Joey Logano leads Denny Hamlin in NASCAR Cup practice at Phoenix
Joey Logano – who has started on the front row in the first three races of the 2024 season – edged Denny Hamlin to lead Friday’s NASCAR Cup practice session at Phoenix Raceway.
Logano, in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford, topped the speed chart with an average lap speed of 131.166 mph with Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota just behind him at 131.080 mph.
Fords have won the first three poles of the season with Logano claiming two of them – the Daytona 500 and last weekend at Las Vegas.
Toyota driver Tyler Reddick ended up third quick (131.066 mph) but ended up spinning out with about three minutes left in the session and flat spotting the tires.
John Hunter Nemechek was fourth and Austin Cindric rounded out the top five.
Friday’s practice was the first track time most teams have had with this year’s new aero rules for all road courses and most oval tracks measuring 1.058-mile or less in distance.
Cup cars are utilizing a simplified diffuser as well as 2023 short track/road course splitter stuffers, removal of engine panel strakes, a 3-inch spoiler and simplified diffuser strakes.
Completing the top-10 speeds were Erik Jones, Chase Elliott – the top Chevrolet – Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and Carson Hocevar.
About 21 minutes into the session, Daniel Hemric spun around in Turns 3 and 4 and tagged the wall with his No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. The car did not appear to suffer much damage and Hemric was able to return to the track following repairs.
Around 33 minutes in, NASCAR was forced to halt the session again for debris on the track.
Among those drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps, Toyotas led the way with Bubba Wallace on top with an average speed of 129.374 mph, followed by Bell and Nemechek.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top Comments
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
Goodyear's option tires at Richmond "were like Mario Kart with a star"
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
Chase Elliott on the bubble as four drivers face Roval elimination
Alex Bowman doesn't expect repeat of extreme tire wear at Bristol
How the Penske duo bested Trackhouse in NASCAR overtime
Blaney furious, Bowman "disappointed in myself" after Talladega wreck
Austin Cindric's title hopes fade after massive Talladega crash
How Ferrari overcame multiple threats to defend its Le Mans crown
Verstappen bemused by criticism of Red Bull: "People come up with bizarre things"
Super Formula Fuji: Tsuboi snatches points lead with back-to-back wins
Supercars Bathurst 1000: Kostecki and Hazelwood dominate at Mount Panorama
How van Gisbergen was eliminated from the NASCAR Xfinity playoffs
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
