Denny Hamlin tops Michigan Cup practice at over 202 mph

With virtually all teams running in qualifying set-up, Hamlin set the fastest average lap speed (202.230 mph) late in the 50-minute session at Michigan International Speedway.

Hamlin has two series wins at Michigan, but his most recent came in the 2011 season. He was 12th in this season’s first event at the 2-mile oval.

Kurt Busch ended up second (201.901 mph) and Daniel Suarez was third (201.850 mph). Ryan Blaney was third and Kyle Busch completed the top-five.

Rounding out the Top 10 were Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman and Paul Menard.

All of the top 15 drivers averaged at least 200 mph.

Chase Elliott, who earned his first series victory last weekend at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, ended up 14th-fastest.

“This place is wild – it’s crazy fast,” said Martin Truex Jr., who ended up 11th-fastest and finished 18th in the June race. “I feel good about our car, though. We struggled here last time and came back with new ideas and the car is driving really good.”

Cla	#	Driver	4506	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	7	35.603			202.230
2	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	5	35.661	0.058	0.058	201.901
3	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	7	35.670	0.067	0.009	201.850
4	12	Ryan Blaney	Ford	5	35.680	0.077	0.010	201.794
5	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	6	35.682	0.079	0.002	201.782
6	22	Joey Logano	Ford	5	35.715	0.112	0.033	201.596
7	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	5	35.715	0.112	0.000	201.596
8	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	5	35.740	0.137	0.025	201.455
9	88	Alex Bowman	Chevrolet	9	35.752	0.149	0.012	201.387
10	21	Paul Menard	Ford	5	35.761	0.158	0.009	201.337
11	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	5	35.786	0.183	0.025	201.196
12	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	5	35.790	0.187	0.004	201.174
13	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	7	35.844	0.241	0.054	200.870
14	9	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	5	35.892	0.289	0.048	200.602
15	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	5	35.905	0.302	0.013	200.529
16	20	Erik Jones	Toyota	5	36.009	0.406	0.104	199.950
17	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	5	36.019	0.416	0.010	199.895
18	10	Aric Almirola	Ford	5	36.028	0.425	0.009	199.845
19	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	7	36.058	0.455	0.030	199.678
20	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	7	36.130	0.527	0.072	199.280
21	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	5	36.164	0.561	0.034	199.093
22	24	William Byron	Chevrolet	11	36.170	0.567	0.006	199.060
23	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	9	36.365	0.762	0.195	197.993
24	38	David Ragan	Ford	6	36.542	0.939	0.177	197.034
25	34	Michael McDowell	Ford	7	36.587	0.984	0.045	196.791
26	95	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	5	36.741	1.138	0.154	195.966
27	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	9	36.814	1.211	0.073	195.578
28	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	15	36.820	1.217	0.006	195.546
29	00	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	7	36.873	1.270	0.053	195.265
30	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	9	36.908	1.305	0.035	195.080
31	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	3	36.990	1.387	0.082	194.647
32	43	Darrell Wallace Jr.	Chevrolet	10	37.034	1.431	0.044	194.416
33	72	Corey Lajoie	Chevrolet	10	37.892	2.289	0.858	190.014
34	15	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	4	38.092	2.489	0.200	189.016
35	51	B.J. McLeod	Chevrolet	2	38.206	2.603	0.114	188.452
36	99	Gray Gaulding	Chevrolet	3	38.317	2.714	0.111	187.906
37	7	Garrett Smithley	Chevrolet	8	38.370	2.767	0.053	187.647
38	96	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Toyota	9	38.507	2.904	0.137	186.979
39	23	Jones Blake	Toyota	5	39.424	3.821	0.917	182.630
40	66	Timmy Hill	Toyota	3	39.524	3.921	0.100	182.168