NASCAR-CUP: Fords lead the way in Daytona 500 practice

The Fords of Matt Kenseth and Aric Almirola led the way in two practice sessions at the Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday. In the mid-day round, Kenseth was the fastest of 43 cars on the track with a speed of 200.853 miles per hour. The Fords of Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Marcos Ambrose were tucked in behind him with each exceeding the 200 mph mark.

Later in the afternoon, 25 cars took to the track and Almirola was fastest at 199.712. David Stremme (Toyota), Regan Smith (Chevrolet) and Robert Richard Jr. (Toyota) were close to him.

During that session, Kasey Kahne tangled with Juan Pablo Montoya in the tri-oval with Kahne’s car worse for wear after the encounter, damaging his Chevrolet enough to force the new Hendrick Motorsports driver into a back-up car. “I don’t know if he hit me or not but right as he got there, this car started moving all over,” Kahne said. “I know I got hit from behind, but I don’t know if it was necessarily him or how it worked. But when he hit me, I was gone. I didn’t spin out by myself, but it is not like he was trying (to spin me),”