NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series practice from Daytona International Speedway doesn’t pay anything, but it’s still nice to be at the top of the speed charts when the first on-track session of the year concludes.
Jeb Burton, returning to the driver’s seat of the No. 27 Golden Corral Chevrolet for Jordan Anderson Racing in 2026, inserted himself into a small pack of cars drafting in the closing minutes of Friday’s 50-minute practice session and thus, catapulted himself to the top of the charts.
The Halifax, Virginia-native got around the 2.5-mile superspeedway in 48.735 seconds, which equates to an average speed of 184.672mph. Burton led the session over Dean Thompson of Sam Hunt Racing, who was second quickest, and Corey Day of Hendrick Motorsports, who ranked third.
It’s a lap that Burton described as a PR lap when interviewed by The CW.
Sammy Smith hit the racetrack in the early seconds of practice and laid down what would end up being the fourth-fastest time of the session in his No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.
Gio Ruggiero, a regular in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series set to make his series debut Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, rounded out the top-five in the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, the only Toyota to rank inside the top-10.
Jordan Anderson Racing placed a pair of entries, driven by Jordan Anderson and Blaine Perkins, sixth and seventh in the practice, while Carson Hocevar, making a rare NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series appearance, was eighth, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet for Young’s Motorsports. Jeremy Clements and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top-10.
RELATED: NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice Results from Daytona
The session, which ended up starting late due to NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying pushing past its predicted time window, only featured a single stoppage, which came very early in the course of the on-track time for debris. There were no on-track incidents to report.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will park its vehicles for the evening until Saturday, February 14, when qualifying will take place at 10:00 AM ET. With 42 drivers entered, the field will be set at 38, and four drivers will be sent packing to start the season.
Coverage of time trials will be on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
