Larson tops first Pocono practice as Dale Jr. encounters engine issues

Larson established a fast lap of 177.312 on his 11th — and final lap in the session.

Kyle Busch was second followed by Matt Kenseth and the Fords of Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney. Chevy drivers Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top 10 speeds.

Keselowski posted the quick lap early — 173.789mph. In the first 10 minutes, Larson was second 173.772mph followed by Kenseth (173.174mph), Ryan Newman (173.047mph), Denny Hamlin (173.007mph), Harvick (172.572mph), Clint Bowyer (172.483mph), McMurray (172.232mph), Kurt Busch (172.199mph) and AJ Allmendinger 9172.150mph).

Thirty drivers had posted times when NASCAR called a caution 13 minutes into the session for debris in Turn 1.

Just before the 25-minute mark, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had engine issues. He had completed eight laps and was 19th on the speed chart with a lap of 171.344mph. Earnhardt over-revving the engine resulted in the team needing to replace the engine. He will start from the rear on Sunday.

Thirty minutes into the 85-minute session, Keselowski continued to lead the top spot followed by Larson, Harvick (173.541mph), Kyle Busch (173.491mph), Ryan Blaney (173.404mph), Newman (173.397mph), Kenseth, Hamlin, McMurray and Bowyer.

Kyle Busch topped the speed chart 38-minutes into practice with a lap of 175.682mph on his third lap. Last weekend’s winner Jimmie Johnson moved into second with a lap of 174.338mph.

At the 50-minute mark, Larson popped up to the top of the board with a Q-run of 175.926mph.

“I probably gave up half a second in Turn 3,” Larson told the crew after posting the lap.

Kyle Busch remained second, Kenseth moved up to third (175.305mph) with McMurray (175.159mph) and Johnson rounding out the top-five speeds.

With 15 minutes remaining, Joey Logano jumped up to P1 with a speed of 176.564mph on his 13th lap. Larson, Kyle Busch, Kenseth and McMurray rounded out the top-five laps.

Kyle Busch took over the top spot with a lap of 177.235mph with just over 10 minutes left in practice. Harvick also leapt over Logano and Larson with a lap of 176.588mph. Kenseth (176.939mph) moved up to second with nine minutes to go.

But with seven minutes left in practice, Larson regained the top spot with a lap of 177.312mph.

Bubba Wallace made his first laps in a Cup car at Pocono Raceway on Friday. Wallace completed 21 laps. His team remarked after practice that his “preparation paid off.”

“I’m jacked up right now,” Wallace said. “Our Smithfield Fusion is ok, a little tight…It didn’t feel too much different. I’m just having fun.”

Trevor Bayne’s 22 laps were the most completed in the session.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	11	50.758			177.312
2	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	7	50.780	0.022	0.022	177.235
3	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	13	50.865	0.107	0.085	176.939
4	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	15	50.966	0.208	0.101	176.588
5	22	Joey Logano	Ford	15	50.973	0.215	0.007	176.564
6	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	15	51.087	0.329	0.114	176.170
7	21	Ryan Blaney	Ford	14	51.249	0.491	0.162	175.613
8	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	9	51.317	0.559	0.068	175.380
9	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	13	51.324	0.566	0.007	175.357
10	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	7	51.349	0.591	0.025	175.271
11	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	16	51.397	0.639	0.048	175.107
12	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	7	51.420	0.662	0.023	175.029
13	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	14	51.476	0.718	0.056	174.839
14	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	13	51.487	0.729	0.011	174.801
15	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	9	51.496	0.738	0.009	174.771
16	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	12	51.554	0.796	0.058	174.574
17	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	13	51.600	0.842	0.046	174.419
18	10	Danica Patrick	Ford	14	51.681	0.923	0.081	174.145
19	43	Darrell Wallace Jr.	Ford	21	51.684	0.926	0.003	174.135
20	95	Michael McDowell	Chevrolet	11	51.686	0.928	0.002	174.128
21	24	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	15	51.703	0.945	0.017	174.071
22	77	Erik Jones	Toyota	13	51.753	0.995	0.050	173.903
23	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	13	51.848	1.090	0.095	173.584
24	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	18	51.927	1.169	0.079	173.320
25	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	13	51.937	1.179	0.010	173.287
26	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	16	52.025	1.267	0.088	172.994
27	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	22	52.119	1.361	0.094	172.682
28	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	11	52.349	1.591	0.230	171.923
29	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	8	52.526	1.768	0.177	171.344
30	38	David Ragan	Ford	8	52.540	1.782	0.014	171.298
31	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	7	52.930	2.172	0.390	170.036
32	34	Landon Cassill	Ford	16	52.988	2.230	0.058	169.850
33	83	Corey Lajoie	Toyota	10	53.007	2.249	0.019	169.789
34	23	Gray Gaulding	Toyota	9	53.084	2.326	0.077	169.543
35	15	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	9	53.860	3.102	0.776	167.100
36	72	Cole Whitt	Chevrolet	11	53.905	3.147	0.045	166.960
37	33	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Chevrolet	19	54.652	3.894	0.747	164.678
38	51	Cody Ware	Chevrolet	14	54.938	4.180	0.286	163.821
39	55	Derrike Cope	Chevrolet	13	56.278	5.520	1.340	159.920