Updated: NASCAR season kicks off with Sprint Unlimited practice
Our long national nightmare is over.
The NASCAR offseason officially ended at 5 p.m. ET Friday, when the 25-car Sprint Unlimited field rolled out for the first of two rounds of practice at Daytona International Speedway.
The twin Friday night sessions were the first time most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have been on track since the season-ending race of 2014, which took place last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
At Daytona, the drivers wasted no time mixing it up on track, racing three-wide within minutes after the start of the session.
Kurt Busch was fastest in the first round, running 200.749 miles per hour in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Busch was the only driver to crack the 200 mph barrier in the opening stanza.
Ricky Stenhouse was second at 199.769 mph in the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, followed by Busch's teammate, reigning Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick. Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne completed the top five, ahead of Jeff Gordon. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was ninth.
In the second and final session, only 14 drivers took the track and most of those played it safe, running just a few laps before parking it. There were no crashes or serious issues in either session, although Denny Hamlin ran out of gas on pit road.
At the conclusion of Happy Hour, Jeff Gordon was fastest, cranking off a lap of 196.764 mph in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was second at 196.524 mph. Then it was Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt and Aric Almirola.
"That was like old-school drafting out there with six or seven cars," said Gordon.
Tomorrow's race is 75 laps, with a 25-lap first segment and a 50-lap final segment. Television coverage begins at 8 p.m. on FOX. The field will consist of 25 cars, one of the largest in the event's history.
