Michael McDowell, last year’s Daytona 500 winner, looks to have a fast Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang for Sunday’s 64th Daytona 500, putting down the fastest time in Friday’s only practice session for the NASCAR Cup Series.
McDowell led rookie teammate Todd Gilliland in the session, as the top-two on the speed charts belonged to the Front Row Motorsports camp.
David Ragan, Chris Buescher, and Brad Keselowski completed the top-five, as the series’ practice was once again dominated by the Fords. Cody Ware, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Aric Almirola, and Noah Gragson rounded out the top-10.
The agenda in the 50-minute practice session was varied, with some teams electing to run in packs, while others chose to stick to single-car runs.
BJ McLeod, Jacques Villeneuve, Greg Biffle, Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, and Harrison Burton all elected not to compete in the session.
Daytona 500 Practice 3 Results:
| Ps | Car | Driver | B. Time | Diff | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34 | Michael McDowell | 46.710 | 12 | |
| 2 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | 46.787 | -0.077 | 16 |
| 3 | 15 | David Ragan | 46.808 | -0.098 | 14 |
| 4 | 17 | Chris Buescher | 46.957 | -0.247 | 11 |
| 5 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | 46.958 | -0.248 | 10 |
| 6 | 51 | Cody Ware | 46.985 | -0.275 | 9 |
| 7 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 47.204 | -0.494 | 10 |
| 8 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | 47.243 | -0.533 | 25 |
| 9 | 10 | Aric Almirola | 47.252 | -0.542 | 33 |
| 10 | 62 | Noah Gragson | 47.261 | -0.551 | 12 |
| 11 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 47.272 | -0.562 | 23 |
| 12 | 41 | Cole Custer | 47.293 | -0.583 | 24 |
| 13 | 42 | Ty Dillon | 47.307 | -0.597 | 13 |
| 14 | 43 | Erik Jones | 47.313 | -0.603 | 14 |
| 15 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47.313 | -0.603 | 14 |
| 16 | 77 | Landon Cassill | 47.314 | -0.604 | 13 |
| 17 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | 47.325 | -0.615 | 12 |
| 18 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | 47.340 | -0.630 | 23 |
| 19 | 3 | Austin Dillon | 47.346 | -0.636 | 21 |
| 20 | 1 | Ross Chastain | 47.362 | -0.652 | 23 |
| 21 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | 47.363 | -0.653 | 16 |
| 22 | 5 | Kyle Larson | 47.552 | -0.842 | 27 |
| 23 | 9 | Chase Elliott | 47.560 | -0.850 | 26 |
| 24 | 48 | Alex Bowman | 47.571 | -0.861 | 26 |
| 25 | 18 | Kyle Busch | 47.620 | -0.910 | 27 |
| 26 | 24 | William Byron Jr. | 47.629 | -0.919 | 26 |
| 27 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | 47.663 | -0.953 | 14 |
| 29 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 47.668 | -0.958 | 16 |
| 28 | 20 | Christopher Bell | 47.668 | -0.958 | 27 |
| 30 | 2 | Austin Cindric | 47.724 | -1.014 | 8 |
| 31 | 50 | Kaz Grala | 48.692 | -1.982 | 7 |
| 32 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | 49.411 | -2.701 | 5 |
| 33 | 22 | Joey Logano | 49.520 | -2.810 | 11 |
| 34 | 45 | Kurt Busch | 49.792 | -3.082 | 9 |
| 35 | 78 | BJ McLeod | NO TIME | NO TIME | 0 |
| 36 | 16 | Daniel Hemric | NO TIME | NO TIME | 0 |
| 37 | 21 | Harrison Burton | NO TIME | NO TIME | 0 |
| 38 | 27 | Jacques Villeneuve | NO TIME | NO TIME | 0 |
| 39 | 31 | Justin Haley | NO TIME | NO TIME | 0 |
| 40 | 44 | Greg Biffle | NO TIME | NO TIME | 0 |
