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In the second drafting practice session of the day, the action heated up and for two drivers led to wrecked race cars. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Aric Almirola rocked his way to the top of the chart in his No. 8 Guitar Hero Chevrolet. Matt Kenseth was second quick, with Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Robby Gordon rounding out the top-5.
The first incident of the day came forty-seven minutes into fifty-minute session. Running in at the front of a large pack of cars, Michael Waltrip was tucked up under the Dodge of Kasey Kahne. Going through the tri-oval, Kahne broke loose and Waltrip lifted to avoid worsening the situation. Unable to react quickly enough, David Stremme got into the back of Waltrip's No. 55, turning him down the track and into Jamie McMurray. The two made hard contact and slid through the grass heading towards the first turn. HardcoreRaceFans.com has learned the No. 26 team has been forced to their back-up car as a result of the damage to the suspension. "When the 55 hit me it didn't really tear up a lot, it just left a flat tire, and then most of the damage just came from hitting the dirt," McMurray said after climbing from his wrecked machine. "It looked like they were bump drafting it's so slick today. I mean, if you put new tires on and somebody is out there with old tires, you sometimes don't think about how bad the guy's car is driving in front of you, so I would say it was new tires versus old." "I just saw the 55 checking up and then I found out they had the 9 all jacked out of shape," David Stremme told HardcoreRaceFans.com. "You know you cant see around these cars and it wasn't like I was already up against the 55 and he just checked up hard and had nowhere to go. That's part of plate racing. We hit a little bit, but nothing to send him sideways, its just he was checking up so he didn't wreck the 9. Just a plate deal." In addition, Daytona 500 pole sitter Martin Truex Jr. received a bit of sheet metal damage during the fifty-minute session. After contact with the No. 26 of Jamie McMurray - this was a separate incident - the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet had a wrinkle on the left rear fender. The Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team quickly went to work making the cosmetic repairs. Furniture Row Racing's Regan Smith was the fastest of the drivers that need to race their way into the Daytona 500. This was the final session for the Cup cars before Thursday's Gatorade Duel 150s. The teams are hard at work in the garage putting the final touches on their rides. Be sure to check back to HardcoreRaceFans.com for all of the latest news and developments LIVE from the Daytona International Speedway.
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