DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin led the opening practice session Wednesday morning at Daytona International Speedway.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver completed his fastest lap in 48.005 seconds at a speed of 187.480 mph. He was the second-fastest in 10-lap average with a speed of 183.406 mph.
Hamlin was one of four Toyota drivers in the top five during the rare pre-qualifying practice session. Bubba Wallace was second with a lap of 48.150 seconds while Ty Gibbs was third with a lap of 48.291 seconds. John Hunter Nemechek was fifth with a lap of 48.361 seconds.
Chandler Smith was the lone non-Toyota driver in the top five. He was fourth-fastest in the Garage 66 Ford Mustang with a lap of 48.341 seconds. This was key considering that Smith is one of nine open drivers trying to qualify for the crown jewel race.
Photo credit: NASCAR
Not every driver in the Cup Series garage completed laps during practice. Michael McDowell and Justin Haley both spent the session in the garage as their crews worked on their respective Cup Series cars.
Other drivers completed limited laps around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. This list includes Martin Truex Jr. and Todd Gilliland, who both only completed one lap before going back to the garage. Justin Allgaier only completed three laps in the JR Motorsports Chevrolet.
Jimmie Johnson, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, completed 18 laps while continuing to gain experience in the Gen 7 car. He was the 32nd-fastest during the session with a lap of 49.443 seconds and 182.028 mph.
Now that the first practice session is complete, the drivers will prepare for single-car qualifying. This session will take place at 8 p.m. ET (FS1).
The fastest driver in the session will win the pole for the Daytona 500. The second-fastest driver will earn a spot on the front row. The two fastest open drivers will lock up spots in the Great American Race and will not have to worry about qualifying through Thursday night's Duel races.