Elliott leads Daytona 500 practice
Former Sprint Cup Series champion Bill Elliott emerged fastest in the final practice sessions before qualifying for the Daytona 500
The 53-year-old set a best lap of 47.885 seconds at an average speed of 187.950 miles per hour, and topped both today's practice sessions, running more than a tenth of a second quicker than his closest rival.
"Right now, we just need to beat the 'go-or-go-homers', that's where we need to concentrate and let the rest of it fall where it may," said Elliott, who doesn't have a guaranteed starting spot for the season-opener. "We've got to not make any mistakes and see what tomorrow brings."
A total of 57 drivers were on track doing qualifying simulations ahead of Sunday's session, which will determine the front row for the first points-paying race of the season in a week's time.
Second fastest behind Elliott was Earnhardt Ganassi's Martin Truex Jr, who was the only other driver breaking into the 47-second bracket and also quickest among the Chevrolets.
Bobby Labonte was second fastest in the second practice session of the day and third overall, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr, who set identical best lap times in both practice sessions.
Also consistently quick was Kyle Busch, the fastest Toyota driver. His teammate Denny Hamlin was among the top ten in both sessions, while rookie Joey Logano wasn't far behind in the order.
Defending champion Jimmie Johnson was also on the cusp of the top ten, as were both Stewart Haas cars. Last year's Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman was actually sixth fastest overall during the day, with his teammate Tony Stewart running around a tenth of a second slower and second fastest among the drivers outside the top 35 in the owners' standings.
Scott Riggs was third fastest among the non-guaranteed drivers, while AJ Allmendinger was fourth in that ranking and second fastest among the Dodges, which were led by his teammate Elliott Sadler.
74-year-old James Hylton was at the bottom of the timesheets in both practice sessions. He is attempting to set a new record for the oldest driver to qualify for the Daytona 500.
Practice one times: Pos Driver Car Speed Time 1. Bill Elliott Ford 187.645 47.963 2. Bobby Labonte Ford 187.414 48.022 + 0.059 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 187.348 48.039 + 0.076 4. Martin Truex Jr Chevrolet 187.477 48.066 + 0.103 5. Kyle Busch Toyota 187.211 48.074 + 0.111 6. Joey Logano Toyota 187.056 48.114 + 0.151 7. Denny Hamlin Toyota 187.040 48.118 + 0.155 8. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 186.846 48.168 + 0.205 9. Ryan Newman Chevrolet 186.827 48.173 + 0.210 10. Paul Menard Ford 186.784 48.184 + 0.221 11. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 186.753 48.192 + 0.229 12. Mark Martin Chevrolet 186.745 48.194 + 0.231 13. Aric Almirola Chevrolet 186.726 48.199 + 0.236 14. David Reutimann Toyota 186.726 48.199 + 0.236 15. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 186.656 48.217 + 0.254 16. Scott Riggs Toyota 186.629 48.224 + 0.261 17. Elliott Sadler Dodge 186.397 48.284 + 0.321 18. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 186.351 48.296 + 0.333 19. Jamie McMurray Ford 186.216 48.331 + 0.368 20. David Ragan Ford 186.174 48.342 + 0.379 21. Marcos Ambrose Toyota 186.162 48.345 + 0.382 22. Brian Vickers Toyota 186.093 48.363 + 0.400 23. Greg Biffle Ford 186.073 48.368 + 0.405 24. Juan Montoya Chevrolet 186.070 48.369 + 0.406 25. Joe Nemechek Toyota 186.062 48.371 + 0.408 26. Matt Kenseth Ford 186.047 48.375 + 0.412 27. Travis Kvapil Ford 185.939 48.403 + 0.440 28. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 185.904 48.412 + 0.449 29. Reed Sorenson Dodge 185.881 48.418 + 0.455 30. AJ Allmendinger Dodge 185.812 48.436 + 0.473 31. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 185.770 48.447 + 0.484 32. Scott Speed Toyota 185.701 48.465 + 0.502 33. John Andretti Chevrolet 185.693 48.467 + 0.504 34. Boris Said Ford 185.594 48.493 + 0.530 35. Casey Mears Chevrolet 185.479 48.523 + 0.560 36. Carl Edwards Ford 185.387 48.547 + 0.584 37. Mike Wallace Chevrolet 185.254 48.582 + 0.619 38. Kasey Kahne Dodge 185.242 48.585 + 0.622 39. Michael Waltrip Toyota 185.071 48.630 + 0.667 40. Jeremy Mayfield Toyota 185.010 48.646 + 0.683 41. Robby Gordon Toyota 185.006 48.647 + 0.684 42. Brad Keselowski Chevrolet 184.923 48.669 + 0.706 43. David Stremme Dodge 184.733 48.719 + 0.756 44. Sam Hornish Jr Dodge 184.396 48.808 + 0.845 45. Kurt Busch Dodge 184.200 48.860 + 0.897 46. Kirk Shelmerdine Toyota 183.929 48.932 + 0.969 47. Mike Garvey Dodge 183.524 49.040 + 1.077 48. Terry Labonte Toyota 182.522 49.309 + 1.346 49. Tony Raines Dodge 182.404 49.341 + 1.378 50. Regan Smith Chevrolet 182.382 49.347 + 1.384 51. Derrike Cope Dodge 182.219 49.391 + 1.428 52. Mike Skinner Chevrolet 181.294 49.643 + 1.680 53. Geoff Bodine Toyota 179.799 50.056 + 2.093 54. Carl Long Dodge 179.440 50.156 + 2.193 55. Kelly Bires Dodge 171.194 52.572 + 4.609 56. Norm Benning Chevrolet 169.718 53.029 + 5.066 57. James Hylton Dodge
Practice two times: Pos Driver Car Speed Time 1. Bill Elliott Ford 187.950 47.885 2. Martin Truex Jr Chevrolet 187.504 47.999 + 0.114 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 187.348 48.039 + 0.154 4. Kyle Busch Toyota 187.332 48.043 + 0.158 5. Ryan Newman Chevrolet 187.285 48.055 + 0.170 6. Mark Martin Chevrolet 187.215 48.073 + 0.188 7. Bobby Labonte Ford 187.184 48.081 + 0.196 8. David Reutimann Toyota 186.881 48.159 + 0.274 9. Aric Almirola Chevrolet 186.881 48.159 + 0.274 10. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 186.823 48.174 + 0.289 11. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 186.823 48.174 + 0.289 12. Denny Hamlin Toyota 186.776 48.186 + 0.301 13. Joey Logano Toyota 186.714 48.202 + 0.317 14. Paul Menard Ford 186.494 48.259 + 0.374 15. John Andretti Chevrolet 186.393 48.285 + 0.400 16. Jamie McMurray Ford 186.386 48.287 + 0.402 17. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 186.258 48.320 + 0.435 18. Elliott Sadler Dodge 186.197 48.336 + 0.451 19. Scott Riggs Toyota 186.193 48.337 + 0.452 20. Greg Biffle Ford 186.162 48.345 + 0.460 21. AJ Allmendinger Dodge 186.143 48.350 + 0.465 22. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 186.124 48.355 + 0.470 23. Travis Kvapil Ford 186.043 48.376 + 0.491 24. Reed Sorenson Dodge 186.043 48.376 + 0.491 25. Brian Vickers Toyota 186.031 48.379 + 0.494 26. Marcos Ambrose Toyota 185.966 48.396 + 0.511 27. Matt Kenseth Ford 185.874 48.420 + 0.535 28. David Ragan Ford 185.785 48.443 + 0.558 29. Boris Said Ford 185.781 48.444 + 0.559 30. Joe Nemechek Toyota 185.762 48.449 + 0.564 31. Scott Speed Toyota 185.720 48.460 + 0.575 32. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 185.521 48.512 + 0.627 33. Jeremy Mayfield Toyota 185.471 48.525 + 0.640 34. Carl Edwards Ford 185.380 48.549 + 0.664 35. Brad Keselowski Chevrolet 185.330 48.562 + 0.677 36. Michael Waltrip Toyota 185.307 48.568 + 0.683 37. Casey Mears Chevrolet 185.273 48.577 + 0.692 38. Robby Gordon Toyota 185.250 48.583 + 0.698 39. Kasey Kahne Dodge 185.139 48.612 + 0.727 40. David Stremme Dodge 184.790 48.704 + 0.819 41. Sam Hornish Jr Dodge 184.729 48.720 + 0.835 42. Mike Wallace Chevrolet 184.665 48.737 + 0.852 43. Juan Montoya Chevrolet 184.528 48.773 + 0.888 44. Kirk Shelmerdine Toyota 184.328 48.826 + 0.941 45. Mike Garvey Dodge 184.064 48.896 + 1.011 46. Kurt Busch Dodge 184.034 48.904 + 1.019 47. Tony Raines Dodge 183.255 49.112 + 1.227 48. Regan Smith Chevrolet 182.463 49.325 + 1.440 49. Terry Labonte Toyota 182.264 49.379 + 1.494 50. Mike Skinner Chevrolet 182.142 49.412 + 1.527 51. Derrike Cope Dodge 181.807 49.503 + 1.618 52. Geoff Bodine Toyota 180.654 49.819 + 1.934 53. Kelly Bires Dodge 180.205 49.943 + 2.058 54. Carl Long Dodge 179.835 50.046 + 2.161 55. Norm Benning Chevrolet 176.665 50.944 + 3.059 56. James Hylton Dodge 57. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top Comments
Montoya's memories of a lost rival and rising star
Montoya: Vettel F1 2019 issues more likely technical than mentality
Leclerc reminds ex-Ferrari president di Montezemolo of young Lauda
NASCAR Cup Texas: Late clash helps Elliott end 42-race winless streak
NASCAR Cup Martinsville: Byron leads emotional Hendrick 1-2-3
NASCAR Cup Daytona: Buescher wins, Wallace takes final playoff spot
What we learned from Friday practice at the 2024 Azerbaijan GP
Perez buoyed by Red Bull that feels "more together"
Russell: Azerbaijan Friday 'not Mercedes' finest' after engine problems
IndyCar Finale Music City Grand Prix: Start time, how to watch and more
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
