Reigning Daytona 500 champ McDowell tops opening practice

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: Michael McDowell, driver of the #34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, drives during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 05, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

By NASCAR.com

Reigning Daytona 500 champion Michael McDowell topped the board in the opening practice at Daytona International Speedway.

McDowell led the way in his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford with a fast lap of 192.736 mph after a pack of Fords went out for drafting practice late in the session. The veteran driver earned his first NASCAR Cup Series win in the Daytona 500 last year and he will seek to defend his race win on Sunday in the 64th-running of the race (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RESULTS: First practice speeds

McDowell was followed by four more Fords to complete a blue oval sweep of the top five. David Ragan (No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford) took second in the session with a lap of 192.666 mph. McDowell’s Front Row rookie teammate, Todd Gilliland placed third. Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing teammates Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher placed fourth and fifth, respectively.

Five Toyotas placed sixth through 10th in the session and then four Chevrolets took 11th through 14th. In his first Cup practice since the end of 2016, Greg Biffle placed 17th in the session in the No. 44 NY Racing Chevrolet.

The session saw some groups of drafting practice along with a variety of single-car runs and some tandem drafting efforts over the course of the 50-minute session.

The lone caution of the session came from the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford of BJ McLeod stalling on pit road.

Cars will be back on track again at 6:35 p.m. ET (FS1) for a second practice on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday night’s Busch Pole Qualifying at 8:05 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).