Martin Truex Jr. fastest in Friday's Cup practice at Homestead
Martin Truex Jr. wasted no time in showing his strength for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series title race.
Truex was the first to go out in Friday’s lone practice session and quickly posted what would turn out to be the fastest average lap of the session (173.997 mph). The No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team only completed five laps in the 1 hour, 20-minute session.
Fellow title contender Kyle Busch (173.299 mph) was second and Clint Bowyer third (172.977 mph). Chase Elliott and title contender Kevin Harvick completed the top-five.
Joey Logano, the fourth driver eligible to win the championship on Sunday, ended up 16th-fastest.
“I feel like just trying to relish the opportunity, trying to take advantage of the opportunity the best we know how, and I think that’s all we’re trying to do here,” Truex said of trying to win a second consecutive Cup title.
“I know no matter what happens, we’re going to give it our all, and we’re going to celebrate Sunday night as a group just because of the last five years have been an unbelievable ride.
“It’s been, as far as racing goes, by far the time of my life.”
FRR will shut down at season’s end and Truex and crew chief, Cole Pearn, will move to Joe Gibbs Racing next season.
Rounding out the Top 10 of Friday’s practice were Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Jamie McMurray and Brad Keselowski.
The session was briefly placed under caution one time to check for oil on the track.
Elliott was forced to sit out the final 15 minutes of practice after his No. 9 Chevrolet was late to inspection last weekend at Phoenix.
| Cla | # | Driver | 4506 | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78 |  Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 5 | 31.035 | 173.997 | ||
| 2 | 18 |  Kyle Busch | Toyota | 7 | 31.160 | 0.125 | 0.125 | 173.299 |
| 3 | 14 |  Clint Bowyer | Ford | 7 | 31.218 | 0.183 | 0.058 | 172.977 |
| 4 | 9 |  Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 7 | 31.232 | 0.197 | 0.014 | 172.900 |
| 5 | 4 |  Kevin Harvick | Ford | 5 | 31.245 | 0.210 | 0.013 | 172.828 |
| 6 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Ford | 5 | 31.262 | 0.227 | 0.017 | 172.734 |
| 7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 9 | 31.273 | 0.238 | 0.011 | 172.673 |
| 8 | 20 |  Erik Jones | Toyota | 5 | 31.282 | 0.247 | 0.009 | 172.623 |
| 9 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 7 | 31.285 | 0.250 | 0.003 | 172.607 |
| 10 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 5 | 31.322 | 0.287 | 0.037 | 172.403 |
| 11 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 5 | 31.324 | 0.289 | 0.002 | 172.392 |
| 12 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 9 | 31.328 | 0.293 | 0.004 | 172.370 |
| 13 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 14 | 31.340 | 0.305 | 0.012 | 172.304 |
| 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 5 | 31.356 | 0.321 | 0.016 | 172.216 |
| 15 | 21 | Paul Menard | Ford | 5 | 31.356 | 0.321 | 0.000 | 172.216 |
| 16 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 5 | 31.360 | 0.325 | 0.004 | 172.194 |
| 17 | 48 |  Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 7 | 31.408 | 0.373 | 0.048 | 171.931 |
| 18 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 5 | 31.416 | 0.381 | 0.008 | 171.887 |
| 19 | 6 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 5 | 31.421 | 0.386 | 0.005 | 171.860 |
| 20 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 7 | 31.428 | 0.393 | 0.007 | 171.821 |
| 21 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 5 | 31.478 | 0.443 | 0.050 | 171.548 |
| 22 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 11 | 31.479 | 0.444 | 0.001 | 171.543 |
| 23 | 47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 19 | 31.497 | 0.462 | 0.018 | 171.445 |
| 24 | 24 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 13 | 31.520 | 0.485 | 0.023 | 171.320 |
| 25 | 19 |  Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 3 | 31.533 | 0.498 | 0.013 | 171.249 |
| 26 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 7 | 31.643 | 0.608 | 0.110 | 170.654 |
| 27 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Chevrolet | 7 | 31.705 | 0.670 | 0.062 | 170.320 |
| 28 | 95 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 9 | 31.821 | 0.786 | 0.116 | 169.699 |
| 29 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 9 | 31.918 | 0.883 | 0.097 | 169.184 |
| 30 | 38 | David Ragan | Ford | 18 | 31.925 | 0.890 | 0.007 | 169.146 |
| 31 | 13 |  Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 26 | 31.961 | 0.926 | 0.036 | 168.956 |
| 32 | 00 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 5 | 32.169 | 1.134 | 0.208 | 167.863 |
| 33 | 23 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | 6 | 32.471 | 1.436 | 0.302 | 166.302 |
| 34 | 72 | Corey Lajoie | Chevrolet | 20 | 32.790 | 1.755 | 0.319 | 164.684 |
| 35 | 51 | B.J. McLeod | Ford | 3 | 33.192 | 2.157 | 0.402 | 162.690 |
| 36 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | Chevrolet | 8 | 33.278 | 2.243 | 0.086 | 162.269 |
| 37 | 97 | Tanner Berryhill | Toyota | 4 | 33.382 | 2.347 | 0.104 | 161.764 |
| 38 | 15 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 3 | 33.393 | 2.358 | 0.011 | 161.711 |
| 39 | 66 |  Timmy Hill | Toyota | 5 | 33.812 | 2.777 | 0.419 | 159.707 |
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About this article
| Series | NASCAR Cup |
| Event | Homestead |
| Drivers | Martin Truex Jr. |
| Teams | Furniture Row Racing |
| Author | Jim Utter |
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