Daytona practice session leads to backup cars (cont'd)

Hamlin's rear bumper was bent at an acute angle in two places, but the crew expected to be able to make repairs and keep him in the primary for the rest of the week, future incidents withstanding.

"I think with the speeds we're running, the cars are less stable than they have been in years past," Hamlin said. "When cars are getting close to each other, the car up front just doesn't have the grip it used to have. I think they've changed some stuff with the rear shocks and whatnot, and added some rebound. That takes grip away from the rear end and obviously, it makes our cars a little more on the edge.

"Everyone's learning what the limits are."

Logano's car was most severely damaged, parked nearby under a black tarp. However, his No. 20 Toyota crew was able to roll the backup into place and get him back on the track in time to run a total of 18 laps. Bliss' Chevy was also deemed too damaged to continue.

"I saw [Bliss] get loose and when you're on the outside you have nowhere to go," Logano said. "When you see a car get loose like that, you pretty much throttle down and hope you avoid it and I just didn't make it. I just came up before I even saw him.

"It's weird because the run right before that, [Brian Vickers] got loose right in front of me and spun out. I'm right in the middle of the action today. We'll get the next car out. I'm pretty sure my back-up car is my Shootout car -- I'm pretty sure about that. I was happy with the way everything ran -- I felt like we were able to make improvements with that car."

Logano was less upset than disappointed.

"If it was something that was my fault, I would be really mad about it, but there was nothing I could have done about it," he said. "It's disappointing. Am I mad? Yes, I'm mad, but I'm not going crazy over it. These guys put together good race cars and this isn't the only good one that we've got."

In the first practice, Clint Bowyer had a tire go down coming out of Turn 2 and slid up the track in front of David Reutimann. The two cars collided, and Derrike Cope wound up being involved when he hit Reutimann's slowing car.

The craziness began in earnest after the green flag flew for the second. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had his hands full after being bumped from behind by Hamlin just a few laps in, but was able to save the car and continue without incident.

No more than three minutes later, Brian Vickers spun into the grass on the backstretch coming out of Turn 2 but was able to escape with minimal damage. Things finally settled down for a bit, only to go horribly wrong for Bliss, Logano, Johnson and Hamlin shortly thereafter.

Speeds in the draft are relative, but Marcos Ambrose had to be pleased to find his name atop the leaderboard at the end of the session. He was followed by Kyle Busch -- the only unscathed Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota -- Reed Sorenson, Logano and defending race winner Matt Kenseth.

Johnson expected a bout of impatience, but he assumed it wouldn't happen until later in the week.

"With the bigger plate and the fact that the cars suck up easier, it's making us more impatient," Johnson said. " We're all getting these big runs and we're letting off the gas quite often, and you know that if there's an opening, you're going to take advantage of it. But you're stuck two-by-two and nowhere to go. I think there's a good chance you'll see more aggression, and I say that based on the Shootout.

"A daytime Duel race, I don't think you'll see us run in a big pack for long. The handling is going to go away quick. ... When the race ends at night -- green-white-checkered, a shootout with 10 to go at the end, whatever it may be -- it's going to be exciting. I can promise you that. You can stay in a big group. The temperatures will be down. The tires will work. It'll be one heck of a show."

Except nobody expected the show to start off with a bang.