Affectionately referred to as “Happy Hour,” the final NASCAR Cup Series practice before Sunday’s running of the Daytona 500 was led by Ryan Preece on Saturday.
When the 50-minute session concluded at 3:50 p.m. ET, it was Preece showing the way in his No. 60 RKF Racing Ford. His fast lap of 192.818 mph led all 18 cars that took part. Following him was RFK teammate Chris Buescher in the No. 17 Ford with a speed of 192.785 mph.
Rounding out the five fastest was RFK’s driver/owner Brad Keselowski in the No. 6 Ford, Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford and his teammate Joey Logano in the No. 22 Ford.
Teams included drafting in their on-track time at Daytona International Speedway. Fortunately, there were no incidents to bring out a caution flag for wrecked cars.
As previously announced, the start time of the 68th running of The Great American race has been moved up to 1:30 p.m. because of forecasted weather.
Ryan Preece Tops Leader Board in Final Daytona 500 Practice
Preece is starting 19th in the Daytona 500 and made 27 laps in Happy Hour.
“We’re going to do everything we possibly can, for sure, to make this Ford Mustang faster,” Preece said. “We were really fast on Thursday, so we have notes to work from.
“I know these guys will do everything they can to make sure we’re fast on Sunday.
“We have a little bit of work to do. It’s hot out here now, but the Fords are fast and we’re going to try and be one of them out front tomorrow.”
Buscher Pleased with Back Up Car
His teammate of Buescher was in a back-up car after wrecking his primary ride in Thursday night’s Duel. He was able to practice in the No. 17 Ford on both Friday and Saturday.
“I have a tremendous amount of confidence in this team and they’ve buckled down and hustled to clean this backup and we’re rocking and rolling,” Buescher said afterwards. “It’s nice to take these Ford Mustangs and put them in a line and be able to put some speed up on the board.
“We know what we were able to in the Duels, and I think we’ve got a good handle on it. We’ve got plenty of laps, so I’m ready for the 500 now.”
Joey Logano Wants to Put the Work in to Win
Three-time NCS Champion Joey Logano had a fast lap of 192.472 mph after making the most laps of 32 around the 2.5-mile trioval. While some teams kept their bullets in the garage, Logano wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to help earn a second Harley J. Earl Trophy.
“Why wouldn’t your practice,” he said. “That’s the old way of doing it, so I’m excited about that. I’d hate to get beat by somebody working harder than me.”
No Show for the Front Row
After qualifying ended Wednesday, Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe laid down the fastest laps of all 45 entrants. That locked them into the coveted front row freeing them up from relying on a good finish during Thursday night’s Duels.
Busch, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet of Richard Childress Racing, will lead the 41-car field to green on Sunday. Briscoe will be outside of Busch in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
They both opted not to partake in the practice after doing so in Friday’s lone NCS session.
The pre-race show on FOX-TV has moved up to 11:30 a.m. before the green flag drops at 2:13 p.m. All 200 laps and 500 miles of two, three and four-wide action can be seen on FOX and heard on MRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Ryan Preece Tops Final NASCAR Daytona 500 Practice