hill*	50.512	178.175	7	+ 3.780
41	27	Jacques Villeneueve	50.550	178.042	9	+ 3.818
42	55	J.J. Yeley*	51.214	175.733	8	+ 4.482