DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. and CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images North America photo —
It doesn’t pay to be fast in practice, but it sure does give you a whole lot of confidence. Just ask Alex Bowman.
Bowman, the 21-year-old Sprint Cup sophomore driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing, toured the high banks of Daytona International Speedway at a clip of 200.495 mph during the fourth practice session for the Daytona 500 to top all challengers.
Wednesday’s final session was the second practice session for the 57th annual Daytona 500 led by a single car team, after Michael McDowell topped the second round of 500 practice on Saturday.
Powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports was not far behind Bowman, with Kasey Kahne second-quickest in the session at a top speed of 200.459 mph. Kahne, like Bowman, is searching for his first-career triumph in the Great American Race on Sunday.
In all, the top five drivers surpassed the 200 mph barrier — 2011 Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne was third-quickest (200.387 mph) in his No. 6 Advocare Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Childress Racing’s Paul Menard clocked in fourth (200.374 mph) and Brian Scott, driving the No. 62 for Premium Motorsports, was fifth overall (200.285 mph).
Daytona 500 polesitter Jeff Gordon slotted in 11th-fastest with a speed of 198.181 mph, while defending Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick was just behind Gordon in 12th (196.113 mph) for Stewart-Haas Racing.
After a crash in Wednesday’s first practice, Danica Prick returned to the race track in a backup car. She was 19th-fastest in the session.
The Sprint Cup Series holds their pre-Budweiser Duel practice session (the fifth session in advance of the Daytona 500) on Thursday, Feb. 19, with cars hitting the track at 12 p.m. Eastern. Live coverage of that session will air on FOX Sports 1.
RESULTS: Daytona 500 Practice; Daytona International Speedway; February 18, 2015
- Alex Bowman
- Kasey Kahne
- Trevor Bayne
- Paul Menard
- Brian Scott
- Denny Hamlin
- Kyle Busch
- Ty Dillon
- Justin Marks
- Michael McDowell
- Jeff Gordon
- Kevin Harvick
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jamie McMurray
- Joey Logano
- Ryan Blaney
- Jimmie Jonson
- Brad Keselowski
- Danica Patrick
- Ryan Newman
- Greg Biffle
- Casey Mears
- Aric Almirola
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Cole Whitt
- Bobby Labonte
- Josh Wise
- David Ragan
- Matt Kenseth
- Landon Cassill
- Sam Hornish Jr.
