RELATED: Practice 1 results
Austin Dillon rose to the top of opening NASCAR XFINITY Series practice Thursday afternoon, edging his brother on the leaderboard at Richmond International Raceway.
Dillon, a Sprint Cup Series regular running a partial XFINITY schedule, drove the Richard Childress Racing No. 33 Chevrolet to a best lap of 121.474 mph on the .75-mile track. He’ll shooting for his fourth XFINITY win of the season in Friday night’s Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).
A late-afternoon storm washed away a 55-minute final practice, leaving the 85-minute opening session as Thursday’s only track time for the series. Coors Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled Friday at 3:45 p.m. ET.
Younger brother Ty Dillon was second-fastest in practice at 120.627 mph in another Childress-owned entry. The No. 3 Chevrolet driver enters the 25th of 33 races this season second in the XFINITY standings, 29 points behind series leader Chris Buescher.
Josh Berry was third-fastest in the 85-minute session, pushing the JR Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet to a lap of 120.503 mph in preparation for just his third XFINITY start. Daniel Suarez, a Dash 4 Cash bonus winner last week at Darlington Raceway, and Ryan Truex, making his first XFINITY start since 2012, completed the top five.
Defending series champion Chase Elliott was 10th-fastest in the JR Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet. Defending race winner Kyle Busch, who has five XFINITY victories at Richmond, was 11th-fastest in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota. Buescher, the series points leader since May, was 18th-fastest in the Roush Fenway Racing No. 60 Ford.
Berry also posted the best 10-lap average, edging JRM teammates Elliott and Regan Smith atop that chart. Only eight of the 41 drivers entered ran more than 10 consecutive laps.
Brian Scott, preparing for his 200th XFINITY Series start, was 14th-fastest in the Richard Childress Racing No. 2 Chevrolet.