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Logano and Truex top final practice; Kyle Busch scrapes the wall

Joey Logano shows plenty of speed as he attempts to win his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Shell Pennzoil

Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Shell Pennzoil

Logan Whitton / NKP / Motorsport Images

Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Shell Pennzoil
Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Shell Pennzoil
Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Shell Pennzoil
Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing, Toyota Camry Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY
Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing, Toyota Camry Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Jimmy John's
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Jimmy John's

Logano completed a sweep of Saturday’s practice sessions in preparation for Sunday’s Ford 400 season finale, leading the way in the final practice with an average lap speed of 171.701 mph. He was also fastest in Saturday’s first session and qualified fifth for Sunday’s race.

In addition, Logano had the fastest average lap speed among the drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps.

Although he has the fewest wins of the Championship 4 (two), Logano insists he is just as much a favorite for the title as anyone.

“We’ve been able to get our way through each round, really by the time we get to the cut-off race, because we’ve been able to execute under the pressure, get the stage points,” Logano said. “Now we’ve been leading the races, getting stage wins.

“Pit crew has been on it. Grabbing a race win, maybe the most important one of all year, to get us ready for this one here, Miami. Yeah, how do you not feel confident in that? You have to.

“I’m sure everyone else feels confident, that they’re the favorite. I’m pretty sure they think that, too. If you don’t, then just go home, right?”

Reigning series champion and fellow title contender Martin Truex Jr. ended up second-fastest (170.584 mph) in single-lap speed and Logano’s Team Penske teammate, Brad Keselowski was third (170.428 mph). Erik Jones and Aric Almirola completed the top-five.

The final two title contenders, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, ended up 12th and 14th-fastest, respectively.

Busch appeared to scrub the wall with the right-side of his No. 18 Toyota in the final minutes of practice. The damage did not appear to be serious.

Rounding out the Top 10 in single-lap speed were Ryan Blaney, pole-winner Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, Daniel Suarez and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Drivers Jamie McMurray and Ross Chastain had to sit out the final 15 minutes of the practice session after their respective cars failed pre-qualifying inspection on Friday twice.

Cla # Driver 4506 Laps Time Gap Interval Mph
1 22 United States Joey Logano  Ford 60 31.450     171.701
2 78 United States Martin Truex Jr.  Toyota 56 31.656 0.206 0.206 170.584
3 2 United States Brad Keselowski  Ford 50 31.685 0.235 0.029 170.428
4 20 United States Erik Jones  Toyota 57 31.729 0.279 0.044 170.191
5 10 United States Aric Almirola  Ford 50 31.813 0.363 0.084 169.742
6 12 United States Ryan Blaney  Ford 43 31.858 0.408 0.045 169.502
7 11 United States Denny Hamlin  Toyota 60 31.869 0.419 0.011 169.444
8 21 United States Paul Menard  Ford 47 31.897 0.447 0.028 169.295
9 19 Mexico Daniel Suarez  Toyota 58 31.905 0.455 0.008 169.252
10 17 United States Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  Ford 42 31.942 0.492 0.037 169.056
11 47 United States A.J. Allmendinger  Chevrolet 47 31.963 0.513 0.021 168.945
12 18 United States Kyle Busch  Toyota 50 32.031 0.581 0.068 168.587
13 88 United States Alex Bowman  Chevrolet 39 32.105 0.655 0.074 168.198
14 4 United States Kevin Harvick  Ford 52 32.156 0.706 0.051 167.931
15 3 United States Austin Dillon  Chevrolet 51 32.256 0.806 0.100 167.411
16 1 United States Jamie McMurray  Chevrolet 35 32.259 0.809 0.003 167.395
17 9 United States Chase Elliott  Chevrolet 48 32.297 0.847 0.038 167.198
18 14 United States Clint Bowyer  Ford 43 32.342 0.892 0.045 166.966
19 6 United States Matt Kenseth  Ford 54 32.400 0.950 0.058 166.667
20 48 United States Jimmie Johnson  Chevrolet 34 32.582 1.132 0.182 165.736
21 42 United States Kyle Larson  Chevrolet 46 32.661 1.211 0.079 165.335
22 41 United States Kurt Busch  Ford 46 32.690 1.240 0.029 165.188
23 38 United States David Ragan  Ford 42 32.759 1.309 0.069 164.840
24 34 United States Michael McDowell  Ford 35 32.773 1.323 0.014 164.770
25 43 United States Darrell Wallace Jr.  Chevrolet 45 32.826 1.376 0.053 164.504
26 24 United States William Byron  Chevrolet 43 32.855 1.405 0.029 164.359
27 37 United States Chris Buescher  Chevrolet 45 32.962 1.512 0.107 163.825
28 95 United States Regan Smith  Chevrolet 31 32.970 1.520 0.008 163.785
29 13 United States Ty Dillon  Chevrolet 51 32.974 1.524 0.004 163.765
30 31 United States Ryan Newman  Chevrolet 46 33.177 1.727 0.203 162.763
31 32 United States Matt DiBenedetto  Ford 33 33.391 1.941 0.214 161.720
32 23 United States J.J. Yeley  Ford 30 33.804 2.354 0.413 159.744
33 72 United States Corey Lajoie  Chevrolet 17 33.889 2.439 0.085 159.344
34 00 United States Landon Cassill  Chevrolet 30 33.913 2.463 0.024 159.231
35 15 United States Ross Chastain  Chevrolet 20 34.030 2.580 0.117 158.684
36 99 United States Kyle Weatherman  Chevrolet 28 34.393 2.943 0.363 157.009
37 97 Tanner Berryhill  Toyota 15 34.588 3.138 0.195 156.124
38 51 United States B.J. McLeod  Ford 13 34.636 3.186 0.048 155.907

Take a virtual lap around Homestead-Miami Speedway with NASCAR Heat 3:

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