Jeb Burton Leads Way In Daytona NASCAR O'Reilly Series Practice

Jeb Burton was the fastest driver in NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series practice at Daytona on Friday afternoon.

Jeb Burton turned the fastest lap in NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series practice at Daytona International Speedway on Friday. | Ricky Martinez | Racing America On SI

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Jeb Burton will attempt to avenge his heartbreaking defeat at Talladega Superspeedway a season ago with what appears to be a very fast No. 27 Chevrolet from Jordan Anderson Racing. The driver was fastest in the lone tune-up session for the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series ahead of Saturday's United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Burton, who turned a total of four laps, cranked out his best lap time on his final lap of the session. Burton led the way with a 48.735-second lap, which allowed him to top Dean Thompson by nearly a tenth of a second.

Corey Day, the Hendrick Motorsports developmental racer, registered the third-fastest lap in the 50-minute practice session, which placed him ahead of Sammy Smith, the driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

Gio Ruggiero, making his NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series debut driving the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, was fifth-fastest in the practice session. Ruggiero proved he is plenty capable in the draft as he scored his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at Talladega Superspeedway last Fall.

Jordan Anderson, who is serving as an owner and driver this weekend, clocked the sixth-fastest lap in the session, and he was followed by Blaine Perkins, Carson Hocevar, Jeremy Clements, and Carson Kvapil inside the top-10 of the scoring sheet.

The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway, which will serve as the opening race of the 2026 season, is set for Saturday, February 14 and will be televised on The CW. Television coverage of the event will begin at 5:00 PM ET.

United Rentals 300 Practice Results

1. 27-Jeb Burton, 48.735 sec.
2. 26-Dean Thompson, 48.853 sec.
3. 17-Corey Day, 48.856 sec.
4. 8-Sammy Smith, 48.894 sec.
5. 19-Gio Ruggiero, 48.894 sec.
6. 32-Jordan Anderson, 48.901 sec.
7. 31-Blaine Perkins, 48.913 sec.
8. 42-Carson Hocevar, 48.948 sec.
9. 51-Jeremy Clements, 48.949 sec.
10. 1-Carson Kvapil, 49.129 sec.
11. 2-Jesse Love, 49.219 sec.
12. 54-Taylor Gray, 49.277 sec.
13. 48-Patrick Staropoli, 49.420 sec.
14. 02-Ryan Ellis, 49.437 sec.
15. 39-Ryan Ellis, 49.439 sec.
16. 41-Sam Mayer, 49.493 sec.
17. 55-Joey Gase, 49.546 sec.
18. 21-Austin Hill, 49.581 sec.
19. 88-Rajah Caruth, 49.596 sec.
20. 99-Parker Retzlaff, 49.606 sec.
21. 91-Mason Maggio, 49.626 sec.
22. 20-Brandon Jones, 49.638 sec.
23. 30-Carson Ware, 49.650 sec.
24. 00-Sheldon Creed, 49.667 sec.
25. 92-Josh Williams, 49.739 sec.
26. 18-William Sawalich, 49.752 sec.
27. 53-David Starr, 49.754 sec.
28. 07-Josh Bilicki, 49.802 sec.
29. 0-Garrett Smithley, 49.843 sec.
30. 5-Luke Fenhaus, 49.856 sec.
31. 87-Austin Green, 49.910 sec.
32. 35-Natalie Decker, 49.967 sec.
33. 7-Justin Allgaier, 49.982 sec.
34. 38-Patrick Emerling, 49.989 sec.
35. 28-Kyle Sieg, 50.022 sec.
36. 25-Nick Sanchez, 50.025 sec.
37. 4-Caesar Bacarella, 50.060 sec.
38. 96-Anthony Alfredo, 50.143 sec.
39. 52-Daniel Dye, 50.180 sec.
40. 24-Harrison Burton, 50.490 sec.
41. 44-Brennan Poole, 50.557 sec.
42. 45-Lavar Scott, 50.605 sec.