Because of NASCAR’s decision to give teams the ability to use an “option” tire in Sunday’s night’s race, all teams got an extended practice session on Saturday afternoon.
Teams had three sets of regular and one set of softer “option” tires for practice. All teams had to use regular tires in qualifying.
Dillon, started on the option (softer) tire and then moved to the regular tire later in the session, but his early average lap speed at 118.953 mph held up for the entire 45-minute session.
With about 17 minutes remaining in the session, Dillon’s Richard Childress Racing teammate, Kyle Busch, appeared to brush the wall with his No. 8 Chevrolet but did not suffer significant damage.
Following Dillon were three Toyotas – Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. – and rookie Zane Smith rounded out the top five.
Truex appeared to have a win in the spring Richmond race well in hand until a late-race caution sent everyone down pit road and Denny Hamlin beat Truex off pit road and then on the restart to take the win.
Completing the top 10 in average single-lap speeds were Carson Hocevar, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Daniel Suarez and Ty Gibbs.
Among the drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps, Ross Chastain had the top average speed (116.741 mph). Buescher and Suarez were second and third, respectively, in that category.
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | MPH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 3 | Chevrolet | 69 |
22.698 |
118.953 | ||
| 2 | B. Wallace23XI RACING | 23 | Toyota | 80 |
+0.018 22.716 |
0.018 | 118.859 | |
| 3 | C. BellJOE GIBBS RACING | 20 | Toyota | 86 |
+0.037 22.735 |
0.019 | 118.760 | |
| 4 | M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING | 19 | Toyota | 83 |
+0.047 22.745 |
0.010 | 118.707 | |
| 5 |
Z. SmithSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
71 | Chevrolet | 74 |
+0.048 22.746 |
0.001 | 118.702 | |
| 6 |
C. HocevarSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
77 | Chevrolet | 73 |
+0.081 22.779 |
0.033 | 118.530 | |
| 7 | C. BuescherRFK RACING | 17 | Ford | 79 |
+0.095 22.793 |
0.014 | 118.457 | |
| 8 | M. McDowellFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 34 | Ford | 83 |
+0.139 22.837 |
0.044 | 118.229 | |
| 9 | D. SuarezTRACKHOUSE RACING | 99 | Chevrolet | 86 |
+0.144 22.842 |
0.005 | 118.203 | |
| 10 |
T. GibbsJOE GIBBS RACING
|
54 | Toyota | 85 |
+0.175 22.873 |
0.031 | 118.043 | |
| 11 | D. HamlinJOE GIBBS RACING | 11 | Toyota | 86 |
+0.186 22.884 |
0.011 | 117.986 | |
| 12 | C. BriscoeSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 14 | Ford | 90 |
+0.187 22.885 |
0.001 | 117.981 | |
| 13 | C. LajoieSPIRE MOTORSPORTS | 7 | Chevrolet | 63 |
+0.205 22.903 |
0.018 | 117.888 | |
| 14 | J. HaleyRICK WARE RACING | 51 | Ford | 49 |
+0.228 22.926 |
0.023 | 117.770 | |
| 15 | R. ChastainTRACKHOUSE RACING | 1 | Chevrolet | 80 |
+0.234 22.932 |
0.006 | 117.739 | |
| 16 | E. JonesLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 43 | Toyota | 53 |
+0.250 22.948 |
0.016 | 117.657 | |
| 17 | T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 38 | Ford | 87 |
+0.333 23.031 |
0.083 | 117.233 | |
| 18 | J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE | 22 | Ford | 87 |
+0.362 23.060 |
0.029 | 117.086 | |
| 19 | R. HerbstRICK WARE RACING | 15 | Ford | 69 |
+0.364 23.062 |
0.002 | 117.076 | |
| 20 | K. BuschRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 8 | Chevrolet | 67 |
+0.389 23.087 |
0.025 | 116.949 | |
| 21 | T. Reddick23XI RACING | 45 | Toyota | 74 |
+0.396 23.094 |
0.007 | 116.913 | |
| 22 | J. NemechekLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 42 | Toyota | 84 |
+0.398 23.096 |
0.002 | 116.903 | |
| 23 | N. GragsonSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 10 | Ford | 80 |
+0.420 23.118 |
0.022 | 116.792 | |
| 24 | R. Stenhouse JrJTG DAUGHERTY RACING | 47 | Chevrolet | 91 |
+0.433 23.131 |
0.013 | 116.726 | |
| 25 | R. BlaneyTEAM PENSKE | 12 | Ford | 81 |
+0.467 23.165 |
0.034 | 116.555 | |
| 26 | B. KeselowskiRFK RACING | 6 | Ford | 95 |
+0.476 23.174 |
0.009 | 116.510 | |
| 27 | A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 48 | Chevrolet | 77 |
+0.486 23.184 |
0.010 | 116.460 | |
| 28 | D. HemricKAULIG RACING | 31 | Chevrolet | 60 |
+0.494 23.192 |
0.008 | 116.419 | |
| 29 | T. DillonKAULIG RACING | 16 | Chevrolet | 59 |
+0.517 23.215 |
0.023 | 116.304 | |
| 30 | H. BurtonWOOD BROTHERS RACING | 21 | Ford | 79 |
+0.517 23.215 |
0.000 | 116.304 | |
| 31 | A. CindricTEAM PENSKE | 2 | Ford | 77 |
+0.533 23.231 |
0.016 | 116.224 | |
| 32 | K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 5 | Chevrolet | 76 |
+0.555 23.253 |
0.022 | 116.114 | |
| 33 | J. BerrySTEWART-HAAS RACING | 4 | Ford | 37 |
+0.574 23.272 |
0.019 | 116.019 | |
| 34 | R. PreeceSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 41 | Ford | 65 |
+0.625 23.323 |
0.051 | 115.766 | |
| 35 | W. ByronHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 24 | Chevrolet | 76 |
+0.712 23.410 |
0.087 | 115.335 | |
| 36 | C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 65 |
+0.808 23.506 |
0.096 | 114.864 | |
| 37 |
P. RetzlaffMBM
|
66 | Ford | 36 |
+1.910 24.608 |
1.102 | 109.720 |
