"I keep telling these guys I'm not lifting," Brad Keselowski said after an incident with William Byron during the second of two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice sessions Thursday at Daytona International Speedway, ahead of Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400.
With about 17 minutes remaining in final practice, Keselowski hit the left-rear of Byron's #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, sending Byron's car into a spin. As Byron corrected, Keselowski, then, hit the right-rear of Byron's car.
Byron managed to avoid hitting the retaining wall, but his team has opted to go to a backup car for Saturday's race instead of repairing damage from the incident. As a result, Byron, the pole sitter of the 2019 Daytona 500, will have to drop to the back for the start of the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
Keselowski's #2 Team Penske Ford sustained little to no damage.
Keselowski defended the contact by contending he was blocked by Byron: "I had a big run, and he put me in a position where I had to lift, and I keep telling these guys I’m not lifting.
"I hate it for his team that they have to work on their car and so do ours, but just trying to send a message that I’m not lifting."
Byron, though, maintained he was just maintaining an existing racing line: “I pretty much just held the line that was there. A little extreme for practice."
Toyota drivers Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones and Matt DiBenedetto led the practice session. DiBenedetto, Hamlin and Jones had the three best 10-lap average speeds. Another Toyota driver, Kyle Busch, was fastest in Thursday's opening practice session and had the best 10-lap average.
Keselowski had the second-fastest 10-lap average speed in first practice.
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