Suarez able to hold off first practice leader Kyle Busch
SECOND PRACTICE: Full results
Daniel Suarez topped the XFINITY Series final practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday afternoon with a fastest lap of 176.810 mph in 50.902 seconds.
Suarez was sixth fastest in the first practice Friday morning, improving his fastest lap time by more than one second in the second round.
Kyle Busch, who posted the top speed in Friday’s first session, was second this time, clocking in at 175.466 mph (51.292 seconds).
Kyle Larson drove the HScott Motorsports No. 42 Chevrolet posting a fastest lap of 174.907 mph and Erik Jones’ Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota was fourth on the leaderboard with a lap of 174.842 mph.
Rounding out the top five for practice No. 2 was Brian Scott in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (174.432 mph).
Kevin Harvick, who is pulling double duty in the Sprint Cup and XFINITY races this weekend, had some troubles with his No. 88 Chevrolet and finished 18th during the second session.
The reigning Indy champ, Ty Dillon, had more success during the second session than the first, clocking in a seventh-fastest lap of 174.125 mph. Dillon said his No. 3 Richard Childress Chevrolet car was, however, too tight the entire practice and needed to be worked on before the qualifying round.
The XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying is set to start Saturday at 11:35 a.m. ET, NBC Sports Network.
OPENING PRACTICE: FULL RESULTS
Last year’s Lilly Diabetes 250 runner-up, Kyle Busch, topped the leaderboard in Friday’s first practice for NASCAR XFINITY Series with a fastest lap of 178.717 mph (50.359 seconds).
Busch, who missed the first three months of the season with severe leg and foot injuries in a crash in the XFINITY opener, has had an impressive summer of racing with back-to-back wins on the Sprint Cup Series side and a victory in the XFINITY Series in June.
With a new aerodynamic package set for this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, drivers were able to put into practice the much-talked-about changes for the first time.
Paul Menard was second-fastest, clocking in at 177.845 mph. In all of Menard’s three NASCAR XFINITY Series’ starts at Indy he has finished in the top-10. On the Sprint Cup side, he has his only premier-series win at the rectangular track.
Erik Jones rounded out the top three with a fastest lap of 176.139 mph. This weekend marks the first time the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver will race at Indy.
Kyle Larson (175.967 mph), Ryan Blaney (175.654 mph) and rookie Daniel Suarez (175.394 mph) rounded out the top six in the first practice round.
The new rules package is designed to promote more side-by-side racing at Indy, a track notorious for difficult passing. The biggest aerodynamic change was to the rear spoiler, which was raised to a 9-inch height.
GALLERY: What the new spoiler looks like at Indy
Although the new high-drag rules package has gotten mixed reviews, veteran XFINITY Series driver, Brendan Gaughan, said he didn’t see a huge difference.
Gaughan’s No. 62 Chevrolet was eighth-fastest in the first practice with a fastest speed of 175.104 mph.
Last year’s winner, Ty Dillon, was 16th-fastest after dealing with some engine issues early in the session.
On-track action for XFINITY Series continues at 2:30 p.m. ET for the final practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.