Jimmie Johnson tops Friday's NASCAR Cup practice
Well, look who is back on top in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session.
Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Ally
John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images
Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson led the way in Friday’s practice session at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., the first time since last fall he’s topped the leaderboard in a Cup series practice.
The California native’s average lap speed of 179.386 mph came very early in the 50-minute session. Austin Dillon ended up second (179.350 mph) and thanks to a late-session drafting run, Chris Buescher was third (178.975 mph).
“We do have more room to run around here, more lanes and options from that standpoint with really long straightaways, so it could be a pretty exciting race that involves a lot of drafting,” Johnson said of this weekend’s race.
“I think the longer the straightaway the better this (aero) package will show and the more competitive racing it will put on. California should be a really good test for it.”
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin completed the top-five.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Matt DiBenedetto and Kyle Larson.
Oddly enough, Keselowski was the only Ford driver to crack the Top 10.
Last year’s race winner, Martin Truex Jr., ended up 16th fastest.
Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Mph | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 5 | 40.137 | 179.386 | |||
2 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 7 | 40.145 | 0.008 | 0.008 | 179.350 | |
3 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 7 | 40.229 | 0.092 | 0.084 | 178.975 | |
4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 5 | 40.268 | 0.131 | 0.039 | 178.802 | |
5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 5 | 40.276 | 0.139 | 0.008 | 178.767 | |
6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 6 | 40.359 | 0.222 | 0.083 | 178.399 | |
7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 5 | 40.361 | 0.224 | 0.002 | 178.390 | |
8 | 24 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 5 | 40.425 | 0.288 | 0.064 | 178.108 | |
9 | 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | 5 | 40.445 | 0.308 | 0.020 | 178.020 | |
10 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 5 | 40.521 | 0.384 | 0.076 | 177.686 | |
11 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 5 | 40.530 | 0.393 | 0.009 | 177.646 | |
12 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 7 | 40.531 | 0.394 | 0.001 | 177.642 | |
13 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 5 | 40.540 | 0.403 | 0.009 | 177.602 | |
14 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 5 | 40.548 | 0.411 | 0.008 | 177.567 | |
15 | 38 | David Ragan | Ford | 8 | 40.576 | 0.439 | 0.028 | 177.445 | |
16 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 5 | 40.585 | 0.448 | 0.009 | 177.405 | |
17 | 20 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 5 | 40.596 | 0.459 | 0.011 | 177.357 | |
18 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Ford | 7 | 40.599 | 0.462 | 0.003 | 177.344 | |
19 | 21 | Paul Menard | Ford | 5 | 40.644 | 0.507 | 0.045 | 177.148 | |
20 | 41 | Daniel Suarez | Ford | 4 | 40.649 | 0.512 | 0.005 | 177.126 | |
21 | 8 | Daniel Hemric | Chevrolet | 5 | 40.667 | 0.530 | 0.018 | 177.048 | |
22 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 5 | 40.669 | 0.532 | 0.002 | 177.039 | |
23 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 5 | 40.713 | 0.576 | 0.044 | 176.848 | |
24 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 6 | 40.813 | 0.676 | 0.100 | 176.414 | |
25 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 8 | 40.821 | 0.684 | 0.008 | 176.380 | |
26 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 5 | 40.826 | 0.689 | 0.005 | 176.358 | |
27 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 5 | 40.850 | 0.713 | 0.024 | 176.255 | |
28 | 47 | Ryan Preece | Chevrolet | 6 | 40.862 | 0.725 | 0.012 | 176.203 | |
29 | 32 | Corey Lajoie | Ford | 5 | 40.923 | 0.786 | 0.061 | 175.940 | |
30 | 00 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 7 | 41.032 | 0.895 | 0.109 | 175.473 | |
31 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Chevrolet | 4 | 41.160 | 1.023 | 0.128 | 174.927 | |
32 | 36 | Matt Tifft | Ford | 5 | 41.508 | 1.371 | 0.348 | 173.461 | |
33 | 15 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 1 | 41.619 | 1.482 | 0.111 | 172.998 | |
34 | 51 | Cody Ware | Chevrolet | 5 | 42.444 | 2.307 | 0.825 | 169.635 | |
35 | 77 | Garrett Smithley | Chevrolet | 7 | 42.767 | 2.630 | 0.323 | 168.354 | |
36 | 27 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 3 | 43.053 | 2.916 | 0.286 | 167.236 | |
37 | 66 | Joey Gase | Toyota | 4 | 43.458 | 3.321 | 0.405 | 165.677 | |
38 | 52 | B.J. McLeod | Ford | 1 | 43.574 | 3.437 | 0.116 | 165.236 |
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