Michael McDowell decision to set the pace was….

Early in the NASCAR Cup Series practice at Darlington Raceway, Michael McDowell set the pace, and it was plenty to earn him the fastest driver overall on Saturday morning.

At 169.444 mph (20.022 seconds), McDowell’s No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse took the lead. He had done two laps of the circuit by then. Second fastest was Ty Gibbs (168.567 mph), third fastest was Chris Buescher (168.457 mph), and fourth fastest was Christopher Bell (168.376 mph). William Byron (168.186mph) rounded out the top five in practice.Early in the NASCAR Cup Series practice at Darlington Raceway, Michael McDowell set the pace, and it was plenty to earn him the fastest driver overall on Saturday morning. At 169.444 mph (20.022 seconds), McDowell’s No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse took the lead. He had done two laps of the circuit by then. Gibbs, Ty

The winner of the race last year is Byron. Sixth place went to Joey Logano (167.985 mph), seventh place went to Erik Jones (167.871 mph), eighth place went to Corey LaJoie (167.853 mph), and ninth place went to Denny Hamlin (167.762 mph). The top 10 was completed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (167.579mph). Kyle Larson, the leader of the Cup Series championship, ran in 15th place. A lap of 167.197 mph was Larson’s best.