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Michael McDowell fastest in second day of Daytona practice

ByCharles Rahrig V|
Feb 23, 2014; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; Aerial view of the driver introductions prior to the start of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 23, 2014; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; Aerial view of the driver introductions prior to the start of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 95 Leavine Family Racing car was the fastest on the track Saturday afternoon

With the Daytona 500 just around the corner, drivers are getting their practice runs in ahead of group qualifying Sunday and the race next Sunday. Michael McDowell, in his Ford, was the fastest on the track Saturday afternoon with a time of 199.322 mph, edging out two-time Daytona 500 winner and six-time Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson.

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For the second day in a row, a Ford was on top of practice. McDowell may have only went 13 laps, but the final laps were all he would need to grab the top spot in practice.

Also having a strong day of practice was Hendrick Motorsports, who had three of the top-five fastest drivers and four of the top-six overall with the aforementioned Johnson (2nd), Kasey Kahne (4th), Jeff Gordon (5th) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (6th), rounding out the top six.

Group qualifying tomorrow afternoon will determine the positioning for next Sunday’s race, but for the drivers that are driving Fords or are in one of the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet cars, they have to be feeling good about where they will be lined up when the green flag drops on the first race of the season.

After Sunday’s qualifying, there will be additional practice Wednesday for everyone before the Daytona 500.

Round 2 Practice Results:

1. Michael McDowell, 199.322 mph
2. Jimmie Johnson, 199.313 mph
3. Ty Dillon, 199.300 mph
4. Kasey Kahne, 199.080 mph
5. Jeff Gordon, 199.058 mph
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 199.053 mph
7. Paul Menard, 198.952 mph
8. Martin Truex Jr., 198.597 mph
9. Landon Cassill, 198.351 mph
10. Brad Keselowski, 198.264 mph
11. Alex Bowman, 198.247 mph
12. Joey Logano, 198.203 mph
13. A.J. Allmendinger, 198.199 mph
14. Ryan Blaney, 198.186 mph
15. Ryan Newman, 198.120 mph
16. Denny Hamlin, 197.689 mph
17. Casey Mears, 197.576 mph
18. Brian Scott, 197.550 mph
19. Austin Dillon, 197.533 mph
20. J.J. Yeley, 195.916 mph
21. Sam Hornish Jr., 195.682 mph
22. Jeb Burton, 195.461 mph
23. Justin Marks, 195.092 mph
24. Mike Wallace, 195.067 mph
25. Tony Stewart, 194.771 mph
26. David Ragan, 194.708 mph
27. Cole Whitt, 194.704 mph
28. David Gilliland, 194.654 mph
29. Bobby Labonte, 194.527 mph
30. Greg Biffle, 194.275 mph
31. Reed Sorenson, 193.903
32. Danica Patrick, 193.865
33. Kyle Busch, 193.561 mph
34. Carl Edwards, 193.208 mph
35. Kyle Larson, 192.976 mph
36. Josh Wise, 192.827 mph
37. Trevor Bayne, 192.674 mph
38. Justin Allgaier, 192.649 mph
39. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 192.542 mph
40. Johnny Sauter, 192.320 mph
41. Ron Hornaday Jr., 192.299 mph
42. Michael Annett, 192.025 mph

Defending Sprint Cup Champion Kevin Harvick did not partake in the second round of practice, but rather went and surprised fans at his souvenir stand and signed autographs for them.

Racing season is officially underway and with the high stakes of having to win to make the chase, the tension will be even higher as qualifying begins tomorrow and the race gets underway next Sunday.

[H/T: NASCARTalk]

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