Danica, Earnhardt Jr. top Daytona practices

Patrick’s No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet posted a lap of 198.133 mph to lead a Stewart-Haas Racing sweep of the late afternoon session, pacing teammates Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart.

Patrick has two top-10 finishes in six Cup starts on the Daytona high banks, including an eighth-place showing in the 2013 Daytona 500 — the best ever finish for a woman in NASCAR’s premier event.

Patrick’s speed was still slower than Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 202.284 mph effort in the opening practice when teams did more drafting. Her speed came during mostly single car runs and she was upbeat and encouraged about the weekend.

“You’ve got what you got when you show up at a superspeedway,” Patrick said. “I’m glad we got a couple single car runs in. While guys like Tony (Stewart) have no problem going from last to first, I find it challenging so I’d like to have a good qualifying session.”

Hendrick Motorsports drivers, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson were just behind the SHR contingent in the final practice.

“I’ve had the luxury of being with a really good team and Hendrick builds a really fast engine,” Patrick said, humbly explaining her success on NASCAR’s most famous track.

“It sounds cheesy, but really, it’s great team and great engines.”

A win Sunday for Patrick would gain her a provisional entry into the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. After early season gains that kept her in the top-16 in the points standings, she is now ranked 19^th entering the Coke Zero 400.

“I always like going there,” Patrick said of Daytona. “It’s where my first stock-car start was in 2010 and I actually have a lot of experience there.

“At the end of the day, you just need to be in the right place at the right time. A lot of it is out of your control. But I think we’ll be good and hopefully have a car that can compete and win.”

Aside from a handful of moderate-sized packs that formed early in the 55-minute session, teams largely focused on making single-car runs ahead of Saturday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying (4:35 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network). Teams especially shied away from drafting in large groups after an 11-car crash in the early stages of opening practice forced several teams to utilize backup cars.

Dale Jr. avoids large wreck, paces first practice

Dale Earnhardt Jr. rose to the top of the speed charts Friday afternoon in opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, a session interrupted early by an 11-car pileup at Daytona International Speedway.

Earnhardt, a three-time winner at the 2.5-mile track, landed atop the 55-minute practice with a fast lap of 202.284 mph in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet. He was among 14 drivers to clock laps above the 200-mph barrier.

Austin Dillon, a former Daytona 500 pole-starter driving the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet, was second-fastest at 202.066 mph. Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard and Trevor Bayne completed the top five.

Defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick, the current series points leader, was 35th-fastest in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet. Defending race winner Aric Almirola, in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford, was 37th-best of the 44 drivers to turn laps.

Approximately 10 minutes after the track opened for practice, the cars of Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch tangled, sending Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota sliding up the Turn 2 high banks. Other drivers piled in, forcing several teams to unload their backup cars.

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Martin Truex Jr., Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Sam Hornish Jr., Jamie McMurray, Trevor Bayne, Carl Edwards and Michael Annett were the other drivers involved.

Editor’s note: Zack Albert contributed to this report