Harvick leads second Cup practice from Phoenix

The eight-time Phoenix Raceway winner completed 21 laps during the 55-minute session on Saturday morning.

Chase Elliott was second in single-lap speeds followed by Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson.

Other Playoff contenders positions included Jimmie Johnson in 14th, Ryan Blaney 20th and Brad Keselowski 21st. 

Elliott set the early pace with a lap of 134.163mph. After the first five minutes, Kahne ran second followed by Earnhardt, Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Erik Jones, Johnson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Blaney, Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola and David Ragan. 

Larson jumped up to 10th on his first lap then moved up to ninth after six laps. Just before the 10-minute mark, Truex posted the third fastest lap (134.058) and Hamlin (133.934mph) ran fourth. 

“Pretty decent everywhere,” Hamlin said. “Could use a little turn in 3 and 4.”

Twelve minutes in the first caution waved when Stenhouse spun off of Turn 2 after completing his eighth lap. He was 14th-quick (133.462mph).

Harvick bumped Elliott on his third run of the 55-minute session with a lap of 134.328mph, 15 minutes in. Kahne ran third followed by Truex, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt, Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Kenseth. Larson, Logano, Jones, Johnson, Stenhouse, Austin Dillon, McMurray, Newman, Menard and Blaney rounded out the top 20. 

Halfway through the session, the top nine drivers remained the same but Larson moved up to 10th. Menard’s 27 laps were the most completed.

“Just not a lot of cut,” Elliott said after 32 laps. “The front end doesn’t feel very positive…It’s just slide point, or slide the nose.”

With 10 minutes remaining in the session, Newman’s 39 laps were the most led. Keselowski, ran 21st in single-lap speeds. 

Erik Jones led the Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average category with a speed of 133.060mph. Larson was second (132.938mph), followed by Kyle Busch (132.871mph), Johnson (132.869mph), Earnhardt (132.856mph), Newman (132.842mph), McMurray (132.800mph), Bowyer (132.729mph), Menard (132.172mph) and Keselowski (132.130mph).

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	21	26.800			134.328
2	24	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	39	26.833	0.033	0.033	134.163
3	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	36	26.849	0.049	0.016	134.083
4	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	27	26.854	0.054	0.005	134.058
5	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	38	26.879	0.079	0.025	133.934
6	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	40	26.892	0.092	0.013	133.869
7	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	43	26.921	0.121	0.029	133.725
8	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	35	26.924	0.124	0.003	133.710
9	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	41	26.925	0.125	0.001	133.705
10	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	43	26.926	0.126	0.001	133.700
11	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	40	26.929	0.129	0.003	133.685
12	22	Joey Logano	Ford	27	26.945	0.145	0.016	133.605
13	77	Erik Jones	Toyota	40	26.950	0.150	0.005	133.581
14	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	30	26.954	0.154	0.004	133.561
15	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	25	26.974	0.174	0.020	133.462
16	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	46	26.987	0.187	0.013	133.398
17	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	40	27.014	0.214	0.027	133.264
18	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	46	27.020	0.220	0.006	133.235
19	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	44	27.086	0.286	0.066	132.910
20	21	Ryan Blaney	Ford	29	27.089	0.289	0.003	132.895
21	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	38	27.100	0.300	0.011	132.841
22	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	24	27.143	0.343	0.043	132.631
23	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	33	27.162	0.362	0.019	132.538
24	38	David Ragan	Ford	28	27.187	0.387	0.025	132.416
25	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	34	27.193	0.393	0.006	132.387
26	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	41	27.265	0.465	0.072	132.037
27	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	22	27.286	0.486	0.021	131.936
28	95	Michael McDowell	Chevrolet	35	27.368	0.568	0.082	131.540
29	34	Landon Cassill	Ford	20	27.383	0.583	0.015	131.468
30	10	Danica Patrick	Ford	30	27.449	0.649	0.066	131.152
31	23	Corey Lajoie	Toyota	20	27.449	0.649	0.000	131.152
32	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	38	27.475	0.675	0.026	131.028
33	72	Cole Whitt	Chevrolet	19	27.633	0.833	0.158	130.279
34	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	13	27.687	0.887	0.054	130.025
35	66	David Starr	Chevrolet	26	27.821	1.021	0.134	129.399
36	15	D.J. Kennington	Chevrolet	30	28.003	1.203	0.182	128.558
37	33	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Chevrolet	15	28.036	1.236	0.033	128.406
38	7	Joey Gase	Chevrolet	23	28.103	1.303	0.067	128.100
39	00	Derrike Cope	Chevrolet	25	28.577	1.777	0.474	125.975
40	51	Kyle Weatherman	Chevrolet	16	29.135	2.335	0.558	123.563