Team Penske leads the way in NASCAR Cup practice at Phoenix

Penske’s Ryan Blaney topped the speed chart at ISM Raceway with an average lap speed of 141.716 mph – a speed that was markedly faster with the new aero package over the top speed in the first practice at this race last year (138.281 mph).

Blaney’s teammate, Brad Keselowski, ended up second-fastest (140.680 mph) and Kyle Larson was third (140.406 mph). Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch completed the top-five.

Rounding out the Top 10 were Jimmie Johnson, Alex Bowman, Erik Jones, Martin Truex Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto.

Nine-time Phoenix winner Kevin Harvick – who won this race a year ago – was 15th.

Compared to recent weeks, the aero package at Phoenix features higher horsepower and higher downforce.

Keselowski and Penske driver Joey Logano have won two of the season’s first three races (Atlanta and Las Vegas).

There were no on-track incidents in the session.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	12	Ryan Blaney	Ford	10	25.403			141.716
2	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	8	25.590	0.187	0.187	140.680
3	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	10	25.640	0.237	0.050	140.406
4	9	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	8	25.647	0.244	0.007	140.367
5	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	8	25.654	0.251	0.007	140.329
6	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	8	25.678	0.275	0.024	140.198
7	88	Alex Bowman	Chevrolet	17	25.718	0.315	0.040	139.980
8	20	Erik Jones	Toyota	10	25.722	0.319	0.004	139.958
9	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	11	25.733	0.330	0.011	139.898
10	95	Matt DiBenedetto	Toyota	8	25.751	0.348	0.018	139.800
11	24	William Byron	Chevrolet	13	25.753	0.350	0.002	139.790
12	22	Joey Logano	Ford	11	25.766	0.363	0.013	139.719
13	6	Ryan Newman	Ford	11	25.785	0.382	0.019	139.616
14	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	20	25.785	0.382	0.000	139.616
15	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	8	25.798	0.395	0.013	139.546
16	41	Daniel Suarez	Ford	8	25.807	0.404	0.009	139.497
17	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	12	25.820	0.417	0.013	139.427
18	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	8	25.821	0.418	0.001	139.421
19	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	8	25.824	0.421	0.003	139.405
20	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	11	25.830	0.427	0.006	139.373
21	21	Paul Menard	Ford	11	25.844	0.441	0.014	139.297
22	1	Kurt Busch	Chevrolet	10	25.849	0.446	0.005	139.270
23	8	Daniel Hemric	Chevrolet	12	25.878	0.475	0.029	139.114
24	10	Aric Almirola	Ford	7	25.923	0.520	0.045	138.873
25	34	Michael McDowell	Ford	13	25.982	0.579	0.059	138.557
26	47	Ryan Preece	Chevrolet	15	26.001	0.598	0.019	138.456
27	43	Darrell Wallace Jr.	Chevrolet	16	26.129	0.726	0.128	137.778
28	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	15	26.133	0.730	0.004	137.757
29	36	Matt Tifft	Ford	19	26.147	0.744	0.014	137.683
30	38	David Ragan	Ford	11	26.195	0.792	0.048	137.431
31	32	Corey Lajoie	Ford	13	26.335	0.932	0.140	136.700
32	00	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	9	26.560	1.157	0.225	135.542
33	15	Ross Chastain	Chevrolet	11	27.048	1.645	0.488	133.097
34	52	Bayley Currey	Ford	14	27.910	2.507	0.862	128.986
35	51	Cody Ware	Chevrolet	9	27.914	2.511	0.004	128.968
36	77	Quin Houff	Chevrolet	15	28.423	3.020	0.509	126.658