NASCAR SPRINT CUP

Initial Gen-6 practice dramatic

— It took all of 15 minutes Wednesday for NASCAR’s new Gen-6 race car to throw drivers a few curves of its own at the first practice for the Daytona 500.

Ryan Newman lost control of his Chevrolet right in front of Carl Edwards and Mark Martin (Batesville), and all three cars sustained damage. It’s the third time in a week that a wreck has collected Martin, who also suffered damaged cars in a crash started by Matt Kenseth last week and another triggered by Tony Stewart in Saturday night’s exhibition race.

Newman had no idea what caused him to spin.

“My car came around, I don’t know if it was the air off of Carl’s car or what,” he said. “Carl came over and said ‘Hey man.’ I said, ‘I don’t even know what to tell you yet.’ ”

The field for Sunday’s Daytona 500 will be set today in two 150-mile qualifying races.

The drivers adjustment to the new car has been a bumpy process so far. Dale Earnhardt Jr. triggered a multi-car accident in January testing, Kenseth started an accident last Friday, and the wreck in the exhibition race cut the 19-car field to 12.

Edwards was just as vexed as Newman.

“I was up close to Ryan, and then all of a sudden his car just got a little loose and there was no space,” Edwards said. “I could have given him more space, but I don’t think either one of us really understands why his car got so loose. It was just all of a sudden and he was turned sideways. It’s really interesting and something I’m going to be careful of during the race.”

Edwards said he believes the finicky cars could contribute to an entertaining season-opening Daytona 500 on Sunday.

“Race cars are supposed to be hard to drive, it’s supposed to be on the edge, youare supposed to be sliding around,” Edwards said. “We as drivers, it is our responsibility to learn how to drive them. If this [warm] weather stays like this, and we can run cars sideways down the corner and give each other a little bit of room, it’s going to be an awesome 500.”

Earnhardt and defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski also had issues in Wednesday’s first practice session, which was paced by two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip. Earnhardt blew an engine, and Keselowski had a fuel system problem that limited his track time.

“Something went wrong with the fuel system in the car,” Keselowski said. “That’s not what you want when you’re in front of the pack because when your car slows down, they’ve got nowhere to go and it could cause a wreck. So we’re going to spend a little extra time to make sure we’ve got whatever it is figured out.”

Earnhardt had to wait for an engine change, which will send him to the back of the field for today’s qualifying race.

“I’m sure there is some logical explanation as to what happened,” Earnhardt said. “We’ll just put a new one in and start at the back of the qualifier and race up through there.”Budweiser Duel 150 qualifying races

Lineups for today’s Budweiser Duel 150 qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway which will set the lineup for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

DUEL 1 1. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevy, 196.434 mph.

  1. (21) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 195.976.

  2. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevy, 195.925.

  3. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 195.771. 5. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 195.767.

  4. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevy, 195.584.

  5. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevy, 195.508.

  6. (13) Casey Mears, Ford, 195.495.

  7. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 195.24.

  8. (56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 195.207.

  9. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevy, 195.084.

  10. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 194.961.13. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevy, 194.742. 14. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 194.729.

  11. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 194.654.

  12. (26) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 194.313.

  13. (78) Kurt Busch, Chevy, 193.657.

  14. (95) Scott Speed, Ford, 193.54.

  15. (51) Regan Smith, Chevy, 193.096.

  16. (47) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 192.563.

  17. (83) David Reutimann, Toyota, 190.339.

  18. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 190.046.

  19. (52) Brian Keselowski, Toyota, 183.876.

DUEL 2 1. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevy, 196.292 mph.

  1. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevy, 195.946. 3. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevy, 195.852.

  2. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 195.767.

  3. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 195.725.

  4. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 195.537.

  5. (27) Paul Menard, Chevy, 195.503.

  6. (33) Austin Dillon, Chevy, 195.385.

  7. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 195.228.

  8. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevy, 195.156.

  9. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevy, 195.042.

  10. (9) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 194.793.

  11. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 194.742.

  12. (55) Mark Martin, Toyota, 194.683.

  13. (34) David Ragan, Ford, 194.616.

  14. (35) Josh Wise, Ford, 194.254.

  15. (98) Michael McDowell, Ford, 193.544.

  16. (32) Terry Labonte, Ford, 193.515.

  17. (7) Dave Blaney, Chevy, 192.996.

  18. (36) J.J. Yeley, Chevy, 192.094.

  19. (93) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 190.142.

  20. (19) Mike Bliss, Chevy, 189.438.

Sports, Pages 21 on 02/21/2013

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