Erik Jones tops final practice at Indianapolis
Rookie Erik Jones blazed across the bricks with a lap of 185.854mph to lead Happy Hour at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Erik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Russell LaBounty / NKP / Motorsport Images
After two starts in the Xfinity Series, the driver of the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota is looking forward to his Brickyard 400 debut.
“I’m excited to make my first start in the Brickyard and hopefully have a good showing,” Jones said. “It’s just neat to be at Indy and close to home really for me. It’s neat to be there at a track that not only has the Brickyard 400, but the Indy 500 and all the history involved is pretty special.”
Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top 10 fastest single-lap speedway. Matt Kenseth’s 34 laps were the most completed during the final practice session.
Truex Jr. was the first driver on 2.5-mile track and established the fastest single-lap speed of 184.900mph.
Seven minutes in, Newman vaulted over Truex with a lap of 185.334mph. After the first 10 minutes, Newman remained atop the speed chart followed by Truex, Erik Jones, Kahne, Earnhardt, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray, Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson.
Ryan Blaney bumped Newman on his first lap — 185.816mph — in the first 12 minutes of practice.
NASCAR released Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon from their 15-minute practice holds for failing pre-race inspection multiple times at New Hampshire. Busch was eighth-quick on his first run, Dillon ran 23rd. Blaney held onto the fastest time at the 15-minute mark — but only momentarily as Jones jumped to the top of the board with a lap of 185.854mph.
Thirty-minutes into the session, Jones held on to the top time followed by Blaney, Newman, Truex, Kahne, Earnhardt, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Logano and McMurray. Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth’s 16 laps were the most completed.
With 20-minutes remaining, McMurray moved up to sixth in qualifying trim with a lap of 184.574mph. Shortly after, Kevin Harvick’s spotter Tim Fedewa had his hard card (NASCAR license) taken when his sandwich fell off the roof of the Pagoda. Steve Barkdoll finished the practice session as the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team’s spotter.
Forty-minutes into the session, Harvick vaulted up to second-quick with a lap of 185.824mph. Johnson moved up to fourth (185.487mph) after his mock qualifying run.
Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Mph |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 77 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 9 | 48.425 | 185.854 | ||
2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 14 | 48.433 | 0.008 | 0.008 | 185.824 |
3 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 6 | 48.435 | 0.010 | 0.002 | 185.816 |
4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 16 | 48.521 | 0.096 | 0.086 | 185.487 |
5 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 15 | 48.528 | 0.103 | 0.007 | 185.460 |
6 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 7 | 48.561 | 0.136 | 0.033 | 185.334 |
7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Ford | 18 | 48.609 | 0.184 | 0.048 | 185.151 |
8 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 15 | 48.610 | 0.185 | 0.001 | 185.147 |
9 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 14 | 48.642 | 0.217 | 0.032 | 185.025 |
10 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 13 | 48.675 | 0.250 | 0.033 | 184.900 |
11 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 16 | 48.733 | 0.308 | 0.058 | 184.680 |
12 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 14 | 48.895 | 0.470 | 0.162 | 184.068 |
13 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 28 | 48.926 | 0.501 | 0.031 | 183.951 |
14 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 18 | 48.946 | 0.521 | 0.020 | 183.876 |
15 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 14 | 48.968 | 0.543 | 0.022 | 183.793 |
16 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 15 | 49.007 | 0.582 | 0.039 | 183.647 |
17 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 32 | 49.133 | 0.708 | 0.126 | 183.176 |
18 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 11 | 49.138 | 0.713 | 0.005 | 183.158 |
19 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 12 | 49.227 | 0.802 | 0.089 | 182.826 |
20 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 34 | 49.272 | 0.847 | 0.045 | 182.660 |
21 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Ford | 5 | 49.274 | 0.849 | 0.002 | 182.652 |
22 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 17 | 49.461 | 1.036 | 0.187 | 181.962 |
23 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 15 | 49.540 | 1.115 | 0.079 | 181.671 |
24 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 17 | 49.631 | 1.206 | 0.091 | 181.338 |
25 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 16 | 49.645 | 1.220 | 0.014 | 181.287 |
26 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Chevrolet | 9 | 49.657 | 1.232 | 0.012 | 181.243 |
27 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 11 | 49.692 | 1.267 | 0.035 | 181.116 |
28 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 10 | 49.754 | 1.329 | 0.062 | 180.890 |
29 | 23 | Corey Lajoie | Toyota | 8 | 50.257 | 1.832 | 0.503 | 179.080 |
30 | 47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 12 | 50.271 | 1.846 | 0.014 | 179.030 |
31 | 38 | David Ragan | Ford | 7 | 50.451 | 2.026 | 0.180 | 178.391 |
32 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 15 | 50.594 | 2.169 | 0.143 | 177.887 |
33 | 7 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | 12 | 50.620 | 2.195 | 0.026 | 177.795 |
34 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Ford | 15 | 50.671 | 2.246 | 0.051 | 177.616 |
35 | 55 | Gray Gaulding | Toyota | 11 | 51.095 | 2.670 | 0.424 | 176.142 |
36 | 72 | Cole Whitt | Chevrolet | 6 | 51.194 | 2.769 | 0.099 | 175.802 |
37 | 66 | Timmy Hill | Chevrolet | 7 | 52.423 | 3.998 | 1.229 | 171.680 |
38 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Chevrolet | 11 | 52.448 | 4.023 | 0.025 | 171.599 |
39 | 51 | B.J. McLeod | Chevrolet | 4 | 52.555 | 4.130 | 0.107 | 171.249 |
40 | 15 | Joey Gase | Chevrolet | 8 | 53.735 | 5.310 | 1.180 | 167.489 |
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