Kevin Harvick tops final Cup practice at Phoenix, Menard wrecks
Kevin Harvick made it a clean sweep of both practice sessions Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix.
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Busch Light
Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images
Harvick, who was fastest in Saturday’s first practice session and won the pole for Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway, posted the fastest single average lap speed in the final session (135.125 mph).
Brad Keselowski ended up second (134.484 mph) and Kyle Busch was third (134.308 mph). Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-five.
With less than two minutes remaining in the session, Paul Menard wrecked hard between Turn 3 and 4. He will have to move to a backup car and will start Sunday’s race from the rear of the field.
Completing the top-10 are William Byron, Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Austin Dillon.
Three playoff drivers failed to crack the Top-10: Chase Elliott (12th), Kurt Busch (13th) and Clint Bowyer (19th).
About 15 minutes into the session, a small fire erupted under the hood of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 17 Ford when it was brought back down pit road following a run.
A.J. Allmendinger and Tanner Berryhill both had to hit out the final 15 minutes of practice for twice failing pre-qualifying inspection on Friday.
Truex had to sit out the final 30 minutes of practice after his No. 78 Toyota failed pre-qualifying inspection three times on Friday.
Cla | # | Driver | 4506 | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Mph |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 53 | 26.642 | 135.125 | ||
2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 46 | 26.769 | 0.127 | 0.127 | 134.484 |
3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 49 | 26.804 | 0.162 | 0.035 | 134.308 |
4 | 20 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 32 | 26.866 | 0.224 | 0.062 | 133.998 |
5 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 28 | 26.880 | 0.238 | 0.014 | 133.929 |
6 | 24 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 48 | 26.884 | 0.242 | 0.004 | 133.909 |
7 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 41 | 26.893 | 0.251 | 0.009 | 133.864 |
8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 42 | 26.894 | 0.252 | 0.001 | 133.859 |
9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 59 | 26.902 | 0.260 | 0.008 | 133.819 |
10 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 46 | 26.912 | 0.270 | 0.010 | 133.769 |
11 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 60 | 26.916 | 0.274 | 0.004 | 133.749 |
12 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 52 | 26.926 | 0.284 | 0.010 | 133.700 |
13 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Ford | 58 | 26.931 | 0.289 | 0.005 | 133.675 |
14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 48 | 26.931 | 0.289 | 0.000 | 133.675 |
15 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 40 | 26.955 | 0.313 | 0.024 | 133.556 |
16 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 52 | 26.956 | 0.314 | 0.001 | 133.551 |
17 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 53 | 26.975 | 0.333 | 0.019 | 133.457 |
18 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 27 | 26.976 | 0.334 | 0.001 | 133.452 |
19 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 50 | 26.988 | 0.346 | 0.012 | 133.393 |
20 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 40 | 26.995 | 0.353 | 0.007 | 133.358 |
21 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 52 | 27.010 | 0.368 | 0.015 | 133.284 |
22 | 21 | Paul Menard | Ford | 44 | 27.012 | 0.370 | 0.002 | 133.274 |
23 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 47 | 27.032 | 0.390 | 0.020 | 133.175 |
24 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 25 | 27.058 | 0.416 | 0.026 | 133.048 |
25 | 47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 32 | 27.107 | 0.465 | 0.049 | 132.807 |
26 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Chevrolet | 35 | 27.266 | 0.624 | 0.159 | 132.033 |
27 | 38 | David Ragan | Ford | 51 | 27.268 | 0.626 | 0.002 | 132.023 |
28 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 27 | 27.276 | 0.634 | 0.008 | 131.984 |
29 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 46 | 27.323 | 0.681 | 0.047 | 131.757 |
30 | 95 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 27 | 27.434 | 0.792 | 0.111 | 131.224 |
31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 16 | 27.435 | 0.793 | 0.001 | 131.219 |
32 | 15 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 27 | 27.473 | 0.831 | 0.038 | 131.038 |
33 | 00 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 29 | 27.542 | 0.900 | 0.069 | 130.709 |
34 | 23 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | 29 | 27.585 | 0.943 | 0.043 | 130.506 |
35 | 72 | Cole Whitt | Chevrolet | 22 | 27.768 | 1.126 | 0.183 | 129.646 |
36 | 7 | D.J. Kennington | Chevrolet | 19 | 27.954 | 1.312 | 0.186 | 128.783 |
37 | 97 | Tanner Berryhill | Toyota | 18 | 28.157 | 1.515 | 0.203 | 127.855 |
38 | 66 | Timmy Hill | Toyota | 18 | 28.174 | 1.532 | 0.017 | 127.777 |
39 | 51 | Cody Ware | Ford | 25 | 28.324 | 1.682 | 0.150 | 127.101 |
Take a virtual lap around ISM Raceway with NASCAR Heat 3:
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