Chase Elliott leads opening Cup practice from Bristol
Chase Elliott, who struggled in this season’s first race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, ended up fastest in Friday’s first practice session.
Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images
Elliott’s fastest average lap speed of 126.645 mph just edged Kyle Larson (126.312 mph). Alex Bowman ended up third (126.295 mph). Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney completed the top-five.
In five career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol, Elliott’s best finish of fourth came in his first series race in 2016. This spring, he started 16th and finished 29th.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Joey Logano, spring race winner Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Denny Hamlin.
Martin Truex Jr. was fastest among the drivers who completed at least 10 consecutive laps (123.290 mph). Rounding out the top five in that category were Kyle Busch, Stenhouse, Hamlin and Brad Keselowski.
The teams of Daniel Suarez, Ryan Newman, Michael McDowell and Darrell Wallace Jr. sat out the final 15 minutes of the first practice session for failing pre-race inspection two times last weekend at Michigan.
Cla | # | Driver | 4506 | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Mph |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 55 | 15.151 | 126.645 | ||
2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 37 | 15.191 | 0.040 | 0.040 | 126.312 |
3 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 62 | 15.193 | 0.042 | 0.002 | 126.295 |
4 | 20 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 55 | 15.206 | 0.055 | 0.013 | 126.187 |
5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 30 | 15.211 | 0.060 | 0.005 | 126.146 |
6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 53 | 15.215 | 0.064 | 0.004 | 126.112 |
7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 52 | 15.236 | 0.085 | 0.021 | 125.939 |
8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Ford | 49 | 15.239 | 0.088 | 0.003 | 125.914 |
9 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 53 | 15.243 | 0.092 | 0.004 | 125.881 |
10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 45 | 15.246 | 0.095 | 0.003 | 125.856 |
11 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 33 | 15.259 | 0.108 | 0.013 | 125.749 |
12 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 35 | 15.282 | 0.131 | 0.023 | 125.559 |
13 | 24 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 23 | 15.302 | 0.151 | 0.020 | 125.395 |
14 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 50 | 15.306 | 0.155 | 0.004 | 125.363 |
15 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 36 | 15.314 | 0.163 | 0.008 | 125.297 |
16 | 21 | Paul Menard | Ford | 42 | 15.322 | 0.171 | 0.008 | 125.232 |
17 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 46 | 15.322 | 0.171 | 0.000 | 125.232 |
18 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 59 | 15.332 | 0.181 | 0.010 | 125.150 |
19 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 41 | 15.338 | 0.187 | 0.006 | 125.101 |
20 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 38 | 15.342 | 0.191 | 0.004 | 125.068 |
21 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 59 | 15.349 | 0.198 | 0.007 | 125.011 |
22 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 18 | 15.360 | 0.209 | 0.011 | 124.922 |
23 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 54 | 15.373 | 0.222 | 0.013 | 124.816 |
24 | 38 | David Ragan | Ford | 35 | 15.379 | 0.228 | 0.006 | 124.768 |
25 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 61 | 15.391 | 0.240 | 0.012 | 124.670 |
26 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 58 | 15.395 | 0.244 | 0.004 | 124.638 |
27 | 47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 52 | 15.401 | 0.250 | 0.006 | 124.589 |
28 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 26 | 15.455 | 0.304 | 0.054 | 124.154 |
29 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Chevrolet | 51 | 15.469 | 0.318 | 0.014 | 124.042 |
30 | 15 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 21 | 15.500 | 0.349 | 0.031 | 123.794 |
31 | 52 | B.J. McLeod | Chevrolet | 3 | 15.522 | 0.371 | 0.022 | 123.618 |
32 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 55 | 15.581 | 0.430 | 0.059 | 123.150 |
33 | 23 | Jones Blake | Toyota | 48 | 15.590 | 0.439 | 0.009 | 123.079 |
34 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 27 | 15.656 | 0.505 | 0.066 | 122.560 |
35 | 72 | Corey Lajoie | Chevrolet | 32 | 15.676 | 0.525 | 0.020 | 122.404 |
36 | 96 | Jesse Little | Toyota | 72 | 15.697 | 0.546 | 0.021 | 122.240 |
37 | 00 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 36 | 15.729 | 0.578 | 0.032 | 121.991 |
38 | 99 | Gray Gaulding | Chevrolet | 21 | 15.848 | 0.697 | 0.119 | 121.075 |
39 | 7 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | 30 | 15.925 | 0.774 | 0.077 | 120.490 |
40 | 66 | Timmy Hill | Toyota | 11 | 15.985 | 0.834 | 0.060 | 120.038 |
41 | 51 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 21 | 16.011 | 0.860 | 0.026 | 119.843 |
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