In the first practice session at Darlington, Michael McDowell was the fastest driver, averaging a lap speed of 169.443 mph. McDowell recently announced that he will be leaving Front Row Motorsports at the end of the 2024 season to join Spire Motorsports next year. Following McDowell, Ty Gibbs came in second with a lap speed of 168.566 mph, and Chris Buescher was third with 168.457 mph.
In the second session, Denny Hamlin was the fastest driver with an average lap speed of 167.761 mph. Despite his speed, he ranked ninth overall. Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson followed closely behind Hamlin, finishing second and third, respectively. Several drivers, including Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney, brushed against the wall during practice, but fortunately, there was minimal damage.
Among drivers who completed at least 10 consecutive laps, Austin Cindric had the fastest average lap speed at 164.645 mph. In Group B, Todd Gilliland and Cindric were among the top performers, while Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, and Daniel Suarez struggled to keep up.
In the first session, McDowell continued to lead the pack with Gibbs and Buescher following closely behind. Christopher Bell and William Byron rounded out the top five. However, Alex Bowman’s team faced challenges, with Bowman finishing 17th out of 18 cars participating. Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet also appeared to brush against the wall during the session.
McDowell’s performance in both practice sessions indicates that he and his team are in top form for the upcoming race at Darlington.
