TOYOTA FLEXES MUSCLES BEFORE DAYTONA CLASH
DAYTONA BEACH: After a pair of practice sessions on Friday night, it looks like Toyota is bringing Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona
The Toyota teams decided to play with their own ball on Friday, staying together in a small cluster and avoiding other Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series cars on the 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) tri-oval.
They did not participate in the Keselowski in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford topped the chart at 191.604 mph (306.56 kph).
“We had good speed from what we can tell,” Keselowski said.
Keselowski will start from the
of the draw, held Friday in the garage area.
“It’s a great way to start the year,” said Keselowski, after pulling the No. 1 starting position. “We just
Toyota showed its muscle in Practice 2 when four Camry machines topped the leaderboard.
Toyota utilized its group-racing strategy in the 2016 Daytona 500 and that sent Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota to Victory Lane.
Hamlin, who won this event last year, will start next to Kesel- owski on the front row the Clash, which does not award championship points. throughout the Speedway garage area during the second practice.
The top four drivers were all in Joe Gibbs Racing gear. Hamlin led the pack after being clocked at 196.528 mph (314 kph).
He was followed by teammates Daniel Suarez ( 196.279 mph/ 314.05 kph), Kyle Busch (196.249 mph/314 kph) and Matt Kenseth (196.224 mph/313.9 kph).
“Obviously, we had a great Speedweeks last year, so I’m looking forward to returning to Daytona to start the season and repeat that same success,” Hamlin said.
“Of course, we want to defend our Daytona 500 win, and this FedEx team has a strong restrictorplate program that puts us one step closer to accomplishing that,” he added.
The Clash, which was called the Sprint Unlimited last year, will total 75 laps broken into two laps, followed by a 50-lap sprint to