Kyle Busch leads final Cup practice at NHMS

Kyle Busch picked up speed over the course of the 55-minute session and led final practice with a lap of 130.950mph (29.086-seconds).

Polesitter Martin Truex Jr., who led second practice, was second quick with a single-lap speed of 130.568mph followed by Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, rookie Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, Matt Kenseth and rookie Erik Jones.

Truex also posted the Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average of 130.094mph followed Ryan Blaney’s 129.855mph. Elliott, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Suarez, Kenseth, Johnson, Larson and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 10 in the category.

Hamlin set the quick pace in his second lap of practice with a speed of 130.568mph in the back up car. But just before the five-minute mark, Kyle Busch shot to the top of the speed chart with a lap of 130.608mph (29.162-seconds) prior to completing eight laps.

Daniel Suarez was third quick with a speed of 130.663mph just before the 10-minute mark but was bumped by Martin Truex Jr. Truex moved up to second with his eighth lap (130.568mph). Ryan Blaney (130.287mph) was fifth followed by Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Keselowski, Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray.

Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were released from 15-minute practice holds for failing pre-race inspection at Kentucky Speedway. Spotter Eddie D’Hondt told Elliott Truex was running the same line the No. 24 had used at the end of the morning session.

Kyle Busch retained the top speed after 15 minutes, Truex, Hamlin, Johnson, Suarez, Blaney, Kenseth, Elliott, Kurt Busch and Keselowski rounded out the top 10. Elliott jumped to fourth after his third lap of 130.474mph.

Earnhardt Jr. broke into the top 10 after four laps with a speed of 129.882mph. Harvick moved up to ninth. After his first 14-lap run, Harvick’s best circuit was 130.109mph.

“I did fight loose a couple of times, that's why I jumped the cushion,” said Johnson after his second run.

NASCAR released Kyle Larson, Clint Bowyer, Erik Jones and Jeffrey Earnhardt from their 30-minute practice holds. Larson and Bowyer were docked 30 minutes for failing pre-race inspection multiple times last week at Kentucky. Jones and Earnhardt served double 15-minute holds for failing pre-qualifying at Kentucky and pre-race inspection at New Hampshire.

Larson vaulted into the fourth fastest time after his first run with a speed of 130.514mph (29.183-seconds). He described his car as “tight in the middle” after the 24-lap run. Jones also set a top-10 time — 29.245-seconds (130.238mph).

“Boy, that had a lot of turn,” Elliott said after completing 26 laps. ”I would sure like to make that work.”

With 15 minutes remaining in the session, Kyle Busch remained on top followed by Truex, Hamlin, Larson, Elliott, Johnson, Suarez, Blaney, Kenseth and Jones.

With 10 minutes to go, Harvick, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne rounded out the top-20 speeds.

Keselowski’s 55 laps were the most completed in final practice.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	49	29.086			130.950
2	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	42	29.171	0.085	0.085	130.568
3	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	51	29.171	0.085	0.000	130.568
4	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	24	29.183	0.097	0.012	130.514
5	24	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	39	29.192	0.106	0.009	130.474
6	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	46	29.210	0.124	0.018	130.394
7	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	47	29.220	0.134	0.010	130.349
8	21	Ryan Blaney	Ford	44	29.234	0.148	0.014	130.287
9	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	54	29.236	0.150	0.002	130.278
10	77	Erik Jones	Toyota	30	29.245	0.159	0.009	130.238
11	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	36	29.274	0.188	0.029	130.109
12	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	55	29.275	0.189	0.001	130.104
13	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	41	29.325	0.239	0.050	129.882
14	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	52	29.352	0.266	0.027	129.763
15	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	38	29.380	0.294	0.028	129.639
16	22	Joey Logano	Ford	46	29.383	0.297	0.003	129.626
17	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	30	29.391	0.305	0.008	129.591
18	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	53	29.402	0.316	0.011	129.542
19	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	42	29.417	0.331	0.015	129.476
20	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	37	29.422	0.336	0.005	129.454
21	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	32	29.437	0.351	0.015	129.388
22	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	45	29.477	0.391	0.040	129.213
23	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	33	29.484	0.398	0.007	129.182
24	10	Danica Patrick	Ford	48	29.512	0.426	0.028	129.059
25	23	Corey Lajoie	Toyota	31	29.534	0.448	0.022	128.963
26	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	43	29.538	0.452	0.004	128.946
27	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	37	29.541	0.455	0.003	128.933
28	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	41	29.551	0.465	0.010	128.889
29	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	46	29.606	0.520	0.055	128.650
30	72	Cole Whitt	Chevrolet	31	29.692	0.606	0.086	128.277
31	38	David Ragan	Ford	44	29.708	0.622	0.016	128.208
32	95	Michael McDowell	Chevrolet	25	29.709	0.623	0.001	128.204
33	34	Landon Cassill	Ford	36	29.727	0.641	0.018	128.126
34	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	40	29.755	0.669	0.028	128.005
35	15	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	15	30.192	1.106	0.437	126.153
36	33	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Chevrolet	22	30.362	1.276	0.170	125.446
37	51	Josh Bilicki	Chevrolet	4	30.634	1.548	0.272	124.332