Keselowski leads final Michigan practice, Allmendinger crashes
Brad Keselowski was fastest in Happy Hour at his hometown track on Saturday.
Brad Keselowski, Team Penske Ford
Logan Whitton / NKP / Motorsport Images
Just past half-way in final practice, Keselowski set shot to the top of the board with a lap of 197.401mph at Michigan International Speedway. The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford completed 30 laps after five different runs. Keselowski rolls off 12th on Sunday.
Kyle Busch was second followed by polesitter Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin.
Kyle Busch set the quick pace early with a lap of 197.174mph. Larson was second (196.266mph) followed by Hamlin (196.244mph), Harvick (196.094mph), Jones (196.020mph), Ryan Blaney (19.945mph), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (195.929mph), Keselowski (195.689mph) and Clint Bowyer (195.397mph).
Truex climbed up to second (196.609mph) just before the 15-minute mark but was quickly passed by Logano (196.969mph) and Daniel Suarez (196.694mph).
Eighteen minutes into the session, Johnson took his first laps in his back up car. The No. 48 team elected to park the primary after sustaining damage to the front end of the car after Johnson spun in the morning practice. He was sixth-quick (196.260mph) in his initial laps.
"The backup Kobalt Chevy is pretty good,” Johnson said. “We need to work a little more on it to make it more comfortable for me, but all things considered we will be ok tomorrow. Just need to pass some cars again.”
At halfway in the 50-minute session, Busch continued to lead single-lap runs followed by Logano, Suarez, Truex, Bowyer, Larson, Johnson, Hamlin, Blaney and Jones.
Keselowski shot up to P1 at the 30-minute mark with a lap of 197.401mph. Jones’ vaulted to fourth. With 15-minutes remaining, Keselowski remained atop the leader board followed by Kyle Busch, Larson, Logano, Jones, Suarez, Truex, Bowyer, Johnson and Hamlin.
In the final moment, AJ Allmendinger wrecked coming off of Turn 4 on his 18th lap. He was 28th on the speed chart. He had no indication of his tire going down. “No, the left rear tire blew and I crashed,” Dinger said.
Larson led the Best 10 Consecutive Average category with a speed of 195.416mph. Hamlin (195.391mph) was second followed by Harvick (195.188mph), Keselowski (195.110mph) and Blaney (195.047mph). Suarez, McMurray, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and Bowyer rounded out the top 10. Kahne’s 41 laps were the most completed during final practice.
Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Time | Gap | Mph |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 35.616 | 202.156 | |
2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 35.623 | 0.007 | 202.117 |
3 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 35.703 | 0.087 | 201.664 |
4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 35.728 | 0.112 | 201.523 |
5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 35.761 | 0.145 | 201.337 |
6 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 35.847 | 0.231 | 200.854 |
7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 35.862 | 0.246 | 200.770 |
8 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 35.867 | 0.251 | 200.742 |
9 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 35.869 | 0.253 | 200.730 |
10 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 35.932 | 0.316 | 200.378 |
11 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 35.963 | 0.347 | 200.206 |
12 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 35.991 | 0.375 | 200.050 |
13 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 35.945 | 0.329 | 200.306 |
14 | 77 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 35.968 | 0.352 | 200.178 |
15 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Ford | 36.052 | 0.436 | 199.712 |
16 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 36.114 | 0.498 | 199.369 |
17 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 36.140 | 0.524 | 199.225 |
18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 36.188 | 0.572 | 198.961 |
19 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 36.234 | 0.618 | 198.708 |
20 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 36.266 | 0.650 | 198.533 |
21 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 36.268 | 0.652 | 16.019 |
22 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Chevrolet | 36.325 | 0.709 | 198.211 |
23 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Ford | 36.405 | 0.789 | 197.775 |
24 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 36.492 | 0.876 | 197.304 |
25 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 36.451 | 0.835 | 197.525 |
26 | 47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 36.459 | 0.843 | 22.871 |
27 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Ford | 36.474 | 0.858 | 197.401 |
28 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 36.519 | 0.903 | 197.158 |
29 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 36.693 | 1.077 | 196.046 |
30 | 38 | David Ragan | Ford | 36.776 | 1.160 | 15.698 |
31 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 36.807 | 1.191 | 195.615 |
32 | 23 | Ryan Sieg | Toyota | 37.177 | 1.561 | 193.668 |
33 | 83 | Corey Lajoie | Toyota | 37.408 | 1.792 | 192.472 |
34 | 72 | Cole Whitt | Chevrolet | 37.594 | 1.978 | 191.520 |
35 | 15 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 37.834 | 2.218 | 190.305 |
36 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Chevrolet | 37.895 | 2.279 | 189.999 |
37 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
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