NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers concluded practice and once again, Dale Earnhardt Jr., found himself at the top of the board. 2014 has provided us with plenty of surprises, as practice also failed to disappoint.
The real surprise of the practice, had to be the #30, driven by Parker Kligerman. For a considerable amount of time, Kligerman was the fastest on the race track. As the practice came down to its closing stages, things had begun to change.
For some teams, they were focusing on qualifying trim. For others, they were focusing on race trim. This provided a lot of different strategies. All of a sudden, the tide began to change. Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series Champion, overtook Kligerman as the fastest car. But, wait! It did not just occur with the front of the pack. Jimmie Johnson, at one point 33rd quickest on the board, ended up 15th quickest.
Before practice, Jimmie spoke to the media. “The cars are far different than when we were here in November. This will be the first real test on which team and organization has found speed in their cars and been able to use the new rules package to their advantage. We feel good about what we have.” It will be interesting to see how the 48 team fares in the first edition of knockout qualifying, given that the weather cooperates.
His teammate and co-owner, Jeff Gordon, was 8th quickest, but slipped to 24th. Gordon is coming off his first top-five finish at the Daytona 500 since claiming his 3rd victory ,in the Great American race, in 2005. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who ran in the top ten for most of the practice, stormed to the top of the board. It’s been an amazing couple of weeks for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who celebrated his 2nd Daytona 500 championship last Sunday.
Denny Hamlin, runner-up at the Daytona 500, last Sunday, was 29th quickest. Hamlin never seemed to get going during the practice. “We misjudged a couple of things,” Hamlin said. “Hopefully we can get qualifying in.” Hamlin also mentioned that his team, along with other teams, are making serious adjustments to their cars. It could make for an interesting debut to knockout qualifying at Phoenix International Raceway.
