RELATED: Practice 2 results
Whirling his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 127.333 mph around Watkins Glen International, Jeff Gordon soared to the top of the leaderboard on his first lap during Friday’s final Sprint Cup Series practice at the New York road course. The runner-up in all-time wins at the Glen with four trips to Victory Lane, Gordon will be one of several drivers looking to clinch a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with a win this weekend.
Shortly after topping the final XFINITY practice, Kyle Larson returned to the race track to post the second-fastest speed (127.049 mph) in the field in his No. 42 Chip Ganassai Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet. Larson is one of a handful of Sprint Cup regulars who will attempt double-duty races at the road course this weekend.
RELATED: Larson leads NXS practice at the Glen
Roush Fenway Racing‘s Greg Biffle (126.987 mph), Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Kyle Busch (126.837 mph) and Team Penske‘s Joey Logano (126.720 mph) rounded out the top five in the final session.
Defending Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick made several mock qualifying runs during the second session, propelling his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet at 126.348 mph to the ninth position on the leaderboard.
With five wins at the New York track, Tony Stewart remains the all-time winner at Watkins Glen. During a mock qualifying run, “Smoke” propelled his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet around the road course at 126.263 mph to rank 10th on the practice leaderboard.
After coming up second on the leaderboard in the opening session with a high speed of 127.067 mph, AJ Allmendinger — the reigning race winner at the Glen — posted the 27th-fastest speed in the field in his JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet with a fast lap of 124.823 mph.
After topping opening practice, Clint Bowyer slowed in his No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, recording a high speed of 124.401 mph for the 31st spot.
The Sprint Cup Series is back on track at the Glen on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. ET for Coors Light Pole Qualifying (NBCSN/Live Extra).
Bowyer leads opening practice
RELATED: Practice 1 results
A pair of former road-course winners looking to clinch a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Clint Bowyer and AJ Allmendinger paced opening Sprint Cup Series practice at Watkins Glen International on Friday afternoon.
Bowyer, winner of the 2012 Sonoma race, topped the session with a best speed of 127.067 mph, followed by last year’s Watkins Glen winner in Allmendinger at 126.901 mph.
Jimmie Johnson — who has never won at the Glen in 13 career starts — was third on the charts at 126.139 mph. Sam Hornish Jr. (126.095 mph) and Casey Mears (125.969 mph) rounded out the top five.
Brad Keselowski, who once ran off three straight runner-up finishes at the Glen, was eighth-fastest at 125.419 mph.
Another Sprint Cup practice is set to run later on Friday afternoon at 4:40 p.m. ET with coverage on NBCSN/Live Extra.