Busch and Byron top Daytona 500 practice sessions

Kyle Busch fastest in practice 1

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Kyle Busch led all drivers in Saturday’s opening Daytona 500 practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway, circling the track at 199.743 mph in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Busch led all four JGR drivers, who all finished in the top five: Denny Hamlin was second-fastest in the No. 11 Toyota at 199.623 mph, Daniel Suarez was third in the No. 19 Toyota at 199.610 and Erik Jones was fourth in the No. 20 Toyota at 199.517 mph.

Austin Dillon was fifth-fastest in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at 197.278 mph.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rookie William Byron led the final practice round before Daytona 500 qualifying Saturday, circling Daytona International Speedway at 201.681 mph in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Byron topped practice 2 in his Hendrick Chevy

Byron earned the top spot despite a couple of close calls with other drivers when the No. 24 drifted up the track in the draft.

“Yeah, that was one of those ‘Oh, shoot!’ moments, but that was a lot of fun," Byron said. “That was the best chance for me to really learn what I needed to do in the draft."

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was second-fastest in practice, logging a speed of 201.649 mph in the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

Joey Logano was third in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford at 201.608 mph, while Denny Hamlin finished fourth in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 201.464 mph.

David Ragan rounded out the top five in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford.

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 – Ended the day fastest on the speed chart for the final practice session for the Daytona 500

WAS THAT AS CLOSE ON THE RACE TRACK AS IT LOOKED?
“Yeah, that was one of those ‘oh shoot’ moments, but that was a lot of fun. That was the best chance for me to really learn what I needed to do in the draft. I’m really glad we got a pack formed up like that and a chance to also see how our Axalta Chevy Camaro ZL1 handles. It handles good, it has a lot of speed, so hopefully we can keep that going and just learn a little bit. Definitely, the lanes are always jostling, especially in practice you don’t really have a clear lane of where you are supposed to be. It was good for me to learn that."

HOW DID YOUR CAMARO ZL1 FEEL TODAY? YOU SEEM TO HAVE NOT ONLY SPEED IN THE PACK, BUT ON SINGLE-CAR RUNS AS WELL:
“It was awesome. The car has a lot of speed. The new Camaro is great. The new ride height rule makes it a little different. The cars drive a little different, but a lot of speed in it so hopefully that means good things for the Daytona 500 and we can just kind of get through the week smooth. Learned a lot in that little draft pack that we had right there. Hopefully, that applies in the (Can-Am) Duels and I can keep that going."

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 – Thoughts after he was the fastest Camaro in the opening practice session for the Daytona 500

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE FASTEST ENOUGH AND HAVE THE SPEED TO GET ON THE FRONT ROW?
“Well, I don’t know. Everybody is doing different things. Everybody has got different tape on the grill and different programs, but I’m proud of our guys. It drives good and it does have some speed it seems like. I got pushed by the No. 1 (Jamie McMurray) and that gave us a good lap, but even by ourselves I felt like we had top 10 speed. It’s all going to change tomorrow, but I’m happy with it. The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has been a dream to drive so far, so we will just keep working on it."

Daytona 500 Pole Practice 1

Daytona 500 Pole Practice 2