If practice speeds are indicative of what may happen in Sunday’s Daytona 500 qualifying session, Chevrolets are setting up to sweep the front row.
Daytona 500 Qualifying: Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon Lead First Practice Session
Mark Martin (184.877 mph) and Jeff Gordon (184.513) were fastest in the first of two practice sessions Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, leading a contingent of nine Chevys in the top 10.
Only David Ragan’s Ford (eighth) broke up the Chevy dominance, which bodes well for fans of the bowtie. Sunday’s qualifying session will have a good chance of seeing Chevrolet drivers – either powered by Hendrick Motorsports or an Earnhardt-Childress Racing Technologies engine – nab the top two spots.
Paul Menard (now of Richard Childress Racing) was third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Bill Elliott (driving for Phoenix Racing).
Jimmie Johnson, Ragan, Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top 10.
Jamie McMurray blew a tire and crashed in Turn 1 toward the end of practice, which Goodyear officials said was the result of a broken brake rotor (not a tire problem). McMurray will need a backup car.
Teams still have a 105-minute practice session later this afternoon to work on their qualifying setups.
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