Denny Hamlin goes fastest in Daytona 500 test

Hamlin's 195.712mph pace came during a brief session of pack running with his Joe Gibbs Toyota team-mates Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch, plus Michael Waltrip Racing's Mark Martin.

Kenseth had been quickest during single-car runs in the morning, lapping at an average of 192.757mph.

NASCAR's vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said he was pleased with the pace shown by the new car considering teams were still settling in.

"It was a pretty smooth day," he said. "It was more important for the teams to just get time. Today was relatively uneventful.

"I think that we anticipated the speeds to be as good as they were. It's probably a little bit quicker than what we were in the first practice down here last year, and everything looks like it's fine."

Pemberton did not think the Toyotas' pack run gave any hints as to the new car's performance in drafting.

"It's just three cars," he said. "I don't think you can draw any kind of conclusion to anything. It'll be on how multiple cars catch another multiple group of cars and where the speeds go from there."