DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman were in the top five of NASCAR Cup Series opening practice at Daytona International Speedway.
Elliott piloted the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to second on the speed chart with a fast lap of 194.196 mph. Bowman came home fourth for the session in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with a lap of 194.133 mph.
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Kyle Larson was 13th in practice in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, while William Byron finished 15th in the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Running in the draft was the primary agenda for most teams in the 50-minute session. Larson led a line of Chevrolets early in practice. Elliott and Bowman shot up the board late as they were in the draft with a pack of other fellow bowties. Both Elliott and Bowman ran the most laps in practice with 38.
All four drivers did not participate in Saturday's practice. Only 17 of the 40 cars entered in the race took part in the final session.
Earlier in the week, Hendrick Motorsports earned the pole position for the DAYTONA 500 for the eighth time in nine years. Bowman took the spot for his third pole in six years at the 2.5-mile track and his record sixth straight front row starting spot in the event. Larson will line up next to Bowman to give the 14-time Cup Series champions their ninth front row sweep for this race. Elliott will start eighth, while Byron will take the grid from 21st.
PHOTOS: See scenes from Hendrick Motorsports front row sweep in qualifying
Hendrick Motorsports has eight wins in the DAYTONA 500, which is the second-most among teams all time. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the most recent winner in the event for the organization in 2014. Jeff Gordon’s three victories are the most by any one driver for the team followed by Jimmie Johnson’s two. Darrell Waltrip and Geoff Bodine also won this race for Rick Hendrick.
Catch the 65th running of "The Great American Race" on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
