Michael Waltrip paces opening Nationwide practice at Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Michael Waltrip Racing owner/driver Michael Waltrip paced the opening NASCAR Nationwide Series practice Thursday at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for Friday night’s Subway Jalapeno 250.
Waltrip, driving the No. 99 Toyota, turned a lap of 185.491 mph to lead the 45 drivers that participated in the session. Rusty Wallace Racing’s Brendan Gaughan was second at 184.923 mph in the No. 62 Chevrolet, with Kevin Harvick Inc.’s Kevin Harvick third at 184.559 mph in the No. 33 Chevrolet.
Jeff Green was fourth for Day Enterprises Racing, with Clint Bowyer fifth for Richard Childress Racing. Sixth through 10th were Dale Earnhardt Jr. (JR Motorsports), Brad Keselowski (JRM), Michael Annett (Germain Racing), David Ragan (Roush Fenway Racing) and Matt Kenseth (Roush Fenway).
The series has its final practice slated for 5:30 p.m. EDT today, with qualifying scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Friday. The 100-lap race is slated to begin shortly after 8 p.m. Friday night.
