Elliott fastest in first Cup qualifying practice
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| Bill Elliott in the Word Brothers Ford |
Wood Brothers Racing's Bill Elliott recorded the fastest lap in Saturday's opening NASCAR Sprint Cup practice for the Daytona 500. Elliott, with a lap of 187.645 mph, beat out Hall of Fame Racing's Bobby Labonte at 187.414 and Hendrick Motorsports' Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 187.348 to post the best speed in the two-hour session at Daytona International Speedway.
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Martin Truex Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch were fourth and fifth quickest, respectively, with JGR's Joey Logano, JGR's Denny Hamlin, Hendrick's Jimmie Johnson, Stewart-Haas Racing's Ryan Newman and Yates Racing's Paul Menard completing the top 10.
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| JGR Toyota teammates Joey Logano and Kyle Busch |
There were no accidents during the session, which will be followed by a 90-minute practice scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EST Saturday and Sunday's round of qualifying that will lock in only the front row for the Daytona 500.
The rest of the field will be set according to the results in two Gatorade Dual qualifying races next Thursday and owners points.
Results
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FIN |
CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 21 | Bill Elliott | Ford | Motorcraft | 187.950 | 47.885 | Leader |
| 2 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | 187.504 | 47.999 | -0.114 |
| 3 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Amp Energy / National Guard | 187.348 | 48.039 | -0.154 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M's | 187.332 | 48.043 | -0.158 |
| 5 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 187.285 | 48.055 | -0.170 |
| 6 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | Kellogg's / Carquest | 187.215 | 48.073 | -0.188 |
| 7 | 96 | Bobby Labonte | Ford | Ask.com | 187.184 | 48.081 | -0.196 |
| 8 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine | 186.881 | 48.159 | -0.274 |
| 9 | 8 | Aric Almirola | Chevrolet | Guitar Hero | 186.881 | 48.159 | -0.274 |
| 10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 186.823 | 48.174 | -0.289 |
| 11 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Old Spice | 186.823 | 48.174 | -0.289 |
| 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Express | 186.776 | 48.186 | -0.301 |
| 13 | 20 | Joey Logano* | Toyota | The Home Depot | 186.714 | 48.202 | -0.317 |
| 14 | 98 | Paul Menard | Ford | Quaker State / Menards | 186.494 | 48.259 | -0.374 |
| 15 | 34 | John Andretti | Chevrolet | Window World | 186.393 | 48.285 | -0.400 |
| 16 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | Crown Royal | 186.386 | 48.287 | -0.402 |
| 17 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | 186.258 | 48.320 | -0.435 |
| 18 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Dodge | Stanley | 186.197 | 48.336 | -0.451 |
| 19 | 36 | Scott Riggs | Toyota | Tommy Baldwin Racing | 186.193 | 48.337 | -0.452 |
| 20 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 186.162 | 48.345 | -0.460 |
| 21 | 44 | A.J. Allmendinger | Dodge | Valvoline | 186.143 | 48.350 | -0.465 |
| 22 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 186.124 | 48.355 | -0.470 |
| 23 | 28 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Golden Corral | 186.043 | 48.376 | -0.491 |
| 24 | 43 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | McDonald's | 186.043 | 48.376 | -0.491 |
| 25 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 186.031 | 48.379 | -0.494 |
| 26 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Toyota | Little Debbie / Kingsford / Clorox | 185.966 | 48.396 | -0.511 |
| 27 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Dewalt | 185.874 | 48.420 | -0.535 |
| 28 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS | 185.785 | 48.443 | -0.558 |
| 29 | 08 | Boris Said | Ford | U.S. Chrome | 185.781 | 48.444 | -0.559 |
| 30 | 187 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | NEMCO Motorsports | 185.762 | 48.449 | -0.564 |
| 31 | 82 | Scott Speed* | Toyota | Red Bull | 185.720 | 48.460 | -0.575 |
| 32 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 185.521 | 48.512 | -0.627 |
| 33 | 41 | Jeremy Mayfield | Toyota | All Sport | 185.471 | 48.525 | -0.640 |
| 34 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Aflac | 185.380 | 48.549 | -0.664 |
| 35 | 09 | Brad Keselowski | Chevrolet | Miccosukee Resort & Gaming | 185.330 | 48.562 | -0.677 |
| 36 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | NAPA | 185.307 | 48.568 | -0.683 |
| 37 | 07 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | Jack Daniel's | 185.273 | 48.577 | -0.692 |
| 38 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Toyota | Jim Beam | 185.250 | 48.583 | -0.698 |
| 39 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Budweiser | 185.139 | 48.612 | -0.727 |
| 40 | 12 | David Stremme | Dodge | Penske Racing | 184.790 | 48.704 | -0.819 |
| 41 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | Mobil 1 | 184.729 | 48.720 | -0.835 |
| 42 | 171 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | TRG Motorsports | 184.665 | 48.737 | -0.852 |
| 43 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 184.528 | 48.773 | -0.888 |
| 44 | 127 | Kirk Shelmerdine | Toyota | Kirk Shelmerdine Racing | 184.328 | 48.826 | -0.941 |
| 45 | 73 | Mike Garvey | Dodge | Jani-King | 184.064 | 48.896 | -1.011 |
| 46 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Miller Lite | 184.034 | 48.904 | -1.019 |
| 47 | 37 | Tony Raines | Dodge | Long John Silver's | 183.255 | 49.112 | -1.227 |
| 48 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | 182.463 | 49.325 | -1.440 |
| 49 | 66 | Terry Labonte | Toyota | Window World | 182.264 | 49.379 | -1.494 |
| 50 | 123 | Mike Skinner | Chevrolet | Mahindra Tractors | 182.142 | 49.412 | -1.527 |
| 51 | 175 | Derrike Cope | Dodge | Blu Frog Energy Drink | 181.807 | 49.503 | -1.618 |
| 52 | 64 | Geoff Bodine | Toyota | Gunselman Motorsports | 180.654 | 49.819 | -1.934 |
| 53 | 51 | Kelly Bires | Dodge | BlackJack Racing | 180.205 | 49.943 | -2.058 |
| 54 | 146 | Carl Long | Dodge | Romeo Guest Construction | 179.835 | 50.046 | -2.161 |
| 55 | 157 | Norm Benning | Chevrolet | Benning Racing | 176.665 | 50.944 | -3.059 |
| 56 | 60 | James Hylton | Dodge | Carter / Simo Racing | – | – | – |
| 57 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Shell / Pennzoil | – | – | – |