Alex Bowman leads fourth Daytona 500 practice; Danica 19th-fastest in backup car

By Chris EstradaFeb 18, 2015, 4:05 PM EST

In a Daytona 500 practice session that largely featured single-car runs, second-year Sprint Cup driver Alex Bowman earned top honors with a lap of 200.495 miles per hour in the No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet.

Two drivers that were near the top in today’s earlier practice stayed there for this session. Kasey Kahne, P4 in the earlier practice, was second-fastest with a lap of 200.459 mph, while Trevor Bayne was third again but slightly quicker in this session at 200.387 mph.

Paul Menard was fourth on the time sheets at 200.374 mph, and was followed by Richard Childress Racing teammate Brian Scott (fifth, 200.285).

After sustaining some damage in a five-car incident earlier today, Denny Hamlin was sixth in this session at 199.309 mph. Danica Patrick was forced to go to a backup car as a result of that crash, but got out again and logged 13 laps. Her best lap at 192.835 mph was good enough for 19th.

Jeb Burton and Michael Annett, the other two drivers that must go to a backup following the crash, were among those that did not appear in this session.

Tomorrow sees Speedweeks kick into high gear with another 500 practice session (12 Noon – 1:25 p.m. ET), two Camping World Truck Series practices (1:30-2:25 and 3:30-4:55 p.m. ET), and the day’s main event – the two, 60-lap Budweiser Duels (Duel 1 at 7 p.m. ET; Duel 2 at approx. 8:30 p.m. ET) that will help set the 500 field.

Daytona 500 Practice 4
Daytona International Speedway
1. Alex Bowman, 200.495 mph … 12 laps run
2. Kasey Kahne, 200.459 mph … 18 laps run
3. Trevor Bayne, 200.387 … 5 laps run
4. Paul Menard, 200.374 … 12 laps run
5. Brian Scott, 200.285 … 10 laps run
6. Denny Hamlin, 199.309 … 11 laps run
7. Kyle Busch, 198.487 … 10 laps run
8. Ty Dillon, 198.382 … 20 laps run
9. Justin Marks, 198.334 … 17 laps run
10. Michael McDowell, 198.216 … 10 laps run
11. Jeff Gordon, 198.181 … 18 laps run
12. Kevin Harvick, 196.113 … 5 laps run
13. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 195.695 … 13 laps run
14. Jamie McMurray, 194.271 … 11 laps run
15. Joey Logano, 194.028 … 10 laps run
16. Ryan Blaney, 194.020 … 4 laps run
17. Jimmie Jonson, 193.849 … 13 laps run
18. Brad Keselowski, 193.295 … 18 laps run
19. Danica Patrick, 192.835 … 13 laps run
20. Ryan Newman, 192.406 … 1 lap run
21. Greg Biffle, 192.230 … 3 laps run
22. Casey Mears, 192.094 … 5 laps run
23. Aric Almirola, 191.832 … 6 laps run
24. Martin Truex Jr., 191.657 … 3 laps run
25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 191.644 … 8 laps run
26. Cole Whitt, 191.624 … 5 laps run
27. Bobby Labonte, 191.018 … 6 laps run
28. Josh Wise, 189.785 … 3 laps run
29. David Ragan, 189.661 … 2 laps run
30. Matt Kenseth, 21.413 … 1 lap run
31. Landon Cassill … 0 laps run
32. Sam Hornish Jr. … 0 laps run

Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average
1. Kasey Kahne, 198.008 … Laps 1-10
2. Brian Scott, 197.802 … Laps 1-10
3. Jeff Gordon, 197.464 … Laps 2-11
4. Ty Dillon, 197.368 … Laps 1-10
5. Kyle Busch, 197.334 … Laps 1-10
6. Denny Hamlin, 196.940 … Laps 2-11
7. Alex Bowman, 196.876 … Laps 3-12
8. Justin Marks, 195.257 … Laps 1-10

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Portland Xfinity race results, driver points

By Dustin LongJun 3, 2023, 7:53 PM EDT

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

Cole Custer went from fourth to first on the overtime restart when the top three cars made contact and went on to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway. Custer is the 10th different winner in 13 races this season.

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JR Motorsports took the next three spots: Justin Allgaier placed second, Sam Mayer was third and Josh Berry was fourth. Austin Hill completed the top five.

John Hunter Nemechek remains the points leader after 13 races. He has a 14-point lead on Hill. Nemechek leads Allgaier by 44 points.

Cole Custer wins Xfinity race at Portland in overtime

By Dustin LongJun 3, 2023, 7:25 PM EDT

Cole Custer held off Justin Allgaier at the finish to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race in overtime at Portland International Raceway. It is Custer’s first victory of the season.

JR Motorsports placed second, third and fourth with Allgaier, Sam Mayer and Josh Berry. Austin Hill finished fifth.

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Custer went from fourth to first on the overtime restart when Parker Kligerman, who restarted third, attempted to pass Allgaier, who was leading. Sheldon Creed was on the outside of Allgaier. All three cars made contact entering Turn 1, allowing Custer to slip by. Creed finished seventh. Kligerman placed 14th.

Custer won the second stage when John Hunter Nemechek made contact with Creed’s car while racing for the lead on the final lap of the stage. The contact spun Creed and Custer inched by Nemechek at the line.

Early in the final stage, Creed gained revenge with contact that spun Nemechek, who went on to finish 10th. A few laps later, Nemechek and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sammy Smith had issues. Smith spun Nemechek. After getting back around, Nemechek quickly caught Smith and turned into Smith’s car, damaging it.

STAGE 1 WINNER: Sheldon Creed

STAGE 2 WINNER: Cole Custer

WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Despite the contact on the overtime restart, runner-up Justin Allgaier managed to score his fourth consecutive top-three finish. … Sam Mayer’s third-place finish is his best on a road course. … Austin Hill’s fifth-place finish gives him four consecutive top-five results.

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Daniel Hemric finished 33rd after a fire in his car. … Riley Herbst placed 32nd after an engine issue. After opening the season with six top 10s in a row, Herbst has gone seven races in a row without a top 10.

NEXT: The series competes June 10 at Sonoma Raceway (8 p.m. ET on FS1).

Truck race results at WWT Raceway: Grant Enfinger wins

By Dustin LongJun 3, 2023, 4:55 PM EDT

Grant Enfinger took the lead when the leaders wrecked in the final laps and held off the field in overtime to win Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

It is Enfinger’s second win in the last five races. He also collected a $50,000 bonus for winning the Triple Truck Challenge.

MORE: Truck race results

MORE: Driver points after WWT Raceway

Christian Eckes finished second and was followed by Stewart Friesen, Carson Hocevar and Chase Purdy.

Ty Majeski and Zane Smith wrecked while racing for the lead with six laps to go. Majeski, running on the inside of Smith, slid up the track and clipped Smith’s truck. Both hit the wall. That put Enfinger in the lead.

Smith finished 20th. Majeski placed 30th.

STAGE 1 WINNER: Grant Enfinger

STAGE 2 WINNER: Stewart Friesen

WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Grant Enfinger’s victory is his fourth top 10 in the last five races. … Carson Hocevar’s fourth-place finish is his fourth consecutive top-five result. … Stewart Friesen’s third-place finish moved him into a playoff spot with four races left in the regular season. … Matt DiBenedetto‘s sixth-place finish is his third consecutive top 10. … Jesse Love finished ninth in his series debut.

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Ty Majeski had a chance to take the points lead with series leader Corey Heim out because of illness, but Majeski’s 30th-place finish after running at the front most of the day, leaves him behind Heim. … Hailie Deegan finished 32nd after contact sent her truck into the wall hard. … After finishing a career-high third last week at Charlotte, Dean Thompson placed 34th Saturday due to an engine issue.

NEXT: The series races June 23 at Nashville Superspeedway (8 p.m. ET on FS1)

Xfinity starting lineup at Portland: Sheldon Creed wins pole

By Dustin LongJun 3, 2023, 1:27 PM EDT

Sheldon Creed scored his first career Xfinity Series pole by taking the top spot for Saturday’s race at Portland International Raceway.

Creed, making his 50th career series start, earned the pole with a lap of 95.694 mph on the 1.97-mile road course.

MORE: Portland Xfinity starting lineup

Cole Custer will start second with a lap of 95.398 mph. He is followed by Josh Berry (94.242 mph), John Hunter Nemechek (95.127) and Charlotte winner Justin Allgaier (94.897). Road racing specialist Jordan Taylor, driving for Kaulig Racing, qualified sixth at 94.772 mph.

The green flag is scheduled to wave 4:46 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1.

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