Allmendinger tops Thursday practice at Daytona
In the opening session, AJ Allmendinger was one of just two drivers to break the 200 mph barrier. Allmendinger, who recently earned his first NASCAR national series victory at the Nationwide Series race at Road America, ran his fourth lap in 44.951 seconds, averaging a best speed of 200.218 mph. Clint Bowyer was right behind him, running the 2.5 mile tri-oval in 44.952 seconds.
Carl Edwards (199.831, 45.038), Juan Pablo Montoya (199.707, 45.066) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (199.344, 45.148) rounded out the top-five. Danica Patrick, who earned the pole earlier this season for the Daytona 500, was seventh on the leaderboard.
Points leader Jimmie Johnson (198.636, 45.309) was 10th, while restrictor-plate maven Matt Kenseth (198.566, 45.325) followed in 11th. Reigning Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski (198.531, 45.333) was 13th and ran the most laps of the session with 31. Gordon (197.252, 45.627) ran 25 laps, but found himself in 32nd on the leaderboard.
Results
| Pos | Driver | Car | Make | Sponsor | Speed | Time | Behind |
| 1 | AJ Allmendinger | 51 | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction Services Inc. | 200.218 | 44.951 | Leader |
| 2 | Clint Bowyer | 15 | Toyota | BlueDEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid | 200.214 | 44.952 | -0.001 |
| 3 | Carl Edwards | 99 | Ford | Subway | 199.831 | 45.038 | -0.087 |
| 4 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 42 | Chevrolet | Target | 199.707 | 45.066 | -0.115 |
| 5 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 88 | Chevrolet | National Guard | 199.344 | 45.148 | -0.197 |
| 6 | Paul Menard | 27 | Chevrolet | Rheem-Menards | 199.203 | 45.180 | -0.229 |
| 7 | Danica Patrick | 10 | Chevrolet | GoDaddy / .US | 199.111 | 45.201 | -0.250 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Toyota | FedEx Ground | 198.860 | 45.258 | -0.307 |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose | 9 | Ford | Stanley | 198.719 | 45.290 | -0.339 |
| 10 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Chevrolet | Lowe's Dover White | 198.636 | 45.309 | -0.358 |
| 11 | Matt Kenseth | 20 | Toyota | The Home Depot / Husky | 198.566 | 45.325 | -0.374 |
| 12 | Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford | 3M | 198.548 | 45.329 | -0.378 |
| 13 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Ford | Miller Lite | 198.531 | 45.333 | -0.382 |
| 14 | Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet | Kwikset | 198.500 | 45.340 | -0.389 |
| 15 | Bobby Labonte | 47 | Toyota | Scott Products | 198.408 | 45.361 | -0.410 |
| 16 | David Stremme | 30 | Toyota | Lean 1 | 198.382 | 45.367 | -0.416 |
| 17 | David Gilliland | 38 | Ford | Long John Silver's | 198.286 | 45.389 | -0.438 |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Toyota | Interstate Batteries | 198.172 | 45.415 | -0.464 |
| 19 | Kurt Busch | 78 | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Sealy | 198.168 | 45.416 | -0.465 |
| 20 | Kasey Kahne | 5 | Chevrolet | Hendrickcars.com | 198.146 | 45.421 | -0.470 |
| 21 | Jamie McMurray | 1 | Chevrolet | CESSNA | 198.002 | 45.454 | -0.503 |
| 22 | Travis Kvapil | 93 | Toyota | Burger King / Dr. Pepper | 197.981 | 45.459 | -0.508 |
| 23 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 17 | Ford | Fifth Third Bank | 197.972 | 45.461 | -0.510 |
| 24 | Casey Mears | 13 | Ford | GEICO | 197.907 | 45.476 | -0.525 |
| 25 | David Ragan | 34 | Ford | Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts | 197.902 | 45.477 | -0.526 |
| 26 | Joey Logano | 22 | Ford | Shell-Pennzoil | 197.894 | 45.479 | -0.528 |
| 27 | Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet | Budweiser Folds of Honor | 197.894 | 45.479 | -0.528 |
| 28 | David Reutimann | 83 | Toyota | Burger King / Dr. Pepper | 197.889 | 45.480 | -0.529 |
| 29 | Aric Almirola | 43 | Ford | USAF | 197.628 | 45.540 | -0.589 |
| 30 | Tony Stewart | 14 | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Ducks Unlimited | 197.559 | 45.556 | -0.605 |
| 31 | Martin Truex Jr | 56 | Toyota | NAPA Batteries | 197.477 | 45.575 | -0.624 |
| 32 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet | Axalta Coating Systems | 197.252 | 45.627 | -0.676 |
| 33 | Trevor Bayne | 21 | Ford | Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center | 197.118 | 45.658 | -0.707 |
| 34 | Ryan Newman | 39 | Chevrolet | Outback Steak House | 196.937 | 45.700 | -0.749 |
| 35 | Josh Wise | 35 | Ford | MDS Transport | 195.329 | 46.076 | -1.125 |
| 36 | Michael Waltrip | 55 | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine | 191.449 | 47.010 | -2.059 |
| 37 | Michael McDowell | 98 | Ford | Phil Parsons Racing | 190.408 | 47.267 | -2.316 |
| 38 | Dave Blaney | 7 | Chevrolet | Florida Lottery | 190.202 | 47.318 | -2.367 |
| 39 | Scott Speed | 95 | Ford | Leavine Family Racing | 189.231 | 47.561 | -2.610 |
| 40 | J.J. Yeley | 36 | Chevrolet | Golden Corral | 188.596 | 47.721 | -2.770 |
| 41 | Landon Cassill | 33 | Chevrolet | Little Joe's Autos | 188.573 | 47.727 | -2.776 |
| 42 | Joe Nemechek | 87 | Toyota | Royal Teak Collection | 187.935 | 47.889 | -2.938 |
| 43 | Terry Labonte | 32 | Ford | C & J Energy | 187.527 | 47.993 | -3.042 |