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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Eager to put a winless 2009 season behind him, Dale Earnhardt Jr. started off 2010 atop the speed charts in a rain-shortened practice Friday for Daytona 500 pole qualifying.Earnhardt posted a fast lap of 188.679 mph in the No.. 88 AMP Energy Chevrolet -- edging his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon.
Teams only had about 40 minutes on track before rain sent them to the garage. More bad weather was forecast -- including tornado warnings just south of Daytona Beach -- so NASCAR called off the rest of the day's track activity.
There will be a special 30-minute practice Saturday morning for eight cars that did not get any track time -- a group consisting of mostly part-timers who may have to resort to time trial speeds to earn a starting spot in the Daytona 500.
Unlike Thursday night's crash-filled Budweiser Shootout practice on the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, Friday's opening Sprint Cup Series practice was uneventful.
Veteran Bill Elliott, Robby Gordon, former 500 winner Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, David Reutimann, Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top 10 in practice speeds.
Pole qualifying for the Daytona 500 is set for Saturday at 1:05 p.m. Only the front row will be set this weekend, with the Gatorade 150-mile qualifying races next Thursday setting the rest of the field.
In other news, Kyle Busch, 24, proposed to his girlfriend, Samantha Sarcinella, in the speedway infield Thursday evening. No wedding date has been set.
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