Donohue, Edwards Lead Thursday Rolex Series Practice at Barber

The No 99 Gainsco Corvette was third quick

Bowties were in style on Thursday at Barber Motorsports Park as Chevrolet drivers David Donohue and Paul Edwards led their respective classes in practice for Saturday's Porsche 250.

David Donohue turned in a best lap at 100.825 mph (1:22.122) in the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP to head the Daytona Prototype field, while Paul Edwards posted a best lap at 91.010 mph (1:30.979) to lead GT in the No. 88 Autohaus Motorsports Camaro GT.R.

"We deliberately tried to go quick," Donohue said. "It's not like I can say, ‘It's just a practice.' We were trying and that's what I had at the moment. Maybe we'll get some more later, who knows? I don't think everybody else is showing everything they got."

Donohue's lap was 0.528 seconds quicker than 2012 Rolex 24 At Daytona winner Ozz Negri, who logged a best lap at 100.181 mph (1:22.650) in the No. 60 LiveOn/Curb Records Ford/Riley. Alex Gurney filled out the Daytona Prototype top three at 99.967 mph (1:22.827 mph) in the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Corvette DP.

Behind Edwards, Robin Liddell gave Chevrolet a 1-2 sweep in GT with a best lap of 90.776 mph (1:31.213) in the No. 57 Stevenson Auto Group Camaro GT.R. Bill Auberlen was third in GT in the No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 at 90.646 mph (1:31.344 mph).

The lone stoppage came midway through the two-hour session when John Potter rolled to a stop with heavy smoke trailing from the rear of his No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3. The team reported engine problems as the culprit.

Qualifying is set for Friday morning at 11:40 (ET), with the Porsche 250 starting Saturday at 1:15 ET. SPEED will provide same-day coverage at 4 p.m. (ET); MRN will broadcast the race live.