Race Weekend Central

Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin Lead Clash Practice Sessions

Coming off a season in which they swept the two races at Daytona International Speedway, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin topped the two practice sessions in preparation for Saturday night’s Advance Auto Parts Clash for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Practice One:

Eleven of the 17 entered drivers took time in the opening session, led by Keselowski at 191.604 mph. An hour prior to the session, crew chief Paul Wolfe drew the No. 1 position, awarding the No. 2 team the pole for Saturday night’s race.

Kyle Larson was second on the board (191.436 mph), followed by three Ford drivers Joey Logano (191.351 mph), Kevin Harvick (190.743 mph) and Danica Patrick (190.367 mph) rounding out the top five.

Keselowski turned 23 circuits, the most of the 11 drivers.

Click here to view the results from opening practice.

Practice Two: 

Reigning Daytona 500 champion Hamlin led a parade of Joe Gibbs Racing drivers at the top of the board in final practice at 196.528 mph.

The No. 11 car was followed by Cup Series rookie Daniel Suarez (196.279 mph), Kyle Busch (196.249 mph) and Matt Kenseth (196.224 mph). Logano was the only non-JGR driver in the top five at 195.584 mph.

During the practice, the four Toyota drivers paired up to run 23 laps, with the exception of Hamlin, who ran 22. It was a similar formation from last year’s 500, when the four JGR cars and Martin Truex Jr. from Furniture Row Racing ran single-file throughout much of the 500 miles.

Sixteen of the 17 drivers turned a lap in final practice, with Jamie McMurray the lone driver not to complete a lap.

The green flag is set to wave shortly after 8 p.m. ET Saturday evening.

About the author

Dustin joined the Frontstretch team at the beginning of the 2016 season. 2020 marks his sixth full-time season covering the sport that he grew up loving. His dream was to one day be a NASCAR journalist, thus why he attended Ithaca College (Class of 2018) to earn a journalism degree. Since the ripe age of four, he knew he wanted to be a storyteller.

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