Another dominant day for Hendrick Motorsports
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DAYTONA 500 PRACTICE 6 | Full results
Jeff Gordon led the way in Friday's opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Daytona International Speedway, an 85-minute session in which 14 cars took the track following Thursday night's Daytona Duels.
In his No. 24 Chevrolet, Gordon's top speed of 193.079 mph was enough to top Michael Waltrip, who finished second at 192.485 mph in his No. 55 Toyota.
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Comprising the rest of the top five, in order, were Martin Truex Jr. (192.345 mph), Brad Keselowski (192.279 mph) and Joey Logano (192.258 mph). Sprint Unlimited winner Matt Kenseth came in seventh at 191.951 mph. Click the link above to get the full results
Several notable drivers stayed off the track in the opening session, including Denny Hamlin and Danica Patrick -- who argued on pit road last night following an on-track incident -- plus Daytona Duel winners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson.
DAYTONA 500 PRACTICE 7 | Full results
It was another sweep of sorts for Hendrick Motorsports. Dale Earnhardt Jr. led Friday's second practice session with a speed of 194.405 mph, following in teammate Jeff Gordon's footsteps after Gordon led the day's opening practice at Daytona International Speedway.
That sweep comes one day after Junior and Jimmie Johnson swept the Daytona Duels, and nearly a week after Gordon and Johnson finished 1-2 in Coors Light Pole Qualifying for Sunday's Daytona 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX).
Kasey Kahne got into the action, too, on Friday and finished second in the day's final Sprint Cup practice with a speed of 193.528 mph. Johnson was behind him in third (193.096 mph), followed Danica Patrick (192.810 mph) and Ryan Blaney (192.781 mph). Gordon was among the drivers to not go out for practice.
It was a nice recovery from Patrick, who completed just three laps before steering her No. 10 Chevrolet to the garage after it began smoking. There was a brief caution period for crews to clean the fluid her car had dropped. She went back on track and improved her best speed.
All told, 25 cars hit the track in the 85-minute afternoon session. Click the link above to get the full results.
Final practice is scheduled for Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET with coverage on FOX Sports 1.