Blogs

Brian Polking

Final Practice: Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola

July 3, 2009 6:30pm CDT

Practice sessions at the superspeedways are mainly about finding a few potential drafting partners, and more importantly, staying out of trouble. While the "Big One" didn't strike in practice, both Greg Biffle and Sam Hornish Jr. will be going to backup cars after getting tangled up in Turn 2 late in Happy Hour. The two-car incident was the only problem during the two Thursday sessions.

With all practice sessions being held prior to qualifying, it is tough to gauge which drivers have a shot at the pole. Even the slightest bit of drafting help can significantly improve a driver's time. With cars coming on and off the track and some running in packs during the sessions, the practice data doesn't have a lot of value for fantasy owners. After all, once the race starts, everyone in the field has a decent chance at getting to victory lane.

Daytona is an unpredictable race to begin with, and it should come as no surprise that the practice data is equally useless at determining a winner. A fast car can be reduced to a junk pile in a matter of seconds, and a seemingly slow car can get to the front when it matters with the right drafting help. Fantasy owners can analyze this data until their eyes hurt, but I wouldn't base any of my picks on these practice times.

Final Practice Speeds (sorted by average speed)
Rank indicates fastest individual lap rank

Rank Car Driver Sponsor Top Speed Best Time Avg. Speed Laps
40 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 185.322 48.564 187.368 5
16 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevy 188.846 47.658 186.776 15
5 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevy 191.591 46.975 186.627 24
20 7 Robby Gordon MAPEI / Menards Toyota 188.549 47.733 186.612 13
10 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge 189.306 47.542 186.471 19
3 29 Kevin Harvick Pennzoil Platinum Chevy 192.029 46.868 186.384 26
7 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 190.682 47.199 186.273 32
9 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevy 189.314 47.54 186.152 27
12 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe\'s / Kobalt Tools Chevy 189.243 47.558 186.043 30
27 96 Bobby Labonte Academy Sports & Outdoors Ford 188.064 47.856 186.007 17
14 26 Jamie McMurray IRWIN Marathon Ford 189.008 47.617 185.977 19
6 17 Matt Kenseth R & L Carriers Ford 190.872 47.152 185.882 20
17 5 Mark Martin CARQUEST / Kellogg\'s Chevy 188.715 47.691 185.688 26
11 43 Reed Sorenson Air Force Dodge 189.302 47.543 185.654 34
1 0 David Reutimann Aaron\'s Dream Machine Toyota 192.135 46.842 185.585 32
13 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 189.147 47.582 185.567 29
8 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 189.609 47.466 185.495 27
23 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevy 188.391 47.773 185.364 24
37 14 Tony Stewart Burger King Chevy 187.137 48.093 185.362 21
24 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 188.281 47.801 185.313 24
22 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota 188.47 47.753 185.298 32
21 12 David Stremme Penske Dodge 188.545 47.734 185.283 23
26 47 Marcos Ambrose Kingsford / Clorox / Bush\'s Baked Beans Toyota 188.249 47.809 185.161 17
19 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Dodge 188.573 47.727 185.062 28
31 44 A J Allmendinger PVA.org Dodge 187.445 48.014 185.003 29
18 16 Greg Biffle 3M / Scotch-Brite Ford 188.636 47.711 184.928 26
2 7 Casey Mears Jack Daniel\'s Chevy 192.061 46.86 184.826 24
36 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 187.165 48.086 184.787 26
25 99 Carl Edwards SUBWAY Ford 188.261 47.806 184.734 18
28 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevy 187.954 47.884 184.68 28
32 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 187.438 48.016 184.573 21
35 98 Paul Menard Johns Manville / Menards Ford 187.207 48.075 184.479 20
39 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 185.429 48.536 184.434 6
15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ntnl Grd Srvng America/AMP Energy Chevy 188.889 47.647 184.414 17
33 34 John Andretti Taco Bell Chevy 187.293 48.053 184.292 22
38 71 David Gilliland TRG Motorsports Chevy 186.893 48.156 184.257 10
4 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 191.98 46.88 184.188 13
41 36 Patrick Carpentier Tommy Baldwin Racing Toyota 185.231 48.588 183.889 8
43 37 Tony Raines Grander Mountain Dodge 183.824 48.96 183.066 7
44 66 Dave Blaney PRISM Motorsports Toyota 183.76 48.977 182.58 5
42 13 Max Papis GEICO Toyota 184.155 48.872 182.442 5
45 64 Mike Wallace FRED\'S Hometown Dscnt Stores Toyota 182.994 49.182 181.62 5
30 39 Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Racing Chevy 187.539 47.99 178.311 25
34 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevy 187.215 48.073 177.927 13
29 9 Brad Keselowski Miccosukee Indian Gaming & Resort Chevy 187.563 47.984 177.284 19

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