The first “Big One” for the sixth-generation NASCAR Sprint Cup Series model sidelined 10 cars in Friday afternoon’s second session of Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway.
The multi-car wreck, which occurred almost an hour into the four-hour afternoon session, was triggered by contact between Marcos Ambrose and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the front of the pack. By the time the smoke and dirt cleared on the backstretch, 10 cars were headed to the garage.
The cars of Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Regan Smith, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola were the others involved.
The wreck temporarily halted the first major drafting sessions of the 2013 season on the 2.5-mile track. Biffle was one of several drivers to find the new car a handful in traffic, saving his car from a near spin at the exit of turn four earlier in the session.
In the morning session, Jeff Burton surged to the top of the Day 2 testing leaderboard in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet SS, clocking a lap of 194.805 mph. He was followed closely on the speed list by Childress teammates Kevin Harvick (193.557) and Paul Menard, who ranked fourth-fastest at 192.963.
Defending Daytona 500 champion Matt Kenseth, who topped Thursday’s opening session, was third-fastest early Friday at 193.121 mph in the fastest Toyota. Biffle ranked fifth overall on the speed chart with the fastest Ford at 192.719.
The first session was interrupted by two caution flags, including the first crash of the sixth-generation car. Dave Blaney smacked the outside wall on the exit of turn 2, damaging the right side of the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevy. Blaney was uninjured, but the incident brought an end to testing for the single-car team. The other caution flew for debris.
The three-day test concludes Saturday with seven more hours of on-track activity scheduled.
Written By: NASCAR
NASCAR Preseason Thunder — Practice 3 Results Friday, Jan. 11 | |||||||||
Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Lap # | # Laps | -Fastest | -Next |
1 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | 46.200 | 194.805 | 8 | 10 | —.— | —.— |
2 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | 46.498 | 193.557 | 8 | 12 | -0.298 | -0.298 |
3 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 46.603 | 193.121 | 12 | 12 | -0.403 | -0.105 |
4 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | 46.641 | 192.963 | 5 | 20 | -0.441 | -0.038 |
5 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing Ford | 46.700 | 192.719 | 2 | 21 | -0.500 | -0.059 |
6 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 46.707 | 192.691 | 11 | 11 | -0.507 | -0.007 |
7 | 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet | 46.735 | 192.575 | 2 | 14 | -0.535 | -0.028 |
8 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports Ford | 46.743 | 192.542 | 15 | 15 | -0.543 | -0.008 |
9 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet | 46.752 | 192.505 | 2 | 18 | -0.552 | -0.009 |
10 | 33 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | 46.772 | 192.423 | 5 | 5 | -0.572 | -0.020 |
11 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports Ford | 46.805 | 192.287 | 17 | 17 | -0.605 | -0.033 |
12 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 46.842 | 192.135 | 12 | 12 | -0.642 | -0.037 |
13 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet | 46.905 | 191.877 | 23 | 23 | -0.705 | -0.063 |
14 | 56 | Martin Truex | Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota | 46.919 | 191.820 | 2 | 23 | -0.719 | -0.014 |
15 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet | 46.926 | 191.791 | 7 | 28 | -0.726 | -0.007 |
16 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 46.930 | 191.775 | 21 | 22 | -0.730 | -0.004 |
17 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Wood Bros Racing Ford | 46.975 | 191.591 | 12 | 15 | -0.775 | -0.045 |
18 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet | 46.980 | 191.571 | 15 | 15 | -0.780 | -0.005 |
19 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 46.994 | 191.514 | 2 | 15 | -0.794 | -0.014 |
20 | 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota | 47.005 | 191.469 | 10 | 10 | -0.805 | -0.011 |
21 | 22 | Joey Logano | Penske Racing Ford | 47.053 | 191.274 | 14 | 18 | -0.853 | -0.048 |
22 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota | 47.058 | 191.253 | 14 | 19 | -0.858 | -0.005 |
23 | 51 | Regan Smith | Phoenix Racing Chevrolet | 47.058 | 191.253 | 13 | 13 | -0.858 | -0.000 |
24 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet | 47.073 | 191.192 | 19 | 19 | -0.873 | -0.015 |
25 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing Ford | 47.086 | 191.140 | 15 | 18 | -0.886 | -0.013 |
26 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing Ford | 47.098 | 191.091 | 12 | 12 | -0.898 | -0.012 |
27 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | 47.124 | 190.985 | 14 | 15 | -0.924 | -0.026 |
28 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing Ford | 47.126 | 190.977 | 3 | 19 | -0.926 | -0.002 |
29 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing Ford | 47.184 | 190.743 | 3 | 18 | -0.984 | -0.058 |
30 | 95 | Scott Speed | Leavine Family Racing Ford | 47.478 | 189.561 | 10 | 10 | -1.278 | -0.294 |
31 | 38 | Josh Wise | Front Row Motorsports Ford | 47.508 | 189.442 | 2 | 13 | -1.308 | -0.030 |
32 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet | 47.713 | 188.628 | 6 | 9 | -1.513 | -0.205 |
33 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Racing Toyota | 47.978 | 187.586 | 2 | 8 | -1.778 | -0.265 |
34 | 83 | Kvapil/Reutimann | BK Racing Toyota | 48.905 | 184.030 | 5 | 5 | -2.705 | -0.927 |
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