Day 2: Burton, Bayne Fastest in Preseason Thunder

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JANUARY 11: Jeff Burton drives the #31 Chevrolet during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway on January 11, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Spread the love
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JANUARY 11: Jeff Burton drives the #31 Chevrolet during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway on January 11, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida.  (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – JANUARY 11: Jeff Burton drives the #31 Chevrolet during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway on January 11, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Preseason Thunder testing with the new NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car continued on Friday at Daytona International Speedway in advance of the 55th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 24.

During single-car runs in the morning session, Richard Childress Racing’s Jeff Burton in the No. 31 Chevrolet topped the speed charts with a lap speed of 194.805 mph. Rounding out the top five were teammate Kevin Harvick (193.557), Matt Kenseth (193.121), Paul Menard (192.963) and Greg Biffle (192.719).

In the afternoon session, which included drafting sessions, speeds reached 199 mph with 2011 Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne leading the speed charts with a lap of 199.650 mph.

During the drafting session, a multi-car incident on the backstretch sent several cars to the garage. Among the drivers involved in the incident were Marcos Ambrose, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Regan Smith and Kasey Kahne.

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.