Hamlin Quickest in Daytona 500 Practice

(DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEB 12, 2025 – RIS) Denny Hamlin used drafting partners to set the quickest time in NASCAR’s first superspeedway practice session in a few years.

Brad Keselowski was the first beneficiary of practice, as his No. 6 Ford started smoking immediately from the right front corner, due to what Keselowski said was a steering issue. In the last few years, this problem would not have been discovered until qualifying because NASCAR had not run practice sessions on superspeedways in several years. Ryan Preece and AJ Allmendinger both had similar smoking issues, and Erik Jones reportedly had clutch engagement issues leaving the garage and never turned a lap in practice.

At the end of the 45-minute session, Denny Hamlin had set the fastest time, using a draft to circle Daytona in 48.005 seconds at 187.480 mph. Bubba Wallace clocked the second-quickest time, another 0.145 second back, with Ty Gibbs third, another 0.141 second behind Wallace.

Chandler Smith’s Ford was the first non-Toyota, at 48.341 seconds and 186.177 mph, followed by John Hunter Nemechek Toyota.

Daniel Suarez ran seventh in the top Chevy with a lap at 48.753 seconds and 185.642 mph.

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves set the twelfth time on the charts, with his lap of 49.057 seconds at 183.460 mph. 

Ryan Preece never turned a lap in the practice session due to clutch problems that kept the No. 60 Ford in the garage.

Only seven cars ran ten laps in a row, with Ty Gibbs topping that chart, followed by Hamlin, Smith and Ross Chastain. Gibbs’ average speed for the ten-lap run was 184.379 mph.

Practice: DAYTONA 500, Daytona International Speedway
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota, 48.005 sec, 187.480 mph, 15, 19, ---, ---
2) Bubba Wallace, No. 23 McDonald's Toyota, 48.150, 186.916, 6, 13, -0.145 sec, -0.145 sec
3) Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 48.291, 186.370, 18, 24, -0.286, -0.141
4) Chandler Smith(i)*, No. 66 Quick Tie Ford, 48.341, 186.177, 10, 13, -0.336, -0.050
5) John H. Nemechek, No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota, 48.361, 186.100, 14, 14, -0.356, -0.020
6) Riley Herbst #, No. 35 Monster Energy/Zero Sugar Toyota, 48.362, 186.097, 12, 15, -0.357, -0.001
7) Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, 48.743, 184.642, 14, 15, -0.738, -0.381
8) Noah Gragson, No. 4 Rush Truck Centers Ford, 48.835, 184.294, 1, 1, -0.830, -0.092
9) Erik Jones, No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota, 48.863, 184.188, 1, 1, -0.858, -0.028
10) Kyle Busch, No. 8 zone Chevrolet, 48.991, 183.707, 9, 10, -0.986, -0.128
11) Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Chevrolet, 49.029, 183.565, 5, 16, -1.024, -0.038
12) Helio Castroneves*, No. 91 Wendy's Chevrolet, 49.057, 183.460, 9, 13, -1.052, -0.028
13) Ryan Preece, No. 60 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, 49.064, 183.434, 4, 4, -1.059, -0.007
14) Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 49.124, 183.210, 4, 9, -1.119, -0.060
15) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Kroger/Cottonelle Ford, 49.125, 183.206, 6, 7, -1.120, -0.001
16) Christopher Bell, No. 20 DEWALT/Interstate Batteries Toyota, 49.139, 183.154, 8, 18, -1.134, -0.014
17) Shane Van Gisbergen #, No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, 49.162, 183.068, 10, 12, -1.157, -0.023
18) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet, 49.177, 183.012, 7, 7, -1.172, -0.015
19) Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, 49.215, 182.871, 19, 19, -1.210, -0.038
20) Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 49.222, 182.845, 3, 3, -1.217, -0.007
21) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 49.235, 182.797, 6, 7, -1.230, -0.013
22) William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 49.246, 182.756, 4, 5, -1.241, -0.011
23) Zane Smith, No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford, 49.251, 182.737, 3, 7, -1.246, -0.005
24) Josh Berry, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 49.254, 182.726, 7, 7, -1.249, -0.003
25) Austin Cindric, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 49.283, 182.619, 10, 10, -1.278, -0.029
26) Ty Dillon, No. 10 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet, 49.295, 182.574, 4, 4, -1.290, -0.012
27) AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet, 49.307, 182.530, 6, 6, -1.302, -0.012
28) Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 49.308, 182.526, 1, 16, -1.303, -0.001
29) Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 49.334, 182.430, 4, 4, -1.329, -0.026
30) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 49.339, 182.411, 9, 10, -1.334, -0.005
31) Martin Truex Jr.*, No. 56 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota, 49.394, 182.208, 1, 1, -1.389, -0.055
32) Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Carvana Toyota, 49.443, 182.028, 15, 18, -1.438, -0.049
33) Cody Ware, No. 51 Parts Plus/Jacob Construction Ford, 49.458, 181.973, 3, 4, -1.453, -0.015
34) Anthony Alfredo(i)*, No. 62 Fortify Building Solutions Chevrolet, 49.513, 181.770, 12, 12, -1.508, -0.055
35) Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 49.522, 181.737, 3, 4, -1.517, -0.009
36) Justin Allgaier(i)*, No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet, 49.530, 181.708, 3, 3, -1.525, -0.008
37) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 SUNNYD Chevrolet, 49.536, 181.686, 4, 10, -1.531, -0.006
38) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Peak Ford, 49.547, 181.646, 4, 6, -1.542, -0.011
39) Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 49.573, 181.550, 1, 1, -1.568, -0.026
40) Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Nasty Beast Toyota, 49.604, 181.437, 3, 3, -1.599, -0.031
41) Corey LaJoie*, No. 01 Take 5 Oil Change/DuraMax Ford, 49.622, 181.371, 2, 4, -1.617, -0.018
42) BJ McLeod*, No. 78 HitchGo Chevrolet, 50.035, 179.874, 15, 15, -2.030, -0.413
43) JJ Yeley*, No. 44 Green River Whiskey Chevrolet, 50.092, 179.669, 5, 7, -2.087, -0.057
* Required to qualify on time, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average
Pos, Driver, Car, From Lap, To Lap, Avg Speed
1) Ty Gibbs, 54, 15, 24, 184.379
2) Denny Hamlin, 11, 10, 19, 183.406
3) Chandler Smith*(i), 66, 4, 13, 183.243
4) Ross Chastain, 1, 1, 10, 181.751
5) Christopher Bell, 20, 1, 10, 181.333
6) Carson Hocevar, 77, 6, 15, 181.289
7) Jimmie Johnson*, 84, 1, 10, 180.629
Must run 10 consecutive laps on the track