RELATED: Live weather updates from Daytona
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series had a very abbreviated time on track due to rain hitting Daytona International Speedway on Thursday. As a result, there will be a Sprint Cup practice session on Friday from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. ET, which will be televised on NBCSN.
Sprint Cup Series cars got on track for about five minutes on Thursday — after lightning delayed the scheduled 55-minute session by five minutes to a 3:05 p.m. ET. Less than five minutes later, rain began to fall, drenching the 2.5-mile track and ultimately washing out the final Sprint Cup Series practice that was scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.
Only eight drivers clocked speeds in the extremely limited practice time — that ultimately did not count as a practice — in preparation for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola (7:45 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the best of the bunch that took the track in the Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford, recording one timed lap at 191.014 mph.
Wet weather impacted much of Thursday’s schedule with the NASCAR XFINITY Series getting a practice session in that came to a halt a bit early. The series’ second practice of the day was canceled due to the weather.
Both the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series will take to the track on Friday for their Coors Light Pole Qualifying sessions that will be two rounds of single-car qualifying. The XFINITY Series will take the track at 2:10 p.m. ET (NBCSN), followed by the Sprint Cup Series at 4:10 p.m. ET (NBCSN). The evening will be capped off by the XFINITY Series’ 15th race of the year, the Subway Firecracker 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at 7:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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