Logano and Truex top final practice; Kyle Busch scrapes the wall
Joey Logano shows plenty of speed as he attempts to win his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Logano completed a sweep of Saturday’s practice sessions in preparation for Sunday’s Ford 400 season finale, leading the way in the final practice with an average lap speed of 171.701 mph. He was also fastest in Saturday’s first session and qualified fifth for Sunday’s race.
In addition, Logano had the fastest average lap speed among the drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps.
Although he has the fewest wins of the Championship 4 (two), Logano insists he is just as much a favorite for the title as anyone.
“We’ve been able to get our way through each round, really by the time we get to the cut-off race, because we’ve been able to execute under the pressure, get the stage points,” Logano said. “Now we’ve been leading the races, getting stage wins.
“Pit crew has been on it. Grabbing a race win, maybe the most important one of all year, to get us ready for this one here, Miami. Yeah, how do you not feel confident in that? You have to.
“I’m sure everyone else feels confident, that they’re the favorite. I’m pretty sure they think that, too. If you don’t, then just go home, right?”
Reigning series champion and fellow title contender Martin Truex Jr. ended up second-fastest (170.584 mph) in single-lap speed and Logano’s Team Penske teammate, Brad Keselowski was third (170.428 mph). Erik Jones and Aric Almirola completed the top-five.
The final two title contenders, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, ended up 12th and 14th-fastest, respectively.
Busch appeared to scrub the wall with the right-side of his No. 18 Toyota in the final minutes of practice. The damage did not appear to be serious.
Rounding out the Top 10 in single-lap speed were Ryan Blaney, pole-winner Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, Daniel Suarez and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Drivers Jamie McMurray and Ross Chastain had to sit out the final 15 minutes of the practice session after their respective cars failed pre-qualifying inspection on Friday twice.
| Cla | # | Driver | 4506 | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 |  Joey Logano | Ford | 60 | 31.450 | 171.701 | ||
| 2 | 78 |  Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 56 | 31.656 | 0.206 | 0.206 | 170.584 |
| 3 | 2 |  Brad Keselowski | Ford | 50 | 31.685 | 0.235 | 0.029 | 170.428 |
| 4 | 20 |  Erik Jones | Toyota | 57 | 31.729 | 0.279 | 0.044 | 170.191 |
| 5 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 50 | 31.813 | 0.363 | 0.084 | 169.742 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 43 | 31.858 | 0.408 | 0.045 | 169.502 |
| 7 | 11 |  Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 60 | 31.869 | 0.419 | 0.011 | 169.444 |
| 8 | 21 |  Paul Menard | Ford | 47 | 31.897 | 0.447 | 0.028 | 169.295 |
| 9 | 19 |  Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 58 | 31.905 | 0.455 | 0.008 | 169.252 |
| 10 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 42 | 31.942 | 0.492 | 0.037 | 169.056 |
| 11 | 47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 47 | 31.963 | 0.513 | 0.021 | 168.945 |
| 12 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 50 | 32.031 | 0.581 | 0.068 | 168.587 |
| 13 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 39 | 32.105 | 0.655 | 0.074 | 168.198 |
| 14 | 4 |  Kevin Harvick | Ford | 52 | 32.156 | 0.706 | 0.051 | 167.931 |
| 15 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 51 | 32.256 | 0.806 | 0.100 | 167.411 |
| 16 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 35 | 32.259 | 0.809 | 0.003 | 167.395 |
| 17 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 48 | 32.297 | 0.847 | 0.038 | 167.198 |
| 18 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 43 | 32.342 | 0.892 | 0.045 | 166.966 |
| 19 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 54 | 32.400 | 0.950 | 0.058 | 166.667 |
| 20 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 34 | 32.582 | 1.132 | 0.182 | 165.736 |
| 21 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 46 | 32.661 | 1.211 | 0.079 | 165.335 |
| 22 | 41 |  Kurt Busch | Ford | 46 | 32.690 | 1.240 | 0.029 | 165.188 |
| 23 | 38 | David Ragan | Ford | 42 | 32.759 | 1.309 | 0.069 | 164.840 |
| 24 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 35 | 32.773 | 1.323 | 0.014 | 164.770 |
| 25 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Chevrolet | 45 | 32.826 | 1.376 | 0.053 | 164.504 |
| 26 | 24 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 43 | 32.855 | 1.405 | 0.029 | 164.359 |
| 27 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 45 | 32.962 | 1.512 | 0.107 | 163.825 |
| 28 | 95 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 31 | 32.970 | 1.520 | 0.008 | 163.785 |
| 29 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 51 | 32.974 | 1.524 | 0.004 | 163.765 |
| 30 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 46 | 33.177 | 1.727 | 0.203 | 162.763 |
| 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 33 | 33.391 | 1.941 | 0.214 | 161.720 |
| 32 | 23 |  J.J. Yeley | Ford | 30 | 33.804 | 2.354 | 0.413 | 159.744 |
| 33 | 72 | Corey Lajoie | Chevrolet | 17 | 33.889 | 2.439 | 0.085 | 159.344 |
| 34 | 00 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 30 | 33.913 | 2.463 | 0.024 | 159.231 |
| 35 | 15 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 20 | 34.030 | 2.580 | 0.117 | 158.684 |
| 36 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | Chevrolet | 28 | 34.393 | 2.943 | 0.363 | 157.009 |
| 37 | 97 | Tanner Berryhill | Toyota | 15 | 34.588 | 3.138 | 0.195 | 156.124 |
| 38 | 51 | B.J. McLeod | Ford | 13 | 34.636 | 3.186 | 0.048 | 155.907 |
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About this article
| Series | NASCAR Cup |
| Event | Homestead |
| Drivers | Kevin Harvick , Martin Truex Jr. , Joey Logano , Kyle Busch |
| Author | Jim Utter |
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