Welcome back to the NASCAR Cup Series Jimmie Johnson.
The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion returned to a familiar position in Friday’s opening practice session from Daytona International Speedway, placing his No. 84 Carvana Chevrolet Camaro at the top of the speed charts.
Chase Elliott, a former teammate of Johnson’s at Hendrick Motorsports, put down the second-fastest time in Friday’s practice session, just seven-one-thousandths of a second slower that the No. 84s fast time.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Alex Bowman clocked in third and fourth, with Bluegreen Vacations Duel #2 winner Aric Almirola, completing the top five on the speed charts.
Almirola led a long line of Ford Mustangs on the time sheets, which saw Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Kevin Harvick, Zane Smith, Chirs Buescher, and Harrison Burton take positions six through 12.
Only 37 of the 40 drivers that qualified for the 2023 Daytona 500 took time in Friday’s 50-minute practice session. Justin Haley, AJ Allmendinger, and Riley Herbst didn’t take time in the practice session.
Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman each put down a session-high 38 laps on Friday, while the remainder of the field made between 10 and 20 laps on average.
NASCAR Cup Series Practice Results:
