The NASCAR Cup Series kicks off Speedweek with an early morning practice session at Daytona Internation Speedway as they get ready for a qualifying run to set the front row for the Daytona 500 on Wednesday night.

A total of 45 cars came to Daytona for 41 starting spots; but with the charter system guaranteeing 36 teams a spot in the race; there are only four open spots with eight drivers vying for those spots.

By the time the Duel races are complete on Thursday night, four drivers will be going home.

Michael McDowell’s crew chief said that his driver will not be participating in the practice session this morning.  He noted that the last time they ran at a superspeedway (Talladega) without practice they sat on the front row.

The Chevrolets are sporting a new front end this year.

The RFK Racing team and AJ Allmendinger are honouring Greg Biffle with the exact same font for the car number that Biffle used when he was racing.  Biffle and his family died in a plane crash in December.

Several of the drivers are taking advantage of their practice time to work on getting on and off of pit road.

Brad Keselowski has been cleared to race but RFK has acquired David Ragan as a stand-by driver just in case he is needed.

Austin Cindric topped the leaderboard after the 50 minute practice session with Ross Chastain in second; Corey LaJoie, Bubba Wallace, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.

Todd Gilliland did not make a practice run.

Corey Heim, Chandler Smith, and Connor Zilisch are the only drivers in the field who have never driven in the Daytona 500.

There are two rounds in qualifying with the top 10 drivers moving on to a second round to set the front row for the 500.

The first of the 45 drivers on the track to make a qualifying run is the reigning Craftsman Truck Series champion Corey Heim who posted a time of 49.138 seconds around the 2.5 mile high banked tri-oval.

Corey Heim’s 49.138 seconds is the fastest qualifying time at Daytona in the Next Gen cars.

After choosing not to make a practice run, Todd Gilliland posted a time of 49.460 seconds.

Noah Gragson has had his time disqualified.  Drivers can no longer place their hands out the window to deflect the air.  Gragson noted that he forgot about the new rule, but is happy that he has another chance for a good starting spot in the race.

Kyle Busch is the first driver to break the 49 second mark with a time of 48.933 seconds.  When the green flag drops on Sunday, it will be Busch’s 21st Daytona 500 but has yet to win in the Great American Race.

Also choosing not to make a qualifying run, Michael McDowell posted a time of 49.279 seconds.

Corey Heim and Justin Allgaier have secured a spot in the Daytona 500.  Two more open drivers will earn a spot in the Duel races on Thursday night.

The 10 drivers moving on to round two of qualifying:
Kyle Busch
Chase Briscoe
Ryan Preece
Denny Hamlin
Alex Bowman
Kyle Larson
Corey Heim
Chris Buescher
Chase Elliott
Joey Logano

Kyle Busch was the only driver in round one to break the 49 second mark.

First up in round two is Joey Logano who posted a time of 49.275 seconds.

Corey Heim is the only open driver to make it into the second round of qualifying.

With a time of 49.100 seconds, Denny Hamlin is the first driver to run a faster lap in his second lap. 

Ryan Preece also posted a faster time in his second round of qualifying.

Chris Buescher has secured a front row spot for his number 19 car.

With a time of 49.006 seconds Kyle Busch puts his number eight car on the pole with Chris Buescher starting alongside on the front row.

On Thursday night the remainder of the field will be set with the running of the two Duel races.