Larson spins, but still leads All-Star Race practice

Larson jumped to the top of the board with a single-lap speed of 189.274mph after completing 27 laps.

“We were extremely fast in the (2016) All-Star race and was leading with two or three laps to go and (Joey) Logano got by me,” Larson said. “Came up just a little bit short of winning a big race like that was special. I just hope I can go there again and be competitive.”

Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top 10 in single-lap speeds.

Keselowski set the quick pace with a speed of 187.526mph after four laps. Jimmie Johnson (185.370mph), Kurt Busch (185.370mph), Kyle Larson (185.217mph) and Martin Truex Jr. (184.723mph), rounded out the top-five fastest single-lap runs.
At the six-minute mark, NASCAR waved the yellow flag after Larson spun out of Turn 4 as he was completing his second lap. Larson collected his car and came to pit road. Fifteen drivers had been on the track prior to the No. 42 car’s spin.

Keselowski remained on top 15 minutes into the 70-minute session. Followed by Kevin Harvick (186.413mph), Kyle Busch (185.739mph) and Johnson.

After the first half-hour, the only change in the top-five single lap speeds was Ryan Newman, who moved up to fourth (186.123mph). Sixteen drivers had been on the track. Kurt Busch’s 21 laps were the most completed at that point.

With 20 minutes remaining in first practice, Kurt Busch had jumped to the top of the speed chart on the option tire with a lap of 188.081mph. Newman was second (187.735mph) followed by Keselowski, McMurray and Larson.

Johnson had similar results to Busch and moved up to second (187.865mph). With 18 minutes to go, Kyle Busch moved up to second (187.833mph), but then Harvick came out on option tires and vaulted to the top of the speed chart with a lap of 189.095mph. After four laps, Harvick’s lap speed dropped to 183.511mph.

With eight minutes remaining, Kyle Busch moved up to second (188.594mph).

NASCAR told the crews that pit road practice would start at 2:10p.m and continue for 17 minutes. Without a speed limit for qualifying, drivers were given the opportunity to test the limits.

At the 1:11 mark, Hamlin hit the wall coming out of Turn to bring out the red flag. Hamlin said he had no idea what happened.

“It got around backwards.” Hamlin said. “Something broke, it just didn’t feel right.”

The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team was forced to bring out a backup car.

Seven minutes later, his teammate Kyle Busch slid sideway through Turns 3 and 4 trying to make the exit onto pit road. Unlike Hamlin, Busch kept his car off of the wall.

NASCAR announced they were extended the practice to 2:30. Shortly after, Johnson stumbled trying to get on pit road and took the No. 48 Chevy back on the track.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	33	28.530			189.274
2	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	34	28.557	0.027	0.027	189.095
3	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	36	28.575	0.045	0.018	188.976
4	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	37	28.633	0.103	0.058	188.594
5	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	30	28.688	0.158	0.055	188.232
6	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	39	28.711	0.181	0.023	188.081
7	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	36	28.744	0.214	0.033	187.865
8	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	32	28.764	0.234	0.020	187.735
9	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	36	28.843	0.313	0.079	187.220
10	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	37	28.877	0.347	0.034	187.000
11	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	52	28.940	0.410	0.063	186.593
12	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	30	28.971	0.441	0.031	186.393
13	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	31	29.041	0.511	0.070	185.944
14	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	29	29.143	0.613	0.102	185.293
15	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	33	29.159	0.629	0.016	185.192
16	22	Joey Logano	Ford	13	29.239	0.709	0.080	184.685