Dale Earnhardt Jr. tops final practice at Daytona

He shook down the No. 88 Nationwide Chevy, practiced in the draft with several of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates and posted the fastest single-lap speed in Happy Hour for Sunday’s Coke Zero 400.

“It’s hard for me to put into words what it being my last Cup race at Daytona might feel like because I don’t know what that is going to feel like, and you never say never,” Earnhardt said. “Our whole idea on finishing up the season is to try to show our appreciation and express that to our fans and everyone in the industry on making this an incredibly enjoyable ride.”

In the opening minutes of final practice, eight drivers concentrated on qualifying runs with Trevor Bayne posting the top speed of 189.665mph.

Before the 10-minute mark, a six-car draft developed with Earnhardt Jr. blasting to the top of the speed chart with a lap of 193.328. Michael McDowell bumped up to second followed by Jimmie Johnson, Brendan Gaughan, Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer.

Four cars continued in the draft — the Chevys of Earnhardt, Johnson and Kahne, followed by Bowyer in a Ford. Fifteen minutes into the session, 16 cars had taken times. Earnhardt remained atop the leader board followed by McDowell, Johnson, Gaughan, Kahne, Bowyer, Bayne, Chase Elliott, Logano and Jamie McMurray. Johnson’s 13 laps were the most completed.

The top-10 speeds held halfway through Happy Hour. Landon Cassill, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Paul Menard, Austin Dillon, David Ragan, Darrell “Bubba” Wallace and Cole Whitt rounded out the 19 cars to make laps in practice.

Earnhardt called it a day with 20 minutes remaining in the session.

In the final 25 minutes, drivers returned to single-lap runs and pit road practice. Michael McDowell, who completed the most laps (20) was second quick followed by Jimmie Johnson, Brendan Gaughan, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Trevor Bayne, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Jamie McMurray.

Three drivers qualified for the Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average category with Johnson topping the list with a speed of 192.349mph. Earnhardt was second (192.349mph) with Kahne (192.111mph).

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	14	46.553			193.328
2	95	Michael McDowell	Chevrolet	20	46.572	0.019	0.019	193.249
3	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	16	46.577	0.024	0.005	193.228
4	75	Brendan Gaughan	Chevrolet	11	46.578	0.025	0.001	193.224
5	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	14	46.579	0.026	0.001	193.220
6	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	9	46.580	0.027	0.001	193.216
7	24	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	19	47.382	0.829	0.802	189.946
8	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	1	47.452	0.899	0.070	189.665
9	77	Erik Jones	Toyota	14	47.537	0.984	0.085	189.326
10	22	Joey Logano	Ford	1	47.537	0.984	0.000	189.326
11	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	1	47.640	1.087	0.103	188.917
12	34	Landon Cassill	Ford	1	47.689	1.136	0.049	188.723
13	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	3	47.738	1.185	0.049	188.529
14	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	14	47.750	1.197	0.012	188.482
15	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	5	47.858	1.305	0.108	188.056
16	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	8	47.960	1.407	0.102	187.656
17	43	Darrell Wallace Jr.	Ford	7	48.000	1.447	0.040	187.500
18	38	David Ragan	Ford	3	48.029	1.476	0.029	187.387
19	72	Cole Whitt	Chevrolet	9	48.811	2.258	0.782	184.385