Nemechek leads NASCAR Cup practice at Homestead

John-Hunter Nemechek, filling in 23XI Racing’s No. 45 Toyota this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway following a one-week suspension of driver Bubba Wallace, had the fastest average lap speed in the first practice session and overall (167.187 mph).

“I feel pretty good. The guys from 23XI brought me a really fast race car to the race track this weekend,” Nemechek. “It’s awesome to be fastest. Hopefully, it will translate over into qualifying and the race.”

The top-five average one-lap speeds all came from Group A.

Chase Elliott ended up second-fastest, Tyler Reddick third, Christopher Bell fourth and Corey LaJoie rounded out the top-five.

Among the drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps, Ross Chastain had the top average lap speed (162.709 mph). A.J. Allmendinger and Justin Haley were second and third, respectively, in that category.

Group B

Allmendinger was fastest among the second practice group with an average lap speed of 166.338 mph.

William Byron ended up second (165.975 mph) and Kyle Larson was third (165.857 mph).

Michael McDowell and Harrison Burton rounded out the top-five.

There were no on-track incidents in the second session.

Group A

Nemechek, one of the first drivers to hit the track, led the first 20-minute practice session with an average lap speed of 167.187 mph.

Elliott was the top playoff driver in the group at 166.970 mph while Reddick was third-fastest (166.934 mph).

“It was good to be able to put a run like that down. I definitely feel like we can get a little more aggressive,” Reddick said.

Christopher Bell and Corey LaJoie completed the top-five.

There were no on-track incidents during the session. Elliott ran the most laps (33).