RELATED: Dover schedule | Final practice results | Best 10-lap averages
Kyle Larson landed atop the leaderboard for final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice Saturday at Dover International Speedway.
Larson clocked a best lap of 157.411 mph in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet. Larson will start fifth in Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM), the 13th of 36 races in the series this year.
Jimmie Johnson, a 10-time Dover winner in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet, was second-fastest with a speed of 157.301 mph in the 50-minute session.
Kyle Busch, who will start from the pole in Sunday’s 400-miler, was third-fastest in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota at 157.246 mph. He scored his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season — and the 20th of his career — in Friday qualifying.
Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch all tied for fourth on the chart with an identical best speed of 157.143 mph.
Austin Dillon, last weekend’s first-time winner in the Coca-Cola 600, was 24th-fastest in the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet.
Kyle Busch sets early Saturday pace in practice
RELATED: Practice 2 results
Pole-sitter Kyle Busch was fast on Friday and again Saturday morning at Dover International Speedway, topping the morning practice session at 158.040 mph in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rising star Ryan Blaney had the second-fastest speed in the 55-minute session at 157.929 mph in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford.
Martin Truex Jr., was third on the Saturday morning speed chart at 157.874 mph in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota and will share the front row with Busch for the start of Sunday’s AAA 400 Driver for Autism (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio). Jimmie Johnson was fourth at 157.756 mph in the No.48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet followed by Kurt Busch at 157.708 mph in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.
Erik Jones spun on the concrete pavement with just under half an hour remaining in practice, but the rookie saved it and the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota suffered no damage. Jones returned to the track for the final five minutes of the session. He put up the seventh-fastest speed at 157.556 mph before spinning.
Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Larson had 15-minute practice holds for failing pre-qualifying tech multiple times and Kenseth also lost his pit stall selection for the weekend.