Kahne tops practice 4 at Daytona

Kahne

After an action-packed earlier practice that included a crash and a blown engine for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Wednesday's second session at Daytona International Speedway was relatively uneventful.

Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon and Danica Patrick stand as big winners, each earning top-six times in each of the qualifying and practice runs they’ve completed thus far. Kahne posted the fastest time in the second session, finishing his third lap in 45.515 seconds, while topping out at 197.737 mph. The driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet was sixth in the first session and sixth in Sunday’s qualifying.

“We’re making sure our car handles really well," said Kahne. “Myself, I learned a lot from The Sprint Unlimited on Saturday night."

Gordon, who will join Patrick in the front row of this Sunday’s Daytona 500 after racing to the second-fastest time in qualifying, ran his third lap in 45.540 seconds to place third on the day after not participating in the first runaround.

Patrick continues to see some of the fastest times of the week, notching the (fourth)-best time of the day at 45.557 with a top speed of 197.55 after having the third-fastest in the first practice. She earned the Coors Light Pole on Sunday, becoming the first woman to earn one in Sprint Cup history.

Greg Biffle was second with a time of 45.523 after posting the 30th-best time in the first session. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Joey Logano was 25th in the second session with a top speed of 191.620 mph after posting the top speed earlier in the day.

After his aforementioned engine issues, Earnhardt completed 35 clean laps in the afternoon, the most of any car.

Michael Waltrip had the fastest time of the day, hitting 198.347 mph in the day's opening practice session.

Practice 4 Results