Truex jumps to the top of the charts as final practice ends

On his last run, the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was just short of the speed set by Brad Kesleowski (176.136mph) 25 minutes earlier. For most of the session, it was Kevin Harvick’s lap

of 176.012mph —set just before the 20 minute mark — that set the early pace.

But following the 80-minute session, it Truex (176.129mph) followed by Keselowski then the Chevys of Harvick, June winner Kurt Busch (175.922mph) and Chase Elliott (175.864mph).

Kyle Busch (175.864mph), Kyle Larson (175.761mph), Paul Menard (175.719mph), Carl Edwards (175.799mph) and Jimmie Johnson (175.459mph) rounded out the top 10 in single lap runs.

Truex also led the way in the best ten consecutive laps category (174.625mph), trailed by Austin Dillon (174.6442mph), Harvick (174.384), Ryan Blaney (173.944mph) and Keselowski (173.871mph).

After Edwards completed his seventh run and final run (27 laps), he told the crew, “Left front way too much, I can't get into 1 the way I want.”

“That was an improvement,” Jeff Gordon said after backing the corner off on his final run. However, early in the session, the driver opted to get off comfort in the tunnel turn to improve his speed around the entire track. Gordon ended up 24th in the session with a lap of 174.284mph.

The final practice was slowed at the 27-minute mark when NASCAR waved the red flag for debris in the tunnel turn. Harvick was still atop the speed chart then followed by Menard, Denny Hamlin, Edwards and Keselowski.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	34	51.027			176.377
2	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	25	51.097	0.070	0.070	176.136
3	4	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	35	51.133	0.106	0.036	176.012
4	41	Kurt Busch	Chevrolet	42	51.159	0.132	0.026	175.922
5	24	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	32	51.176	0.149	0.017	175.864
6	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	35	51.176	0.149	0.000	175.864
7	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	28	51.206	0.179	0.030	175.761
8	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	36	51.218	0.191	0.012	175.719
9	19	Carl Edwards	Toyota	27	51.253	0.226	0.035	175.599
10	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	34	51.294	0.267	0.041	175.459