After a long off-season, the NASCAR Xfinity Series had its first bit of on-track activity on Friday afternoon, with a 50-minute practice session from Daytona International Speedway.
Up at the top of the speed chart for the opening session were Taylor Gray and William Sawalich, a pair of rookies from Joe Gibbs Racing. Both drivers were part of a multi-car draft that developed in the middle of the session.
Gray, piloting the No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra, ended up posting the quickest lap of the session, posting a 48.386-second lap (equivalent to 186.004mph), with William Sawalich only 0.002 seconds behind in the No. 18 SoundGear Toyota.
RESULTS: NASCAR Xfinity Practice from Daytona
Sammy Smith, piloting the newly-styled No. 8 TMC Transportation Chevrolet, was third quickest in Friday’s practice session for JR Motorsports. Sheldon Creed, driving the No. 00 for the newly-branded Haas Factory Team, was fourth in the session.
Another NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie, Carson Kvapil, rounded out the top five in the session, piloting the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops / Clarience Chevrolet.
Justin Bonsignore, competing in the first of nine scheduled NASCAR Xfinity Series events for Joe Gibbs Racing this season, was sixth in the practice, with another pair of Toyota GAZOO Racing teammates Dean Thompson (Sam Hunt Racing) and Brandon Jones (Joe Gibbs Racing) in seventh and eighth.
Matt DiBenedetto and Jordan Anderson rounded out the top-10. Anderson, piloting a third entry for Jordan Anderson Racing, was involved in a three-car draft between himself and his teammates Blaine Perkins and Jeb Burton — who ranked just outside of the top-10.
Up next for the NASCAR Xfinity Series is qualifying, which will take place on Saturday, February 15. Of the 41 teams entered in the event, only 38 will make the show, with the other three being sent back to North Carolina early.
