Bubba Wallace is fastest in final Daytona 500 practice

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 10: Darrell Wallace Jr., driver of the #43 Click n' Close Chevrolet, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 10, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Fresh from a third-place finish in Thursday night’s Can-Am Duel, Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. topped the speed chart in Saturday’s final practice for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Wallace’s best lap in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet was 45.696 seconds, translating to 196.954 mph.

“We all know that means absolutely nothing, but it feels good,” Wallace said. “I didn’t know we were top of the board there. We were stuck in the back of the pack (in the draft) for a little bit there. Started making moves late, and the pack split up and we started doing pit road runs and the next thing you know we are on top of the board.

“I’m like – cool. I even missed pit road opening looking at the pylon. That gives us a lot of confidence, especially going into this week. A lot of stories, a lot of headlines being talked about.  To win something is good.”

Even if it’s just practice.

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.