Truex fastest as Joe Gibbs Racing tops first Daytona 500 practice

Joe Gibbs Racing came out of the gates swinging in Saturday’s first Daytona 500 practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series as Martin Truex Jr. led the session.

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Three drivers in JGR’s Toyota brigade teamed up to test out the draft — Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Erik Jones and led the speed chart in the session — while Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team elected to make mock qualifying runs ahead of Sunday’s Daytona 500 Qualifying (12:10 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Truex carried a lap of 195.920 miles per hour in the No. 19 Toyota Camry around the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, followed by Busch with a lap of 195.852 mph and Jones with a lap of 195.793 mph.

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Richard Childress Racing and Germain Racing had the same idea as Joe Gibbs Racing, linking up to draft during the first 55-minute session. NASCAR Xfinity Series regular (and the defending champion of that series) Tyler Reddick, competing in his first Daytona 500, laid down the fourth-fastest lap of 194.095 mph. Ty Dillon rounded out the top five, posting a time at 194.032 mph.

Final practice is set for 3:05 p.m. ET and will run for 50 minutes. Coverage will be on FS1.

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