Larson tops second Michigan practice; Bell makes first laps in Cup car

On Saturday, the No. 42 Ganassi Racing Chevy posted the top speed of 202.532mph in second practice for the Pure Michigan 400. Larson completed 21 laps during the 55-minute session.

Polesitter Brad Keselowski was second followed by Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr.

Five drivers posted Best 10 Consecutive Lap Averages with Kyle Busch leading the category with a speed of 199.966mph. Denny Hamlin (199.006mph) was second followed by Elliott, Kevin Harvick and Matt DiBenedetto.

In the first five minutes, Johnson was atop the speed chart with a lap of 201.681mph. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second followed by Elliott, Harvick and Logano. Hamlin attempted to practice pitting but NASCAR called him off — asking the team to wait until Happy Hour since the trucks were lined up on pit road for qualifying.

Eight minutes in, Kyle Busch shot up to second quick (201.376mph) followed by the Toyotas of Martin Truex Jr. and Erik Jones.

Thirty-two drivers posted times in the first 10 minutes — Brad Keselowski led practice with a single-lap speed of 201.981mph. Kyle Larson (201.867mph), Johnson (201.681mph), Earnhardt (201.511mph), Kyle Busch ( Truex, McMurray, Blaney, Kahne and Jones rounded out the top 10.

Clint Bowyer was 11th-quick followed Hamlin, Elliott, Harvick, Logano, Suarez, Ryan Newman, Trevor Bayne, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth.

NASCAR released the 15-minute practice holds — Derrike Cope, Landon Cassill and AJ Allmendinger for being late to pre-qualifying inspection on Friday.

Kurt Busch jumped up to fifth-quick 18 minutes in with a lap of 201.376mph. Kyle Busch dropped to sixth followed by Truex, McMurray, Bowyer and Blaney.

“Arced it in everywhere and it’s not loose at all,” Kurt Busch said. “Trying to get a little more rotation in Turn 3 and it was hopeless.”

NASCAR officials summoned a Goodyear tire engineer to the Elliott’s garage stall after there was a bald spot discovered on the right front tire of the No. 24 car.

Just before the 25-minute mark, Blaney blasted up to second with a lap of 201.924mph. Larson dropped to third. Five minutes later, “Yung Money” moved to the top of the board with a lap of 202.492mph. Keselowski was second followed by Blaney, Elliott, Johnson, Earnhardt, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Truex and Jones.

Joe Gibbs Racing put Christopher Bell in the No. 11 Toyota at the 35-minute mark. The Camping World Truck Series standout is standing by for Hamlin this weekend — who is on baby watch. NASCAR wanted the rookie to get some seat time should he have to climb in the car. Following his 21-lap run, Bell’s best single-lap speed was 193.699mph.

Larson held the top spot at the 40-minute mark. Keselowski was second quick followed by Johnson, Blaney, Elliott, Earnhardt, Jones, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Truex.

With 10 minutes remaining, Larson improved his speed to 202.532mph. The top 10 remained the same.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	21	202.532			35.550
2	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	19	202.332			35.585
3	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	28	202.310			35.589
4	21	Ryan Blaney	Ford	21	202.003			35.643
5	24	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	25	201.884			35.664
6	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	14	201.511			35.730
7	77	Erik Jones	Toyota	22	201.387			35.752
8	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	24	201.376			35.754
9	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	28	201.376		0.000	35.754
10	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	16	201.320			35.764
11	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	16	201.207			35.784
12	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	24	201.202			35.785
13	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	21	200.859			35.846
14	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	26	200.859		0.000	35.846
15	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	36	200.630			35.887
16	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	30	200.479			35.914
17	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	26	200.339			35.939
18	22	Joey Logano	Ford	27	200.278			35.950
19	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	17	199.883			36.021
20	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	18	199.479			36.094
21	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	23	199.308			36.125
22	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	26	199.165			36.151
23	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	27	199.159			36.152
24	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	25	198.824			36.213
25	95	Michael McDowell	Chevrolet	31	198.654			36.244
26	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	15	198.407			36.289
27	10	Danica Patrick	Ford	31	198.249			36.318
28	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	32	197.406			36.473
29	38	David Ragan	Ford	18	196.802			36.585
30	34	Landon Cassill	Ford	22	196.442			36.652
31	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	16	196.266			36.685
32	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	13	195.578			36.814
33	23	Corey Lajoie	Toyota	10	195.392			36.849
34	83	Brett Moffitt	Toyota	18	195.297			36.867
35	72	Cole Whitt	Chevrolet	21	195.006			36.922
36	33	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Chevrolet	20	191.566			37.585
37	55	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	11	190.804			37.735
38	15	Derrike Cope	Chevrolet	14	189.245			38.046
39	51	B.J. McLeod	Chevrolet	4	188.363			38.224