Defending champion McDowell tops 1st Daytona 500 practice

Published February 15, 2022 5:42 PM

By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Michael McDowell opened the first Daytona 500 practice session with a top speed of 192.736 mph. McDowell helped Ford sweep the top five spots in a draft-heavy session at Daytona International Speedway. McDowell was last season’s surprise Daytona 500 champion. There was a second session scheduled for Tuesday night, the nearly two hours of track time giving drivers a chance to shake down the Next Gen car debuting this season. NASCAR got another look at the Next Gen, a new car years in development that could level the playing field to some degree. The stakes are raised Wednesday night for qualifying.

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