The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series took to the track this afternoon for the first two Daytona 500 practices to prepare for qualifying tomorrow afternoon. Paul Menard was the fastest in the first, with teammate Ryan Newman fastest in the second session. Richard Childress Racing appears to be the biggest threat in qualifying tomorrow.
Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick all blew their engines this afternoon in practice. This could be the biggest story for the Daytona 500, if the Hendrick Motorsports engines will hold up? Both Stewart-Haas Racing drivers, Patrick and Stewart, told Fox Sports 1 reporters they had no warning inside the car before they blew up. While Jamie McMurray was on pit road waiting to get on track to make a mock qualifying run, team decided to not chance the engine and came back into the garage to talk it over.
It was originally reported that Justin Allgaier had an engine issue this afternoon also, but the team looked over the car, and found an oil leak issue. Therefore, Allgaier did not need to change an engine and will keep his starting spot in the duel.
Teams are allowed one engine change until Thursday after the Duel 150 races. NASCAR will let the teams start in the Daytona 500 where they end up in the Budweiser Duels, but will have to start their duel at the rear of the field.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will hit the track tomorrow for qualifying at the Daytona International Speedway. You can catch it live at 1:00 p.m. Et. on FOX. The Motor Racing Network will have live radio coverage of the event as well.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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